Invertebrate dominated Black sea circalittoral rock

Description (English)

Circalittoral rock occurs on rocky coasts in depths between 10-15 m (depending on local conditions of light penetration) down to 30-70m (depending on how deep rocky reefs occur at the location). The fauna is highly diverse, including many invertebrate and fish species which occur only in this habitat, some of them rare or protected. The dominant species is often the blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, but in certain subtypes other benthic species may dominate:- crusts and turfs formed by bryozoans, crust sponges (Dysideasp.) or colonial tunicates Botryllus schlosseri;- vertical walls and ridges can be covered either by dense colonies of erect, branched sponges Halichondria sp. and Haliclona sp. or by solitary ascidians Molgula manhattensis, Ascidiella aspersa, Ciona intestinalis;- Hydrozoans can form dense turfs and even tall canopies in the case of larger species (Obelia longissima)

Source: EUNIS habitat classification