SplendidSands

   Rezovo Beach is located on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, along its southern border with Turkey. This shoreline features wide and long beaches, a number of bays and rocky headlands. Forming the natural boundary between the two countries, the Rezovo River streams into the Black Sea delivering nutrients and diluting the sea. The reduced salinity, half of the ocean’s, influences marine biodiversity. Compared to the Mediterranean, the Black Sea supports two to five times fewer species and no corals, octopuses, squids, or sea urchins.

   This colorful sample illustrates a brackish ecosystem. The purple-blue fragments are Mediterranean blue mussels. The conical sea snails are Cerithidum. The red and green striped gastropod is a Gibbula divaricata, and the striped fragment to the left is a Tricolia pullus. A few dark rock fragments are scattered among the well-polished shell fragments.