Fucus serratus on moderately exposed lower eulittoral rock

Description (English)

Lower eulittoral bedrock and stable boulders on moderately exposed to sheltered shores with a canopy of the wrack Fucus serratus and an associated fauna consisting of the limpet Patella vulgata, the barnacle Semibalanus balanoides, the whelk Nucella lapillus, the anemone Actinia equina and the sponge Halichondria panicea. Green seaweeds such as Enteromorpha intestinalis and Ulva lactuca are usually present among/beneath the F. serratus canopy. Three variants of this biotope are described. These are: F. serratus with red seaweeds (A1.2141) and F. serratus with under-boulder communities (A1.2142) with sponges. Lastly, a F. serratus and piddocks community on soft rock has been identified (A1.2143). Dense F. serratus with fewer red seaweeds occurs on more sheltered shores (unit A1 315).
Situation: Above the F. serratus biotope on moderately exposed bedrock shores is the Fucus vesiculosus and/or S. balanoides and P. vulgata dominated biotopes (A1.113; A1.1132; A1.213). On more sheltered shores are biotopes dominated by the wracks F. vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum (A1.313; A1.3141). On moderately exposed shores, the sublittoral fringe below Fser is dominated by the kelp Laminaria digitata and on vertical faces the kelp Alaria esculenta may be present (A3.2112; A3.1112). On more sheltered shores the kelp Laminaria saccharina is found among the L. digitata (A3.3131; A3.3132).

Source: EUNIS habitat classification