Biodiversity & Conservation

Fabulina fabula and Magelona mirabilis with venerid bivalves in infralittoral compacted fine sand

SS.IGS.FaS.FabMag

<i>%Fabulina fabula%</i> and <i>%Magelona mirabilis%</i> with venerid bivalves in infralittoral compacted fine sand
Distribution map

SS.IGS.FaS.FabMag recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

  • EC_Habitats
  • UK_BAP

Marine natural heritage importance

Listed under EC Habitats Directive
UK Biodiversity Action Plan
National importance Not available
Habitat Directive feature (Annex 1) Sandbanks which are slightly covered by sea water all the time
Large shallow inlets and bays
Estuaries

Biotope importance

  • Sandy areas are often important feeding and nursery areas for flatfish and roundfish (Elliott et al., 1998).
  • Sand eels, Ammodytes sp., provide food for many bird species, including guillemots, razorbills and terns (Elliott et al., 1998).

Exploitation

The biotope is potentially at risk from fishing activities on sandy substrata, e.g. dredging for scallops (Eleftheriou & Robertson, 1992), beam trawling for flatfish, and extraction of sand by the aggregate industry (Eno, 1991).

Additional information icon Additional information

This review can be cited as follows:

Rayment, W.J. 2006. Fabulina fabula and Magelona mirabilis with venerid bivalves in infralittoral compacted fine sand. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/habitatimportance.php?habitatid=142&code=1997>