Seashore Life by Eugene Kozloff

A Guide to Plants and Animals of the Northern Pacific Coast

Jun 16, 2008 Linda McDonnell

"Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast" is a comprehensive yet readable guide book to life on rocky shores, sandy beaches, bays, and dunes of the Pacific Northwest.

Marine life enthusiasts, ecologists and biology students alike can find a wealth of information in this book by University of Washington zoology professor and authority on Northwest natural history, Eugene Kozloff. The text is comprehensive and detailed, yet easy to follow and clear enough for even the beginning marine life enthusiast.

Browsing the 299 color photos is a good place to start. They illustrate the varied and colorful array of animals and plants that inhabit Pacific shores from spiny urchins to blue “by-the-wind-sailors" (Velella velella).

Zoology, Botany and Pacific Shore Geology

To get you started, the author provides an introductory chapter with a brief outline of the region’s geology and geography and an explanation of the tides that influence what types of life live where along the shore. Then there’s some “Instant Zoology and Botany” to aid in understanding plant and animal families. Numerous illustrations here and throughout the book show tiny animals close-up so you can see how their often unusual bodies feed and survive on wave-washed rocks, in tidepools, in protected bays or on dry sandy beaches and dunes.

The number and variety of different plants and animals living near the Northwest Pacific shoreline is astounding. According to the preface, this book describes more than 650 species from Monterey County in California to British Columbia in Canada. Each is described according to its choice of habitat, its color and size, food preferences for animals and survival mechanisms. Most also are pictured, either in one of the color photos or the 700 illustrations.

Jellyfish, Seaweeds, Shellfish and Dune Wildflowers

There are all sizes of jellyfish, animals that grow on stocks with flower-like tentacles on top, and animals that look like feathers or attach themselves together in bushy colonies. There are small soft bodied animals in colors from purple to yellow, pink and white with fringe, stripes or dots in contrasting colors.

There are also seaweeds and shellfish, plus wildflowers of the seaside dunes and marshes.

Most of what you’ll find in this fascinating tidal world is included and identified in this book of more than 375 pages.

The book is organized by habitat, including the marine life found around floating docks and pilings, rocky shores, sandy beaches and quiet bays and marshes. A large section focuses on Puget Sound and the San Juan Archipelago of Washington.

Style Reflects Enthusiasm for the Natural World

Kozloff writes in a friendly, natural style, sometimes with humor and always with enthusiasm for the natural world. In addition to writing and teaching, he often leads classes and outings for amateur as well as accomplished naturalists. He conducts his research from the Friday Harbor Laboratories on San Juan Island, Washington.

Among Kozloff’s other books are Plants and Animals of the Pacific Northwest, Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region, and Plants of Western Oregon, Washington & British Columbia.

Book Details:

Seashore Life of the Northern PacificCoast: An Illustrated Guide to Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, by Eugene N. Kozloff (University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 1973, Fifth printing 2000)

The copyright of the article Seashore Life by Eugene Kozloff in Marine Biology & Oceanography is owned by Linda McDonnell. Permission to republish Seashore Life by Eugene Kozloff in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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