Description of biotope or habitat type
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Lagis koreni and Phaxas pellucidus in circalittoral sandy mud
Physical habitat description
| Salinity | Full (30-35 ppt) |
|---|---|
| Wave exposure | Exposed, Moderately exposed |
| Tidal streams | Strong (3-6 kn), Moderately strong (1-3 kn), Weak (>1 kn), Very weak (negligible) |
| Substratum | Sandy mud |
| Zone | Circalittoral |
| Depth Band | 10-20 m, 20-30 m, 30-50 m, 50-100 m |
| Other Features |
Biotope origin
| Derived using data from | Various |
| Faunal group | Infauna |
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
In stable circalittoral sandy mud dense populations of the tube building polychaete Lagis koreni may occur. Other species found in this habitat typically include bivalves such as Phaxas pellucidus, Kurtiella bidentata and Abra alba and polychaetes such as Mediomastus fragilis, Spiophanes bombyx, Owenia fusiformis and Scalibregma inflatum as well as mixed arthropods. At the sediment surface easily visible fauna include Lagis koreni and Ophiura ophiura. Lagis koreni is an important source of food for commercially important demersal fish, especially dab and plaice (Macer, 1967; Lockwood, 1980 and Basimi & Grove, 1985). A variant of this biotope recorded from Liverpool Bay, Cardigan Bay, North Wales and the Solway Firth may be found with reduced abundances or an absence of Phaxas pellucidus. Data has been collected using a Day grab and a mini-Hamon grab.
Situation
No situation data available.
Temporal variation
In some areas e.g. Liverpool Bay, SS.SSa.CMuSa.AalbNuc and SS.SMu.CSaMu.LkorPpel have exhibited cyclical behaviour with the community periodically switching from one biotope to another - possibly in relation to dredge spoil disposal (Rees et al. 1992) along with other environmental and biological factors. Both Lagis koreni and Phaxas pellucidus, are capable of tolerating sudden increases in the deposition of sediment and often dominate such areas following such an event. Indeed it is likely that the two biotopes are merely different aspects of the same community as Lagis koreni is often recorded with high densities of Abra alba (Eagle 1975; Rees and Walker 1983). Densities of mature populations of L. koreni may exceed 1000m2.
Characterising species
| Taxon | Relative importance of taxon for defining this community (%) | % of core records where taxon was recorded | Relative frequency % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lagis koreni | 8 | 21-40% | 24.1 |
| Nemertea | 8 | 1-20% | 1.6 |
| Mediomastus fragilis | 6 | 1-20% | 15.8 |
| Scalibregma inflatum | 5 | 1-20% | 2.5 |
| Pholoe baltica | 5 | 1-20% | 6 |
| Kurtiella bidentata | 5 | 1-20% | 6.9 |
| Eteone longa | 4 | 1-20% | 3.5 |
| Tubificoides pseudogaster | 3 | 1-20% | 3.5 |
| Spiophanes bombyx | 2 | 1-20% | 1.3 |
| Abra alba | 2 | 1-20% | 1.8 |
| Podarkeopsis capensis | 2 | 1-20% | 0.3 |
| Pariambus typicus | 2 | 1-20% | 1.5 |
| Acrocnida brachiata | 2 | 1-20% | 0.8 |
| Pholoe inornata | 2 | 1-20% | 5.2 |
| Nucula nitidosa | 2 | 1-20% | 0.6 |
| Tubulanus polymorphus | 2 | 1-20% | 0.4 |
| Phyllodoce groenlandica | 2 | 1-20% | 1.7 |
| Sertularia | 1 | 1-20% | 0.1 |
| Amathia lendigera | 1 | 1-20% | 0.1 |
| Cerebratulus | 1 | 1-20% | 0.3 |
| Fabulina fabula | 1 | 1-20% | 0.4 |
| Actiniaria | 1 | 1-20% | 0.6 |
| Melinna palmata | 1 | 1-20% | 1.5 |
| Hydrallmania falcata | 1 | 1-20% | 0.1 |
| Owenia fusiformis | 1 | 1-20% | 0.3 |
| Euspira nitida | 1 | 1-20% | 0.1 |
| Chaetozone christiei | 1 | 1-20% | 0.3 |
| Ophiura ophiura | 1 | 1-20% | 0.2 |
| Chaetozone gibber | 1 | 1-20% | 1.3 |
| Lanice conchilega | 1 | 1-20% | 0.3 |
| Glycera alba | 1 | 1-20% | 0.2 |
| Glycera tridactyla | 1 | 1-20% | 0.2 |
| Sabellaria spinulosa | 1 | 1-20% | 0.3 |
| Phoronis | 1 | 1-20% | 0.1 |
| Ophiuroidea | 1 | 1-20% | 0.7 |
| Scoloplos | 1 | 1-20% | 0.1 |
| Thyasira flexuosa | 1 | 1-20% | 0.3 |
| Nephtys hombergii | 1 | 1-20% | 0.1 |
| Vesicularia spinosa | 1 | 1-20% | 0 |
| Magelona filiformis | 1 | 1-20% | 0.4 |
| Eucratea loricata | 1 | 1-20% | 0 |
| Notomastus | 1 | 1-20% | 0.2 |
| Tellimya ferruginosa | 1 | 1-20% | 0.2 |
| Amphiura filiformis | 1 | 1-20% | 1.3 |
Similar biotopes or habitat types
SS.SSa.CMuSa.AalbNuc
The current biotope is closely related to SS.SSa.CMuSa.AalbNuc but tends to occur in muddier substratum.Classification history of this biotope or habitat type
| Classification version | Code | Habitat name |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 (15.03) | SS.SMu.CSaMu.LkorPpel | Lagis koreni and Phaxas pellucidus in circalittoral sandy mud |
| 2004 (04.05) | SS.SMu.CSaMu.LkorPpel | Lagis koreni and Phaxas pellucidus in circalittoral sandy mud |