Bioerosion of intertidal limestone, Co. Clare, Eire — 3: Zonation, process and form

Scanning electron microscope photographs show that perforation by boring algae was the dominant agency in bioerosion in the mid-intertidal, with lichen penetration occurring in the upper intertidal and sponge boring in the lower. Chemical data showed that dissolution was possible but SEM observations suggested that it was of limited importance, dominating micro-surface form only in pools and the lower intertidal if algal and other biological covers were absent. Abrasion was also only locally important. Meso-scale form is interpreted in terms of the vertical distribution of bioerosive organisms, as influenced by the presence or absence of structural benches: slopes occurring within a bioerosive zone were dominated by forms produced by the particular organisms present.