Dense Desmarestia spp. with filamentous red seaweeds on exposed Atlantic infralittoral cobbles, pebbles and bedrock
Description (English)
Wave-exposed seasonally mobile substrata (pebbles, cobbles) dominated by dense stands of the brown seaweed Desmarestia aculeata and/or Desmarestia ligulata. Infralittoral pebbles and cobbles that are scoured through mobility during storms, but become stable in the summer allowing the growth of such algae as Desmarestia spp. Filamentous red seaweeds such as Bonnemaisonia asparagoides and Brongniartella byssoides are usually present. Stunted individuals of the kelp such as Laminaria hyperborea and Laminaria saccharina may be present where bedrock is available. A variety of foliose red seaweeds such as Cryptopleura ramosa, Chondrus crispus, Plocamium cartilagineum, Hypoglossum hypoglossoides and Nitophyllum punctatum may on occasion be present underneath the kelp canopy. Other red algae including Corallina officinalis, Rhodomela confervoides and coralline crusts including Lithothamnion spp. may be present as well as well as the foliose brown seaweed Dictyota dichotoma and the green Enteromorpha intestinalis. Due to the nature of this biotope the faunal component is very impoverished though the gastropod Gibbula cineraria can be found among the cobbles.
Situation: Often a narrow zone on mixed substrata below a stable zone of kelp on bedrock. Where seasonally mobile substrata affect nearby bedrock this biotope may occur in place of kelp forest.
Source: EUNIS habitat classification
Quick facts
EUNIS habitat type | code MB1234 |
---|---|
Relation to | Resolution 4 habitat type (used for designation of Emerald sites) |
Legal status
Relation to other habitat types mentioned in legal instruments
Vegetation types
Relation to vegetation types (syntaxa)
Not availableSpecies mentioned in habitat description
Species scientific name | English common name | Species group |
---|---|---|
Bonnemaisonia asparagoides | Algae | |
Brongniartella byssoides | Algae | |
Chondrus crispus | Algae | |
Corallina officinalis | Algae | |
Cryptopleura ramosa | Algae | |
Desmarestia aculeata | Algae | |
Desmarestia ligulata | Algae | |
Dictyota dichotoma | Algae | |
Enteromorpha intestinalis | Algae | |
Laminaria hyperborea | Algae | |
Laminaria saccharina | Algae | |
Nitophyllum punctatum | Algae | |
Plocamium cartilagineum | Algae | |
Rhodomela confervoides | Algae | |
Gibbula cineraria | Invertebrates |
Other classifications
Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type |
---|---|---|---|
EUNIS Habitat Classification 2007 (revised descriptions 2012) | A3.124 | Dense Desmarestia spp. with filamentous red seaweeds on exposed infralittoral cobbles, pebbles and bedrock | same |
History
Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200410 | A3.124 | Dense Desmarestia spp. with filamentous red seaweeds on exposed infralittoral cobbles, pebbles and bedrock | same |