Gulf of Maine Landscapes: Coastal Waters



Horse mussels provide habitat for sponges, algae, and urchins	Atlantic rock crab preying on juvenile sea scallop	Radiated shanny finds shelter in a small crevice	Decorator crab uses sponge and seaweed as camouflage	Frilled anemone feeds on seston in drifting in the water column
A herd of northern sea stars feeding on a patch of mussels	The coloration of this sand shrimp provides camouflage on bottom	Granite fissure provides refuge for attached horse mussels	Horse mussels provide living space for a diversity of organisms	Juvenile white hake has modified pectoral fins to sense prey on the seafloor
Sand dollars sift through the sand, feeding on organic matter	Blood star feeding on a palmate sponge	Sea scallops filter suspended food particles in a fashion similar to the worms living in the tubes below	Sponges draw water through their pores into a primitive digestive cavity	Frilled anemones retract tentacles into stalks
The American lobster is a voracious predator that plays an important role in structuring seafloor communities	Here a diver holds a 14-pound lobster. The largest American lobster on record was over 40 pounds.	A diversity of invertebrates compete for space on rock surfaces	Sea stars are voracious predators of invertebrate communities	Atlantic rock crab preying on small urchin


Crevices under boulders are a common type of habitat for the American lobster	American lobster rushing out of its burrow in defense	Lumpfish have modified pectoral fins that form a suction disk, allowing it to maintain position in surge and currents	Sea ravens are ambush predators with appendages that mimic algae to conceal their presence	Sea raven resting atop a boulder, awaiting the approach of potential prey
Dogfish, an aggressive predator, moves swiftly across the benthos in search of prey	Juvenile silver hake feed on amphipods and small shrimps, turning to fish as they grow	Atlantic cod and Acadian redfish in a boulder reef habitat	Large boulders were moved by glaciers and now provide habitat for diverse invertebrates and fishes	Juvenile hake using a burrowing anemone for cover