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Shore Ecosystems
In the southern United States, the beach, dune, coastal strand and maritime forest complex is a gradient of coastal communities, where tides, waves, moving sands and salt spray shape their formation and succession. This ecotone, between the land and the ocean, produces a dynamic productive ecosystem that supports a diverse array of marine and terrestrial organisms.
Beach Community
The beach community is controlled by the tides, waves and moving sand particles. It supports aquatic marine invertebrates, seabirds, marine turtles, ghost crabs and predators such as racoons and foxes. Just inland of the beach are dunes, coastal strand and maritime forest.
Dune Community
Dunes are a dynamic community dominated by wind and moving sands. Dunes are characterized by well washed, fine grained sands, grass and herb dominated plant communities, interdunal swale wetlands, gopher tortoises, mice and rattlesnakes.
Coastal Strand
Coastal strand, which is just inland of dune communities, is a community characterized by shrubs, cacti, vines and other plant species adapted to high winds, moving sands and high amounts of salt spray. Coastal strand is located in active dune fields or areas where persistent maritime forests communities are unable to form due to high amounts of salt spray.
Maritime Forest
Where dunes stabilize and salt spray is tolerable enough to support persistent coastal strand and maritime forest species, a dwarfed espaliered shrub thicket forms that slowly transitions in height and in species composition into a climax maritime forest (Oosting 1954). Maritime forest is dominated by live oaks, red bays, magnolias, southern red cedars and cabbage palms. Maritime forest animals include black bears, deer, foxes, bobcats, racoons, box turtles, rabbits, rodents, snakes and a diversity of song birds.
References
Oosting, H.J., 1954. Ecological processes and vegetation of the maritime strand in the southeastern United States. The Botanical Review, 20(4), p.226.