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Concept: Solitary ascidians, including [Ascidia mentula] and [Ciona intestinalis], on wave-sheltered circalittoral rock in the eunishabitats vocabulary

Concept URI http://eunis.eea.europa.eu/eunishabitats/A4.311
Preferred label Solitary ascidians, including [Ascidia mentula] and [Ciona intestinalis], on wave-sheltered circalittoral rock
Definition This biotope predominantly occurs on the upper faces of wave-sheltered (often sealochs) circalittoral bedrock, boulder and cobble slopes with little tidal flow. Apart from the solitary ascidians [Ciona intestinalis] and [Ascidia mentula], this biotope has a rather barren, pink appearance (due to the encrusting red algae), possibly due to grazing pressure from the sea urchin [Echinus esculentus]. Other organisms found encrusting the rocky surface include the polychaete [Pomatoceros triqueter] and the cup coral [Caryophyllia smithii]. Other species occasionally encountered include [Alcyonium digitatum], [Asterias rubens], [Pagurus berhardus], [Crossaster papposus], [Antedon bifida] and [Metridium senile]. Crustaceans such as [Munida rugosa] and [Cancer pagurus] may be recorded in crevices. Two variants of this biotope exist: AmenCio.Ant and AmenCio.Bri. AmenCio.Bri occurs where is a dense carpet of brittlestars which sometimes completely cover the rocky substratum. Species present include [Ophiothrix fragilis], [Ophiocomina nigra] and [Ophiura albida]. Temporal variation: The abundance of [C. intestinalis] tends to fluctuate seasonally, so it may appear absent at a site at one time of year and then be present at other times, altering the visual appearance of the biotope. Other solitary ascidian species such as [A. mentula] and [Ascidiella aspersa] tend to be longer-lived (approximately 7 years and 3 years, respectively).
Notation A4.311
Status Valid
Status Modified 2014-01-31
Accepted Date 2014-01-31
Not Accepted Date
Has broader
Has narrower
Has exact match