Beach Wrack Protocol
Purpose
Beach wrack is defined as the accumulation of organic debris on the upper beach from algae, eelgrass, and terrestrial plant sources on the ebbing tide. Characterizing beach wrack provides valuable information on the habitat of the upper beach and marine-terrestrial connectivity. This may change depending on shoreline armoring, source material alterations, and winter storms. Beach wrack provides food and shelter for many invertebrates, especially beach-hopper amphipods, and also foraging habitat for shorebirds. Quadrat sampling of beach wrack can be concurrent with pitfall trap sampling of invertebrates and surveys for shorebirds.