Description of biotope or habitat type
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Siphonoecetes, Nephtyidae polychaetes and venerid bivalves in circalittoral sand
Physical habitat description
| Salinity | Full (30-35 ppt) |
|---|---|
| Wave exposure | Moderately exposed |
| Tidal streams | Moderate |
| Substratum | Sand, Coarse sand |
| Zone | Circalittoral |
| Depth Band | 20-30 m |
| Other Features |
Biotope origin
| Derived using data from | Day Grab |
| 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
Circalittoral shallow coarse or medium sands (with shells and gravel) characterised by a community of amphipods, Nephtyidae and bivalves. This biotope has been recorded on sandbanks to the East of Isle of Man (Irish Sea). The description of this biotope is based on infauna recorded from the above location but could be found in other areas with similar environmental conditions. The infauna was impoverished and characterised by Siphonoecetes, Sthenelais limicola, clean sand loving Nephtyidae polychaetes Aglaphamus agilis, Nephthys cirrosa and venerid bivalves Asbjornsenia pygmaea and Venus casina. This biotope was described using Day grab infaunal data and the characterising species listed will partly reflect the method used to collect data.
Situation
No situation data available.
Temporal variation
No temporal data available.
Characterising species
| Taxon | Relative importance of taxon for defining this community (%) | % of core records where taxon was recorded | Relative frequency % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Siphonoecetes | 27 | 21-40% | 28.8 |
| Sthenelais limicola | 20 | 1-20% | 5.2 |
| Euspira nitida | 11 | 1-20% | 5.2 |
| Aglaophamus agilis | 7 | 1-20% | 4.9 |
| Nephtys cirrosa | 6 | 1-20% | 4.9 |
| Venus casina | 6 | 1-20% | 4.5 |
| Asbjornsenia pygmaea | 6 | 1-20% | 6.2 |
| Ophelia borealis | 4 | 1-20% | 3.6 |
| Nucula nitidosa | 3 | 1-20% | 2 |
| Pseudomystides limbata | 1 | 1-20% | 1.3 |
| Nemertea | 1 | 1-20% | 3 |
| Glycera lapidum | 1 | 1-20% | 1.6 |
| Scoloplos | 1 | 1-20% | 1.6 |
| Lepidepecreum longicornis | 1 | 1-20% | 1.3 |
| Spiophanes bombyx | 1 | 1-20% | 1.3 |
| Owenia fusiformis | 1 | 1-20% | 2.6 |
| Nicomache | 1 | 1-20% | 1.6 |
Similar biotopes or habitat types
Not applicable or unknown.