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Marine Habitat Classification


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1 result for 'SS.SSa.IFiSa.TbAmPo'

   SS.SSa.IFiSa.TbAmPo  Semi-permanent tube-building amphipods and polychaetes in sublittoral sand

Sublittoral marine sand in moderately exposed or sheltered inlets and voes in shallow water may support large populations of semi-permanent tube-building amphipods and polychaetes. Typically dominated by Crassicorophium crassicorne with other tube building amphipods such as Ampelisca spp. also being common. Other taxa include typical shallow sand fauna such as Spiophanes bombyx, Urothoe elegans, Bathyporeia spp. along with various polychaetes including Parexogone hebes, and Lanice conchilega. Polydora ciliata may also be abundant in some areas. At the sediment surface, Arenicola marina worm casts may be visible and occasional seaweeds such as Saccharina latissima may be present. As many of the sites featuring this biotope are situated near fish farms, it is possible that it may have developed as the result of moderate nutrient enrichment, which may lead the biotope to transition into an organically enriched variant, related to SS.SMx.CMx.KurThyMx. The distribution of this biotope is poorly known and like the muddier SS.SMu.ISaMu.AmpPlon, to which it is related, appears to have a patchy distribution.
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