Beaches

The most productive habitats are often those places where two different environments meet. Ocean beaches sit between the sea and the land. Shorebirds get their name from where they live.

This is a dynamic environment: in some places, the sea takes back beaches; in others, sand accumulates and the beaches grow. The rich mudflats at the Bay of Fundy appear and disappear with the tides.

Unfortunately, people also like to live near the ocean. This can lead to loss of habitat for wildlife and, sometimes, loss of property when people build too close to the waterfront.

The dunes, with widely varying temperatures, a shortage of nutrients and water and exposure to the wind, are only colonized at first by those few plants which can survive these conditions. But, these hardy pioneers help to stabilize the environment and eventually open the way for shrubs and small trees. Careless human activity can kill off the pioneers and set the dunes loose again.

Related Links

• Piping Plovers
• Prince Edward Island National Park
• Sand dunes of the Great Lakes - fresh water beaches
• Salt marshes - another habitat on the same border
• Grand Bay West and Cheeseman Provincial Park beaches - Important Bird Area
• Bouctouche Bar - Important Bird Area
• Shorelines
• La Dune de Bouctouche
• Dangerous Beaches Mapping Project - Canadian Landscapes
• Piper Project