All of the populations of species living in an area form a community. Add the abiotic factors of the environment, and a community becomes an ecosystem. Ecosystems are subdivisions of biomes. These large geographical areas share similar climate and vegetation patterns. Tide pools are part of the intertidal zone, a biome located where land meets the sea. The central California coastline, including the land above the Moss Beach tide pools in the town of Moss Beach, lies within the Mediterranean forest, Woodland, and scrub biome.