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Concept: [Cerastoderma edule] and polychaetes in littoral muddy sand in the eunishabitats vocabulary

Concept URI http://eunis.eea.europa.eu/eunishabitats/A2.242
Preferred label [Cerastoderma edule] and polychaetes in littoral muddy sand
Definition Extensive clean fine sand or muddy sand shores with abundant cockles [Cerastoderma edule]. The community consists of the polychaetes [Eteone longa], [Scoloplos armiger], [Pygospio elegans], [Spio filicornis] and [Capitella capitata], the crustaceans [Bathyporeia sarsi], [Bodotria arenosa arenosa] and [Crangon crangon], the spire shell [Hydrobia ulvae], as well as the cockle [C. edule] and the baltic tellin [Macoma balthica]. This biotope carries commercially viable stocks of [C. edule], and it is therefore possible to find areas of this habitat where the infauna may have been changed through recent cockle dredging. Cockle dredging can result in a reduced bivalve abundance and reduced densities of some polychaete species, including [P. elegans] (Moore, 1991). At the outer edges of large flats, there may be a zone between the cockle beds and more exposed sands, where there are fewer cockles and [B. sarsi] is the commoner species. Situation: The community is found mainly on the mid and lower shore where the sediment is water-saturated most of the time. Where it occurs in muddy sand, CerPo has broad transition areas with MacAre and the MEST communities, and where it occurs on clean sand shores, it may have broad transition areas with Myt.Sa. Higher on the shore, adjacent to this biotope, BatCare is found, with fewer polychaete and bivalve species due to the drier sediment found on the upper shore. Temporal variation: A layer of mud with dense spionid polychaetes may build up on cockle beds in sheltered areas, creating a cohesive muddy layer 10-15 cm thick overlying the whole area. This may break up leaving a series of pits and patches with miniature cliffs, giving it an appearance similar to a stony shore when seen from a distance. It should be noted that where it occurs, [Hydrobia ulvae] tends to move a lot and may be highly variable in abundance.
Notation A2.242
Status Valid
Status Modified 2014-01-31
Accepted Date 2014-01-31
Not Accepted Date
Has broader
Has exact match