Kelp and seaweed communities in tide-swept sheltered conditions

Description (English)

Sheltered infralittoral rock exposed to strong tidal streams. In the sublittoral fringe dense Laminaria digitata is found together with erect seaweeds, sponges, ascidians and bryozoans (A3.221). Below this, on bedrock and stable boulders a canopy of mixed kelp (primarily Laminaria hyperborea and Laminaria saccharina) occurs with foliose red seaweeds, sponges and ascidians (A3.222). This biotope is typically found in the sheltered narrows and sills of Scottish sealochs. Mixed substrata of boulders, cobbles, pebbles and gravel, that also occurs in the tidal rapids of Scottish sealochs, supports a reduced kelp canopy (L. hyperborea and L. saccharina; typically Frequent), with a rich red seaweed component and maerl at some sites (A3.223). In south-west Britain, sheltered, tide-swept rock is restricted to estuarine conditions where variable salinity and increased turbidity of the water have a significant effect on the biota, limiting the infralittoral zone to very shallow depths. Unlike the tide-swept channels in sealochs, the rock in these estuaries is characterised by a relatively low abundance of L. saccharina (< Common) with foliose red seaweeds, sponges and ascidians (A3.224). L. hyperborea is rarely present.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification