Laminaria saccharina and Laminaria digitata on sheltered sublittoral fringe rock

Description (English)

Sheltered bedrock and boulders in the sublittoral fringe characterised by a mixed canopy of the kelp Laminaria digitata (usually in its broad-fronded cape-form) and Laminaria saccharina - both species are generally Frequent or greater. Beneath the kelp canopy, the understorey of red seaweeds often includes Chondrus crispus, Dumontia contorta, Bonnemaisonia hamifera and Plocamium cartilagineum. The surface of the rock is usually covered with encrusting coralline algae as well as non-calcified red crusts and the tube-building polychaete Pomatoceros triqueter. The brown seaweeds Chorda filum, Ectocarpaceae and Fucus serratus can be present along with the green seaweeds Ulva lactuca and Enteromorpha intestinalis. Patches of the sponge Halichondria panicea can frequently be found in cracks and crevices. Beneath and between boulders a variety of mobile crustaceans such as Carcinus maenas, the gastropod Gibbula cineraria and the starfish Asterias rubens are common.
Situation: Where hard substrata occur on the shore, this biotope will be found below the F. serratus zone (units A1.3151, A1.214 or A1.3152 on mixed substrata). With such sheltered shores, the transition between sublittoral fringe and the true sublittoral zone may not be distinct; this biotope therefore extends into the shallow sublittoral kelp forest below (A3.3121, A3.3121 or A3.314).

Source: EUNIS habitat classification