Volunteers needed to monitor tide pools Training set for May 24 in Marblehead Last year, with support from the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation, the Massachusetts Audubon Society North Shore office enlisted volunteers from Gloucester and Rockport to study tide pools along the coast of Cape Ann. The results of this monitoring have revealed some startling findings.
Tide pools are the flooded pools left behind when the tide goes out on a rocky shoreline.
The coast of Cape Ann and Salem Sound has a rich assortment of tide pools. These pools are often teeming with life. Starfish, limpets and mussels are three common, native species found throughout the region. Increasingly, however, non-native species like Japanese shore crabs, exotic tunicates, and some foreign seaweed have taken up residence in tide pools. A recent survey by a team of prominent marine scientists found many of these so-called invasive species on buoys and lines in Gloucester and Salem Harbors.