The majority of residents are found either in burrows or interspersed among the wet sand grains. The burrows of ghost shrimp and several kinds of polychaete worms become exposed at the lower intertidal beach during low tide. Algae living in the sand often color the wet beaches green during certain seasons and weather conditions. Coquina clams andmole crabs moving just beneath the surface of the sand filterfeed in the backwash of the surf. The intertidal beach is also a visiting place for aquatic and terrestrial animals.
Aquatic animals come in with the tide to feed and to escape from enemies.
Those that die or are left stranded by the retreating tide provide food for the many shore-birds, ghost crabs, raccoons, rats, and insects. The berm is the dry sand area between the intertidal beach and the primary dunes. The berm is usually inundated during storms and high tidal ranges and is rebuilt by the process mentioned above during milder weather and lower tideranges. With such dynamics, plant inhabitation is not permanent. Because of the extreme tidal rangesand gentle slope, the Georgia beaches are characterized by expansive intertidal zones with narrow or nonexistent berms.