Beach ecosystems are a balance of living and non-living elements, which interact with each other

A beach ecosystem is a living community of plants and animals sharing an environment with non-living elements, such as water, sand and rocks.

Within the beach ecosystem, there are mutual dependence relationships across the whole system. All of the living things in the ecosystem rely on other things, both living and non-living, for their survival. 

Food webs are one example of the interconnected nature of marine ecosystems.

Related articles

• Marine food webs

• Life in the estuary

• Understanding food webs in Fiordland

• Antarctic marine ecosystem

Related activities

• Build a marine food web

• Making a food web

• Beach visits – habitats and food webs

Related images

• Food web of rocky shore

• Food web of sandy shore

• Food web of mudflats

• Pyramid diagram showing flow of energy through trophic levels 

• Marine food web

• The food web in the Ross Sea

• Estuarine food web