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Concept: Dense [Lanice conchilega] and other polychaetes in tide-swept infralittoral sand and mixed gravelly sand in the eunishabitats vocabulary

Concept URI http://eunis.eea.europa.eu/eunishabitats/A5.137
Preferred label Dense [Lanice conchilega] and other polychaetes in tide-swept infralittoral sand and mixed gravelly sand
Definition Dense beds of [Lanice conchilega] occur in coarse to medium fine gravelly sand in the shallow sublittoral, where there are strong tidal streams or wave action. Several other species of polychaete also occur as infauna e.g. [Spiophanes bombyx], [Scoloplos armiger], [Chaetozone setosa] and [Magelona mirabilis]. Lanice beds are found in a wide range of habitats including muddier mixed sediment. The dense [Lanice] biotope (LGS.Lan) on certain lower shores may be a littoral extension of the current biotope. The presence of [L. conchilega] in high numbersmay, over time, stabilise the sediment to the extent where a more diverse community may develop (Wood, 1987). Possibly as a result of this, there is a high level of variation with regard the infauna found in SCS.SLan. It is likely that a number of sub-biotopes may subsequently be identified for this biotope. Offshore from the Wash and the North Norfolk coast [Lanice] beds are often found intermixed with [Sabellaria spinulosa] beds in muddier mixed sediment, particularly in the channels between the shallow sandbanks, which are so prevalent in this area (IECS, 1995; NRA, 1995). It is possible that the presence of [Lanice] has stabilised the habitat sufficiently to allow the deposition of finer material, which has subsequently assisted the development of [S. spinulosa]. It may be more accurate to define SLan as an epibiotic biotope which overlays a variety of infaunal biotopes (e.g. NcirBat in finer sands and AalbNuc or FfabMag in slightly muddier areas).
Notation A5.137
Status Valid
Status Modified 2014-01-31
Accepted Date 2014-01-31
Not Accepted Date
Has broader
Has exact match