Abstract
Rocky shore habitat is biologically rich environment and can include many different habitat types such as steep rocky cliffs, platforms, rock pools and boulder fields. In many of the tropical islands, confluence of land and sea is rocky or covered with coral base providing a unique habitat for some specialised fauna. Each region on the coast has a specific group of organisms that form distinct horizontal bands or zones on the rocks. The appearance of dominant species in these zones is called vertical zonation. Organisms that live in this area experience daily and seasonal fluctuations in their living environment. For this reason, they must be able to tolerate extreme changes in temperature, salinity, moisture and wave action to survive. Some of the common animal groups inhabiting rocky shores are algae, lichens, sponges, sea anemones marine worms, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms and some fishes. These fauna and habitat are under increasing threat from both anthropogenic activity and climate change events. A case study was carried out in the tropical island of South Andaman to assess the status of rocky shore habitat, fauna and its diversity. Effect of anthropogenic activity on the rocky shore fauna is also highlighted with examples from around the world.
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