Description of Very tide-swept faunal communities on circalittoral rock
Identity:
This habitat type occurs in wave-exposed, tide-swept narrows and straits on circalittoral bedrock and boulders. The biotopes within this complex are characterised by a high abundance of the robust hydroid Tubularia indivisa. The barnacle Balanus crenatus is characteristic of A4.111, the cushion sponges Halichondria panicea and Myxilla incrustans are characteristic of A4.1121 and Alcyonium digitatum is characteristic of A4.1122. The anemones Sagartia elegans, Actinothoe sphyrodeta, Urticina felina, Corynactis viridis and Metridium senile are all found within this complex. Other species present in this high-energy complex are the sponges Esperiopsis fucorum and Pachymatisma johnstonia, the bryozoans Alcyonidium diaphanum and Flustra foliacea, Cancer pagurus, Sertularia argentea and Asterias rubens.
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