Description of biotope or habitat type
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Echinocardium cordatum and Ensis spp. in lower shore and shallow sublittoral slightly muddy fine sand
Physical habitat description
| Salinity | Full (30-35 ppt) |
|---|---|
| Wave exposure | Exposed, Moderately exposed, Sheltered |
| Tidal streams | Moderately strong (1-3 kn), Weak (>1 kn), Very weak (negligible) |
| Substratum | Medium to fine sand; slightly muddy sand |
| Zone | Infralittoral |
| Depth Band | 5-10 m, 10-20 m, 20-30 m, Lower shore |
| Other Features |
Biotope origin
| Derived using data from | Various |
| Faunal group | Epifauna |
Download comparative physical and biological data. The comparative tables enable a rapid comparison of the species composition and principal physical characteristics between a given set of biotopes.
- Records used to define the biotope (core records)
- Other records assigned to this biotope, marked as 'certain'
- Other records assigned to this biotope, marked as 'uncertain'
- Predicted extent of the level 3 (for sublittoral rock & deep sea) or 4 (for sublittoral sediment) habitat
Point data based on records in the UK Marine Recorder Snapshot. Predicted habitat extent is from UKSeaMap.
Description
Sheltered lower shore and shallow sublittoral sediments of sand or muddy fine sand in fully marine conditions, support populations of the urchin Echinocardium cordatum and the razor shell Ensis siliqua or Ensis ensis. Other notable taxa within this biotope include occasional Lanice conchilega, Pagurus, Liocarcinus spp. and Asterias rubens. This biotope has primarily been recorded by epifaunal dive, video or trawl surveys where the presence of relatively conspicuous taxa such as E. cordatum and Ensis spp. have been recorded as characteristic of the community. However, these species, particularly E. cordatum, have a wide distribution and are not necessarily the best choice for a characteristic taxa (Thorson, 1957). Furthermore, detailed quantitative infaunal data for this biotope is rather scarce, possibly as a result of survey method as remote grab sampling is likely to under-estimate deep-burrowing species such as Ensis sp. (Warwick & Davis 1977). Consequently, it may be better to treat this biotope as an epibiotic overlay which is likely to overlap with a number of other biotopes such as SS.SSa.IMuSa.FfabMag, SS.SSa.IFiSa.NcirBat and SS.SSa.CMuSa.AalbNuc with infaunal components of these biotopes occurring within SS.SSa.IMuSa.EcorEns. The precise nature of this infaunal community will be related to the nature of the substratum, in particular the quantity of silt/clay present. Infaunal species may include the polychaetes Spiophanes bombyx, Magelona mirabilis, Nephtys cirrosa and Chaetozone setosa and the amphipod Bathyporeia spp. This biotope is currently broadly defined and needs further consideration as to whether it should be placed at biotope or biotope complex level. SS.SSa.IMuSa.AreISa is another biotope based primarily on epibiotic data. It is likely that this biotope and SS.SSa.IMuSa.EcorEns form a wider epibiotic sand /muddy sand community with SS.SSa.IMuSa.EcorEns biased towards sandier areas and SS.SSa.IMuSa.AreISa towards slightly muddier areas.
Situation
No situation data available.
Temporal variation
No temporal data available.
Characterising species
| Taxon | Relative importance of taxon for defining this community (%) | Typical abundance - SACFOR scale | % of core records where taxon was recorded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spiophanes bombyx | 37 | Common | 61-80% |
| Echinocardium cordatum | 34 | Frequent | 81-100% |
| Lanice conchilega | 14 | Occasional | 61-80% |
| Ensis | 10 | Frequent | 41-60% |
| Magelona mirabilis | 10 | Common | 41-60% |
| Pagurus bernhardus | 9 | Occasional | 61-80% |
| Nephtys cirrosa | 8 | Common | 41-60% |
| Asterias rubens | 7 | Occasional | 41-60% |
| Chaetozone setosa | 6 | 41-60% | |
| Bathyporeia pelagica | 5 | Common | 21-40% |
| Bathyporeia elegans | 3 | Common | 21-40% |
| Iphinoe trispinosa | 3 | Frequent | 41-60% |
| Pleuronectidae | 2 | Frequent | 21-40% |
| Arenicola marina | 2 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Chamelea gallina | 2 | 21-40% | |
| Corystes cassivelaunus | 2 | Rare | 21-40% |
| Ensis ensis | 2 | Super abundant | 1-20% |
| Ensis siliqua | 2 | Frequent | 21-40% |
| Glycera tridactyla | 2 | 21-40% | |
| Tritia reticulata | 2 | Frequent | 21-40% |
| Liocarcinus depurator | 2 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Magelona filiformis | 2 | 21-40% | |
| Pomatoschistus | 2 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Macomangulus tenuis | 1 | 21-40% | |
| Astropecten irregularis | 1 | Occasional | 21-40% |
| Echinocardium cordatum | 1 | 41-60% | |
| Eteone longa | 1 | Abundant | 21-40% |
| Euspira nitida | 1 | Rare | 21-40% |
| Centraloecetes kroyeranus | 1 | 21-40% | |
| Tellimya ferruginosa | 1 | 21-40% |
Similar biotopes or habitat types
SS.SMp.SSgr.Zmar
In some areas the seagrass Zostera subg. Zostera marina may occur in low densites in this biotope but does not form distinct beds as in SS.SMp.SSgr.Zmar.Classification history of this biotope or habitat type
| Classification version | Code | Habitat name |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 (15.03) | SS.SSa.IMuSa.EcorEns | Echinocardium cordatum and Ensis spp. in lower shore and shallow sublittoral slightly muddy fine sand |
| 2004 (04.05) | SS.SSa.IMuSa.EcorEns | Echinocardium cordatum and Ensis spp. in lower shore and shallow sublittoral slightly muddy fine sand |
| 1997 (97.06) | SS.IMS.FaMS.EcorEns | Echinocardium cordatum and Ensis spp. in lower shore or shallow sublittoral muddy fine sand |
| 1996 (6.95) | IGS.EcorEsil |