The Gulf of Maine Sandy Shores Ecology Lab Collection contains an assortment of common living animals and plants collected from the intertidal and subtidal area of a sandy shore. Species that are usually included are:

Chlorophyta: green sea lettuce (Ulva)

Phaeophyta: sugar kelp (Alaria)

Cnidaria: burrowing anemone (Edwarsia)

Mollusca: ten ridged whelk (Neptunea), chestnut astarte (Astarte), slipper shell (Crepidula), common periwinkle (Littorina), soft shelled clam (Mya)

Annelida: sandworm (Nereis), spaghetti worm (Amphitrite), shimmy worm (Nephtys), lugworm (Arenicola), bloodworms (Glycera)

Arthropoda: hermit crab (Pagurus), green crab (Carcinus), bent mysid shrimp (Mysis), sand shrimp (Crangon), beach flea (Orchestia)

Echinodermata: sylky sea cucumber (Chiridota), sand dollar (Echinarachnius), northern sea star (Asterias), green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus)