The seashore

Summary Great Britain and Ireland have extensive and varied seashores. They range from exposed rocky headlands, to coarse shingle, broad sandy beaches, estuaries and saltmarshes. The seashores of Great Britain and Ireland provide a wealth of biodiversity, which not only contributes to the functioning of these ecosystems, but also provides an aesthetic value enjoyed by the general public. These shores are, however, subject to a variety of impacts which range from eutrophication, pollution by sewage, heavy metals and chemicals, littering, the establishment of non-native species, as well as the over-arching direct and indirect effects of global climate change. These impacts all have implications for biodiversity on the seashore and range from sub-lethal effects on individuals, through populations, to community-level responses. Despite this, the outlook for seashores is an optimistic one; as the very nature of these shores means they are highly resilient and pollution control in recent years has led to real improvement. It is important, however, to emphasise that these impacts will not act in isolation but will interact with one another. Caution is emphasised, as current information on many of these interactions is lacking. The current state of seashores is considered before discussing the future, focusing on the interactions of global change with regional- and local- scale impacts. Introduction Seashores and coastal ecosystems contain a huge variety of habitats and species and these areas often provide the first and only experience of marine biodiversity for many people.