BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Pomatoschistus minutus
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Karen Riley	Data supplied by	MarLIN
Refereed by	Dr Angus Jackson
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & Ireland	The sand goby is abundant along all British and Irish coasts.
Global distribution	Its distribution extends from the eastern Atlantic (Tromso, Norway) to the Mediterranean and areas of the Baltic Sea.
Biogeographic range	Not researched	Depth range	Up to 20 m (sometimes up to 60-70 m)
Migratory	See additional information
Distribution Additional Information	The sand goby is considered to be an abundant species, found along all coasts of the British Isles. It can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and salinities, shown by its distribution from Norway and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean, and the fact that it resides in brackish and fully saline waters. It is usually found in deeper waters and at higher salinities than Pomatoschistus microps. Fonds (1973) showed that adult sand gobies tolerate salinities between 0.9 psu and 45 psu and that they survived and remained in good condition at a temperature as low as 2 °C. However, in the Thames estuary they preferred high salinity and high suspended solids concentrations (Araújo et al., 2000). Pomatoschistus minutus is a migratory species of semi-enclosed lagoon-like environments (Pampoulie et al., 1999). It has been noted to undertake spawning migrations in the Mediterranean Sea (Bouchereau et al., 1989) and thermal migrations in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea (Fonds, 1973; Hesthagen, 1977). Thermal migrations occur when temperatures decrease below 4-5 °C (Fonds, 1973) or increase above 19 °C (Hesthagen, 1977). In the Thames estuary an increase in numbers has been noted during autumn and winter (Araújo et al., 2000). In the Severn estuary, however, goby numbers declined in winter. This was suspected to have reflected a movement away from the shallows and towards deeper, warmer water (Claridge et al., 1985). Healey (1971) observed a scarcity of sand gobies in the Ythan estuary from February to June and, after eliminating decreased temperature, a change in salinity or a change in food supply as a cause, suggested that it was a result of a seasonal migration. Healey (1971) hypothesized that the gobies migrated out to sea so that eggs could develop, however, the hypothesis was subsequently rejected.

Substratum preferences	Coarse clean sand Fine clean sand Sandy mud Muddy sand Mud Mixed	Physiographic preferences	Open coast Estuary Isolated saline water (Lagoon) Enclosed coast / Embayment
Biological zone	Sublittoral Fringe Upper Infralittoral Lower Infralittoral	Wave exposure	Exposed Moderately Exposed Sheltered
Tidal stream strength/Water flow	Insufficient information	Salinity	Full (30-40 psu) Variable (18-40 psu)
Habitat Preferences Additional Information
Distribution References	Fish & Fish, 1996, Hayward et al., 1996, Campbell, 1994, Fonds, 1973, Hesthagen, 1977, Araújo et al., 2000, Claridge et al., 1985, Miller, 1986, Pampoulie et al., 1999, Bouchereau et al., 1989, Healey, 1971, Eno et al., 1997, Bruce et al., 1963, Geffen et al., 1998,