Читать книгу Oceans For Dummies - Joseph Kraynak - Страница 79

You wouldn’t know it from looking at them, but sea stars are vicious predators — carnivores that can muscle open mussels and clams using their five mighty suction-cup-equipped arms. But that’s not even the coolest part. After gaining entrance, they literally spill their guts, ejecting their stomachs from inside their bodies, through their mouths to digest their prey. After dining, they suck their stomachs back in (not just in a vain attempt to look more fit). And they wonder why they can’t get anyone to come over for dinner.

Plants and animals living in the low intertidal region aren’t as well-adapted to hot spells and dry spells as organisms that live higher up in the intertidal zone. The good news is that they’re generally well-adapted to getting body slammed by waves that would otherwise push or pull them out to sea. If you’ve ever been rocked by a big wave, you know the feeling … well, actually you don’t really, because you’re a lot bigger than a tiny little crab. Inhabitants of the intertidal zone must feel like the world is crashing down on them every few seconds. But they’re tough, they’ve adapted, and now, for them, it’s just the way life is.