Checking out hermit crabs in the Nahant tide pools. Scroll down to see what NEAq said New England tide pools should look like.

Leeya Kekona

The Nahant Tide pools are hot biodiversity spots that can serve as nurseries and homes for a great number of different animals. Small tidal pools form along the boundary of the land and sea. These tidal pools can house many species and are important ecosystems. They are susceptible, however, to climate change. According to one study, PH and temperature and temperature and species richness are all correlated by significant p-values (Cullity). Applying what we learned about climate change and ocean acidification, increased use of fossil fuels can result in increasingly acidic ocean PH levels because of the ocean’s role as a carbon sink. One reason for the association between PH and temperature may be due to the dual effect of climate change. Increased greenhouse gas emissions trap more heat in the atmosphere, which also warm our oceans. This change in the temperature of our oceans is also associated with the species richness of tidal pools. With increasingly warm waters, species richness may be affected.

Furthermore, climate change causes sea-level rise. Tidal pools are unique ecosystems that depend on the changing tides and sea level. With sea-level rise, areas that were previously submerged for short periods of time may face longer and longer periods of submersion, potentially negatively affecting the species richness of these tidal pools.

Finally, these tidal pools can be affected by tourism. In the Hidden Gem article, we find this seemingly “hidden” tidal pool area advertised for more visitors (Cooper 2011). Visitors catch various crabs, baby lobsters and other animals. While places like the Nahant tidal pools can be used to educate and increase awareness and care for these habitats and animals, its use as a “tourist” location could have repercussions on the various animals there. Visitors can take some of the animals out from their habitat or otherwise harm them while touching the creatures.

Daniel Gordon

On the second stop of our field trip we explored an extensive coastal ecosystem of tidal pools in the almost-island town of Nahant just north of Boston. Every day the incoming tide fills a series of holes, crevices, and other depressions throughout the impressive rock structures lining the beach. At high tide, the water level rises to cover up the base of these huge rock piles (although we did not witness high tide), introducing shallow-water marine organisms that would not otherwise have access to these areas. The receding tide reveals a scattering of pools where seawater, and anything in it, becomes trapped until the next high tide.

These pools support a remarkably diverse group of life forms including arthropods (small spotted crabs, larger tan colored crabs, shrimp/prawns, barnacles), mollusks (bivalves – mussels, clams; gastropods – snails), and fish (minnows, larger fish at high tide), as well as lots of algae, seaweeds, and other plant life. Beds of dark bivalves, mostly mussels, line the bottoms of the larger pools where they are anchored to the rock. At first, they appear to have crowded out other organisms, but closer inspection reveals evidence of other creatures. Crabs scuttle to safety at the first sign of danger, but some can be spotted by claws peeking out from the rocks. Dark snails and barnacles blend in among the surrounding bivalves. Occasionally the appearance below the surface of small jets of bubbles indicates the sudden movements of shrimp. One shallow pool in particular had a number of these small crustaceans floating and sporadically twitching on a bed of seaweed.

Some pools have formed above the high tide line containing murky green soup of stagnant water. These likely formed because of rainfall or the surge of water during a storm, becoming stagnant as there is no exchange of water, which prevents most life from being able to survive there.

Matthew Paul

The Nahant Tide Pools is full of rich species diversity. These tide pools are located on the northern coast of Massachusetts, and area with a lot of species biodiversity to begin with. As tides come in and go out, they leave the animals and plants that come in with the tide in these small tide pools. This is an attraction to many humans because of how easy it is to catch small crustacean and other animals, especially hermit crabs. (Cooper) Tide pools also act as home for animals who get stranded during high tide. (CZ-Tip) This allows for a lot of change in biodiversity and heavily effects the ecosystem when a new tide comes in. There can be a lot of turmoil in these small communities because species are out of their natural habitat and they must adapt. Also, there is a lot of human contact in these tide pools. Animals lives can be very heavily affected with people walking around and touching the species within the pools, adding to the turmoil. This mixture of a now environment and a lot of human interaction is not healthy for animals that live in these tide pools. There is little policy regarding what people can do in these tide pools because it is seen as a fun activity with little environmental impact. (CZ-Tip) If we can spread awareness about the effects that human interaction has on these tide pools, we can make life safer for these animals. However, the question of ecosystem service that these pools provide may outweigh the cost of creating policy around them.

Steffen Torgersen

The Nahant Tide pools are located just Northeast of the Boston Harbor and are great for people and kids to explore marine life in its natural setting. The intertidal zone is teeming with life that locals love to catch and release before they go home. Some notable species include hermit crabs and small spider crabs. Species have specific needs to survive in the intertidal zone, such as nutrients, not receiving too much direct sunlight, exposure to land predators, and the temperature and salinity of the water (Cullity); all of these factors can be affected by climate change. If the temperature of the water is greatly increased, species may not be able to survive in that certain pool, as the temperature depends on the volume of water the pool contains. These species are very important to the success of the ecosystem as a whole, as the chromists and primary predators provide food all the way up the food chain of the Boston area ecosystem.

Seen on satellite view of google maps, the Nahant tide pools are close to the winter spawning grounds of the white flounder. This space based management allows the nearby ecosystem to stay healthy and mitigate any stressors it could have on the tide pools, as if the surrounding area was nutrient deprived the organisms in the tide pools would not be fully healthy. The good thing about the Nahant tide pools is that they are highly available to locals, who continue to explore the tide pools after years of growing up visiting them (Cooper). This is important because they will want to protect the area for years to come and keep the diversity of species high so they can visit the location as they remember it once was.

The NEAq version of New England tide pools are a lot more lively than the ones we found.