Beach Dune
Along Nova Scotia’s exposed coast, beaches and sand dunes form a constantly changing boundary between land and sea. In the Chéticamp area of Cape Breton, wind, waves and drifting sand continually reshape the shoreline. Although dunes can appear fragile and sparsely vegetated, they support a surprising variety of plants and wildlife while providing an important natural buffer against storms and coastal erosion.
Life along a beach follows a distinct pattern known as zonation. Closest to the ocean, shifting sand, waves, salt spray and occasional flooding create difficult conditions for plants. American searocket is one of the hardy plants able to grow along this upper beach. Behind it, the primary dune begins to form as American marram grass traps windblown sand among its stems and roots. As sand accumulates, the grass grows upward through it, helping build and stabilize the dune. Searocket can also occur among these young, shifting dunes.
Farther inland, conditions become more sheltered and the secondary dune supports a greater variety of plants. Seaside pea, sea sandwort, Scots lovage and sea-watch add colour and diversity. These plants help hold the sand in place while providing food and shelter for insects and other wildlife.
Among the most distinctive insects in the scene is the Short-tailed Swallowtail, a butterfly closely associated with the coasts of Atlantic Canada and especially characteristic of Cape Breton. Its caterpillars feed on plants in the carrot family, including Scots lovage, making the native plants of coastal dunes and meadows important to its life cycle. Other flower visitors include the Red-belted Bumble Bee, Dunning’s Miner, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Greater Bee Fly, Goldenrod Soldier Beetle and Black Swallowtail.
The beach itself provides another kind of habitat. Long-claw Hermit Crabs and Atlantic Rock Crabs inhabit nearby coastal waters, while shells of Northern Moonsnails, Atlantic Jackknife Clams, Atlantic Surfclams and Soft-shelled Clams may wash ashore. Mermaid’s purses—the egg cases of skates—sometimes provide another clue to life beneath the waves.
Overhead, the coast attracts Herring, Ring-billed, Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, along with Black-legged Kittiwakes, Common Terns and Semipalmated Plovers. A Northern Gannet rests on the dune in this scene, while a family of Red Foxes explores the shoreline.
Together, the beach, primary dune and secondary dune form one connected ecosystem—each zone creating the conditions for the next and helping protect both wildlife and the coastline behind it.