Pontic Cystoseira barbata on exposed cobbles, boulders and bedrock mixed with and scoured by sand

Description (English)

The dominant species in the Cystoseira biocenosis is the brown alga Cystoseira barbata, which develops on rocky substrates from the spray zone to a depth of 15 m. The mass species are: the molluscs Mytilaster lineatus and Rissoa splendida; the amphipods Amphythoe vaillanti and Caprella acantifera; and the polychaetes Grubea clavata. Other common species include: the polychaetes Nereis succinea, Nephthys hombergii and Terebellides stroemi; the molluscs Cerastoderma glaucum, Irus irus, Polititapes aurea, Donacilla cornea and Pitar rudis (Zaitsev and Alexandrov, 1998). Along the Romanian shores Mytilaster lineatus, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Balanus improvisus are the species occurring with highest frequency within this habitat (which extends until 6 meters depth). Of these species Mytilaster is the most important species in terms of density and biomass amounting to almost 80% of the sessile fauna observed. The most important macrobenthic taxa amount to 40 species of which 77% amphipods, 9% polichaetes and 8% isopods. Most frequent amphipods, occurring annually, are Erichtonius difformis, Amphitoe vaillanti, Corophium acherusicum, Stenothoe monoculoides, Jassa ocia, Hyale pontica. The most frequently occurring isopods are: Idothea baltica, Nassa (Dynamena) bidentata, Synisoma capito. The most frequently observed polychaetes are Fabricia clavella and Brania clavata (Tiganus, 1991-1992).

Source: EUNIS habitat classification