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1 result for 'IR.LIR.K.LhypSlat.Pk'

   IR.LIR.K.LhypSlat.Pk  Mixed Laminaria hyperborea and Saccharina latissima park on sheltered lower infralittoral rock

Sheltered silted, bedrock and boulders with a park of mixed Laminaria hyperborea and Saccharina latissima. Both kelp species are sparse in the park (Frequent). Beneath the often 'cape-form' kelp canopy, foliose red seaweeds such as Delesseria sanguinea, Cryptopleura ramosa, Heterosiphonia plumosa and Vertebrata byssoides are often present at high densities on the silted rock. Other red seaweeds such as encrusting coralline algae, Phycodrys rubens, Metacallophyllis laciniata, Bonnemaisonia asparagoides and Plocamium cartilagineum can be present. Other brown seaweeds include Dictyota dichotoma and Desmarestia aculeata. The animal component of this biotope is generally richer than the upper infralittoral mixed kelp forest (LhypLsac.Ft). A variety of hydroids such as Obelia geniculata grow epiphytically on the kelp fronds along with the bryozoan Membranipora membranacea. The echinoderm Antedon bifida and ascidians such as Clavelina lepadiformis attach to the kelp stipes, above the silted rock. The rock itself supports anthozoans such as Caryophyllia smithii and Urticina felina as well as the tube-building polychaete Spirobranchus triqueter and the crap Necora puber. Grazers include the prominent echinoderm Echinus esculentus and the gastropods Steromphala cineraria and Calliostoma zizyphinum. Where pockets of sediment occur, there may be an increase in infaunal species such as the burrowing anthozoan Cerianthus lloydii, the brittlestar Ophiura albida, and starfish Asterias rubens. Although there is a decrease in the number of algal species in the kelp park, the abundance remains relatively high.
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