General Descriptions for Special Area of Conservation Features and Special Protection Area Supporting Habitats
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General descriptions for Special Area of Conservation features and Special Protection Area supporting habitats Contents Purpose of this document ........................................................................................... 4 Special Area of Conservation (SAC) descriptions ...................................................... 4 Allis shad Alosa alosa ................................................................................................ 4 Annual vegetation of drift lines ................................................................................... 5 Annual vegetation of drift lines: MC6 Atriplex prostrate – Beta vulgaris ssp. martima sea-bird cliff community and other vegetation with abundant orache Atriplex spp. on shingle shores .............................................................................. 6 Annual vegetation of drift lines: SD2 Honkenya peploides – Cakile martima strandline communities .......................................................................................... 7 Annual vegetation of drift lines: SD3 Matricaria martima – Galium aparine strandline community on stony substrates ............................................................. 7 Atlantic salt meadows Glauco-Puccinellietalia maritimae ........................................... 8 Atlantic salt meadows Glauco-Puccinellietalia maritimae: lower saltmarsh............ 9 Atlantic salt meadows Glauco-Puccinellietalia maritimae: lower-mid saltmarsh ... 10 Atlantic salt meadows Glauco-Puccinellietalia maritimae: mid-upper saltmarsh .. 11 Atlantic salt meadows Glauco-Puccinellietalia maritimae: upper saltmarsh ......... 11 Atlantic salt meadows Glauco-Puccinellietalia maritimae: pioneer saltmarsh ..... 12 Atlantic salt meadows Glauco-Puccinellietalia maritimae: transition and driftline saltmarsh ............................................................................................................. 12 Coastal lagoons ....................................................................................................... 13 Dunes: dunes with Hippophae rhamnoides .............................................................. 14 Dunes: embryonic shifting dunes ............................................................................. 15 Dunes: fixed dunes with herbaceous vegetation – ‘grey dunes’ ............................... 16 Dunes: shifting dunes along the shoreline with Ammophila arenaria – ‘white dunes’ ................................................................................................................................. 17 Estuaries .................................................................................................................. 18 Grey seal Halichoerus grypus .................................................................................. 19 Harbour (Common) seal Phoca vitulina .................................................................... 20 Large shallow inlets and bays .................................................................................. 21 Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic halophilous scrubs Sarcocornetea fruticosi ...... 22 Mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide .................................... 23 Mudflats and sand flats not covered by seawater at low tide: intertidal coarse sediment .............................................................................................................. 24 Mudflats and sand flats not covered by seawater at low tide: intertidal mixed sediments ............................................................................................................. 25 Mudflats and sand flats not covered by seawater at low tide: intertidal mud ........ 26 Mudflats and sand flats not covered by seawater at low tide: intertidal sand and muddy sand ......................................................................................................... 27 Mudflats and sand flats not covered by seawater at low tide: intertidal seagrass beds ..................................................................................................................... 28 Otter Lutra lutra ........................................................................................................ 29 Reefs ........................................................................................................................ 30 Reefs: circalittoral rock ......................................................................................... 31 Reefs: infralittoral rock ......................................................................................... 32 Reefs: intertidal biogenic reefs - mussel beds ...................................................... 33 Reefs: intertidal biogenic reefs - Sabellaria alveolata .......................................... 34 Reefs: intertidal rock ............................................................................................ 35 Reefs: subtidal biogenic reefs - mussel beds ....................................................... 36 Reefs: subtidal biogenic reefs – sabellaria species .............................................. 37 Reefs: subtidal stony reef ..................................................................................... 38 River lamprey Lampetra fluviatalis ........................................................................... 39 Salicornia and other annuals colonising mud and sand ........................................... 40 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time ............................... 41 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time: maerl beds ....... 41 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time: subtidal coarse sediment .............................................................................................................. 42 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time: subtidal mixed sediment .............................................................................................................. 43 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time: subtidal mud .... 44 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time: subtidal sand .... 45 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time: subtidal seagrass beds ..................................................................................................................... 46 Sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus ........................................................................... 47 Spartina swards Spartinion maritimae ...................................................................... 48 Submerged or partially submerged sea caves ......................................................... 49 Twaite shad Alosa fallax ........................................................................................... 50 Vegetated sea cliffs of the Atlantic and Baltic coasts ............................................... 52 Additional Supporting Habitats descriptions ............................................................. 53 Coastal Reedbeds .................................................................................................... 53 Freshwater and coastal grazing marsh .................................................................... 55 Water column ........................................................................................................... 56 References ............................................................................................................... 58 Purpose of this document The feature descriptions in this document provide general information about the habitats protected by Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The majority of ‘supporting habitats’ that Special Protection Area (SPA) protected bird species are reliant on, are SAC and Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) habitats. This document also provides descriptions of additional supporting habitats that are not already covered by the SAC and MCZ habitat descriptions. The general descriptions include: 1. Description of the habitat 2. Ecological information 3. UK status and distribution This contextual information enhances the detail provided in the site specific descriptions in the marine protected area conservation advice supplementary advice document. For further information or comments on this document contact: [email protected] Special Area of Conservation (SAC) descriptions Allis shad Alosa alosa Description Allis shad is a small fish, 30-50cm long with distinctive, large circular scales along its belly. It is deep blue along its back with silvery white sides with a single black blotch behind the head. It is difficult to distinguish from its close relative, twaite shad Alosa fallax and the two are thought to hybridise (McLeod et al., 2008q). Ecology Allis shad is a migratory shoaling fish of the open sea feeding almost exclusively on plankton to a depth of around 150m with a preference for water 10–20 m deep (Taverny, 1991). Mature fish that have spent most of their lives at sea stop feeding and move up the estuaries of large rivers at the end of February. They migrate into freshwater during late spring (April–June), thus giving them the colloquial name 'May Fish'. In England, they have been recorded over 100km (OSPAR Commission, 2009a) and in Europe over 800km upstream (McLeod et al., 2008q). Adults gather in deep, still pools before spawning at night over nearby gravelly substrates in shallow, clean, well-oxygenated waters (McLeod