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Concept: [Eurydice pulchra] in littoral mobile sand in the eunishabitats vocabulary

Concept URI http://eunis.eea.europa.eu/eunishabitats/A2.2232
Preferred label [Eurydice pulchra] in littoral mobile sand
Definition Well-draining beaches of medium- to fine-grained mobile sand, often (but not always) well sorted. Occasionally, a small fraction of coarse sand may be present. The biotope generally occurs on exposed open coasts, but sometimes in estuarine conditions, supporting populations of the isopod [Eurydice pulchra] and burrowing amphipods which frequently include [Bathyporeia pilosa] and [Haustorius arenarius]. The degree of drainage appears to be a critical factor in determining the presence of polychaetes, with only [Scolelepis squamata] capable of tolerating the well-drained sediments of this biotope. This biotope has two facies: drying upper and mid shore sands, and highly mobile lower shore and shallow sublittoral sand bars. Where this biotope occurs in estuarine conditions, [H. arenarius] is often highly abundant. Situation: AmSco.Eur may occur on the mid and upper shore together with AmSco.Sco, below Ol, or above Amsco.Pon and the Po communities. Under more exposed, open conditions, AmSco.Eur may be restricted to the lower part of the shore, with Ol, barren sand (BarSa) or barren shingle (BarSh) on the upper shore. Tal may occur where driftlines of wracks or other debris accumulate on the upper shore. Temporal variation: Winter storms may reduce the number of or temporarily remove macroinvertebrates from exposed sandy beaches, with the sediment becoming re-colonised during the summer months.
Notation A2.2232
Status Valid
Status Modified 2014-01-31
Accepted Date 2014-01-31
Not Accepted Date
Has broader
Has exact match