It is found in strongly tide-swept and exposed locations where turbidity levels are consistently high.
This biotope does not include the Tubularia/Halichondria communities (CuSH and BalHpan) as found in the Menai Strait but does include the examples of dense Tubularia growing through sheets of Myxilla rosacea as well as patches of dense Jassa tubes and Dendrodoa grossularia as found off the Skerries, Anglesey.
There is relatively little Alcyonium digitatum in this biotope, particularly around the Welsh coast, although in the few examples surveyed so far Actinothoe sphyrodeta is often frequent to common.
Collected reprints: Abstract 3448(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-22)
The worm Polydora ciliata is colonized, at the Belgian coast, by 2 amphipodes: Jassafalcata in the surf zone and Corophium insidiosum in calm waters.
This difference is caused essentially by the morphological characteristics of the 2 amphipodes: Jassafalcata possesses a pair of very strong gnathopodes II, allowing it to hold on firmly in strong currents, while Corophium insidiosum lacks these characteristics.
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