Neopycnodonte cochlear beds on exposed and tide-swept circalittoral rocks and cobbles
Quick facts
| Red List habitat type | code NEAA5.65 |
|---|---|
| Threat status | |
| Europe | Data Deficient |
| EU | Data Deficient |
| Relation to |
|
| Source | European Red List habitat factsheet |
| European Red List of habitats reports | |
| European Red List of habitats (Excel table) |
Summary
This habitat occurs in the circalittoral zone on both hard and mixed substrates. It has been recorded in exposed and tide-swept sites at depths of 60 - 150m in the Faial-Pico channel and the Formigas Bank in the Azores and in deeper waters on the upper slope of the Bay of Biscay between 200-500m. Sessile macrofauna is dominated by the oyster Neopycnodonte cochlear and the clam Chama circinata. Some variance has been observed in the abundance of the two species although in shallower zones it may be exclusively Neopycnodonte . On hard substrates the two species growing together may build up to form a calcareous bioherm. The habitat has also been observed on mixed carbonate-volcanoclastic sediment plains where the two species form cobble to small-boulder sized clumps. N. cochlear is able to create thick mantles, serving as hard substrate for other species including foraminifera, bryozoan, ascidians, coral and sponges.
Indicators of quality:
Both biotic and abiotic indicators have been used to describe marine habitat quality. These include: the presence of characteristic species as well as those which are sensitive to the pressures the habitat may face; water quality parameters; levels of exposure to particular pressure, and more integrated indices which describe habitat structure and function, such as trophic index, or successional stages of development in habitats that have a natural cycle of change over time.
The overall quality and continued occurrence of this habitat is dependent on the presence of the predominate structural species, the oyster Neopycnodonte cochlear and the clam Chama circinata species which create the biogenic structural complexity on which the associated species depend. The density and the maintenance of viable populations of these species are therefore likely to be a key indicator of habitat quality, together with the visual evidence of presence or absence of physical damage.
Threat status
Synthesis of Red List assessment
| EU | |
| Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
| Data Deficient | - |
| Europe | |
| Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
| Data Deficient | - |
Confidence in the assessment
Pressures and threats
- Biological resource use other than agriculture & forestry
- Fishing and harvesting aquatic resources
- Professional active fishing
- Benthic or demersal trawling
- Benthic dredging
- Pollution
- Marine water pollution
- Natural System modifications
- Siltation rate changes, dumping, depositing of dredged deposits
Habitat restoration potential
Trends in extent |
|
Average current trend in quantity |
|
Unknown  |
Unknown |
| EU28 | EU28+ |
Trends in quality |
|
Average current trend in quality |
|
| Unknown |
Unknown |
| EU28 | EU28+ |
Conservation and management needs
List of conservation and management needs
- Measures related to wetland, freshwater and coastal habitats
- Restoring/Improving water quality
- Measures related to spatial planning
- Other marine-related measures
- Establish protected areas/sites
- Measures related to hunting, taking and fishing and species management
- Regulation/Management of fishery in marine and brackish systems
Distribution
Geographic occurrence and trends
| Seas | Present or presence uncertain | Current area of habitat (Km2) | Recent trend in quantity (last 50 years) | Recent trend in quality (last 50 years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macaronesia | Present | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast |
Extent of Occurrence, Area of Occupancy and habitat area
| Extent of Occurrence (EOO) (Km2) | Area of Occupancy (AOO) | Current estimated Total Area | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU28 | 430,484 | > 18 | Unknown | These values are likely underestimated. |
| EU28+ | > 18 | Unknown | These values are likely underestimated. |
EOO = the area (km2) of the envelope around all occurrences of a habitat (calculated by a minimum convex polygon).
Characteristic species
Legal status
Relation to other habitat types mentioned in legal instruments
| Legal text | Annex | Name in legal text | Code in legal text |
Habitat type relationship |
More information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora - consolidated version 01/01/2007 | Annex I: natural habitat types of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation | Reefs | 1170 | Narrower | http://ec.europa.eu/environm...rective/index_en.htm |
