Biodiversity & Conservation

MLR.Salv can support a highly diverse associated fauna. Dias & Paula (2001), for example, recorded a total of 137 taxa associated with Sabellaria alveolata colonies in two areas on the Portuguese coast. In addition to the direct role of providing a habitat or substratum for a variety of flora and fauna, Sabellaria alveolata reefs may indirectly enhance species richness by stabilizing otherwise mobile shingle, pebbles and cobbles, for example, on cobble shores. Holt et al. (1998) reported that within the Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau SAC, sheets of Sabellaria alveolata "cement boulders and cobbles". These extensive sheets can form ridges on flat shores which trap water to create pools (Cunningham et al., 1984).

The biotope will vary in importance slightly with time as species come and go depending on the state of the reefs (Porras et al., 1996). If dense Fucus serratus is present then this may form a nursery ground for species such as Nucella lapillus. Such algae also provide substrata for species such as Spirorbis spirorbis as well as a feeding location for grazing molluscs including Patella vulgata and Littorina littorea. The surface of Sabellaria alveolata has been noted to possibly provide a barrier to limpets. No species are noted for feeding on Sabellaria alveolata itself.

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