General Schemes of Classification in Relation to Marine Coastal Zonation

Abstract

A reply to criticisms of the concepts used by Stephenson and his co-workers in the study of marine coastal zonation. So far as rocky coasts are concerned there is no justification for departing from their scheme and the arguments are supported by references to work in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. Information on other types of shore is so meagre that the time is not ripe to extend its application to salt marsh or sandy or muddy beach. There is no justification for the Stephensons'' recent change from the term sub-littoral to infra-littoral and since most workers use the former it should be retained. On rocky coasts it is the sub-littoral and supra-littoral zones that are most in need of further study.