The waves that crash on to a seashore are very strong. Seashore plants and animals must hold on tight to keep themselves safe. If they let go, they could be washed away or smashed on the rocks.
These limpets are holding on to a rock.
Seashore animals have different ways of holding on. Limpets use their strong foot to grip tightly on to rocks and stop them from being washed away. Some animals, like sea urchins, cling on to rocks with lots of tiny feet that look like tubes. Mussel shellfish anchor themselves down to rocks with tough threads.
This seaweed grips on tightly to the rocks.
Seaweeds anchor themselves on to rocks to stop them from being washed away by strong waves. Large seaweeds grip on to rocks with strong, finger-like rootlets called holdfasts. During storms, seaweed is ripped off rocks.
Sea otters wrap themselves in seaweed.
When sea otters sleep, they wrap themselves in giant kelp seaweed. They grab a floating end of kelp and spin around in the water. The kelp wraps around the otter and anchors it down. It stops the sea from carrying the sea otter away in its sleep.