Mixed fucoids, Chorda filum and green seaweeds on reduced salinity infralittoral rock

Description (English)

Permanently submerged mixed fucoids on rock in lagoons. The main species are the wracks Fucus serratus and Fucus vesiculosus, but the brown seaweeds Chorda filum, Ascophyllum nodosum and Ectocarpaceae can be present as well. Red seaweeds are normally present and include Mastocarpus stellatus, Polyides rotundus, Chondrus crispus, Ceramium spp. and coralline crusts. A variety of green seaweeds is also present and include Enteromorpha spp., while dense patches of Cladophora rupestris may occur on vertical rock faces. The faunal component is restricted to the mussel Mytilus edulis, the polychaete Arenicola marina and the crab Carcinus maenas. Opossum shrimps Mysidae can be present as well. The kelp Laminaria saccharina is absent, possibly due to the low salinity conditions.
Situation: Nearby rock often supports similar biotopes of submerged fucoids (units A3.342 and A3.344) or where salinity is further reduced unit A3.343 can occur. Slightly deeper rock often supports Laminaria saccharina (unit A3.3132), usually surrounded by more extensive areas of sediment. Seagrass beds thrive well in the muddy sediments of the lagoons and often cover large areas. They include both Ruppia spp. and Zostera marina and some locations in the Outer Hebrides support dense beds of the nationally rare stonewort Lamprothamnion papulosum (units A5.5343 and A5.5331). The sublittoral mud, which abuts most of the submerged rock, can become anoxic and covered by a bacterial mat of Beggiatoa spp. (unit A5.7211).

Source: EUNIS habitat classification