Ascophyllum nodosum ecad. mackaii beds on extremely sheltered mid eulittoral mixed substrata
Quick facts
EUNIS habitat type | code A1.325 |
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Description (English)
Extremely sheltered mid shore mixed substrata, usually subject to variable salinity due to freshwater runoff, which support beds of the non-attached growth form of the wrack Ascophyllum nodosum ecad mackaii. Cobbles and other hard substrata are often characterised by the normal form of A. nodosum with the red seaweed Polysiphonia lanosa growing as an epiphyte and other fucoids such as Fucus vesiculosus. The loose mats of A. nodosum ecad mackaii provide a cryptic and humid habitat for mobile species including gammarids, the crab Carcinus maenas and the winkles Littorina littorea, Littorina obtusata and Littorina saxatilis. The barnacle Semibalanus balanoides and the mussel Mytilus edulis are commonly attached to pebbles and cobbles on the sediment, while the infauna may contain the polychaetes Arenicola marina and Lanice conchilega. NB: This biotope is a BAP-habitat.
Situation: Occurs in extremely sheltered conditions at the heads of Scottish sea lochs (but is also known from other sheltered areas).
Temporal variation: A. nodosum ecad mackaii develops initially from broken fragments of A. nodosum and can in sheltered conditions grow in unattached, often bladderless, wig-shaped masses in the mid to upper tide zone. Note: "Ecad" has no official status in International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, but the terminology has been applied to the free-living form of A. nodosum since the beginning of the 19th century. The term was first employed by Clements (1905) to denote a form which results from adaptation or a change in morphology due to a new habitat - phenotypic variation.
Source: EUNIS habitat classification
Vegetation types
Relation to vegetation types (syntaxa)
Not availableSpecies mentioned in habitat description
Species scientific name | English common name | Species group |
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Fucus vesiculosus | Algae | |
Arenicola marina | Invertebrates | |
Carcinus maenas | Invertebrates | |
Lanice conchilega | Invertebrates | |
Mytilus edulis | Invertebrates |
Other classifications
Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type |
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Marine Habitat Classification Britain/Ireland 0405 | LR.LLR.FVS.Ascmac | <I>Ascophyllum nodosum</I> ecad <I>mackaii</I> beds on extremely sheltered mid eulittoral mixed substrata | source |
CORINE Land Cover | 4.2.3. | Intertidal flats | n/a |
History
Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type |
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EUNIS Habitat Classification 200410 | A1.325 | Ascophyllum nodosum ecad. mackaii beds on extremely sheltered mid eulittoral mixed substrata | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200308 | A1.3231 | Ascophyllum nodosum ecad. mackaii beds on extremely sheltered mid eulittoral mixed substrata | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200202 | A1.3231 | Ascophyllum nodosum ecad. mackaii beds on extremely sheltered mid eulittoral mixed substrata | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199910 | A1.3231 | Ascophyllum nodosum ecad. mackaii beds on extremely sheltered mid eulittoral mixed substrata | same |
MNCR BioMar 97.06 (Britain & Ireland) | SLR.FX.AscX.mac | Ascophyllum nodosum ecad. mackaii beds on extremely sheltered mid eulittoral mixed substrata | same |