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  4. MA5-24 - Sable fin médiolittoral dominé par les polychètes/amphipodes en Atlantique
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MA5-24 - Sable fin médiolittoral dominé par les polychètes/amphipodes en Atlantique

Polychaete/amphipod-dominated Atlantic littoral fine sand
MA5-23 - Sable mobile propre ou dominé par les amphipodes du supra- et du médiolittoral en Atlantique
MA5-25 - Sable vaseux médiolittoral dominé par des polychètes ou des bivalves en Atlantique

Classification des habitats EUNIS 2022

Descriptif de l'habitat

Shores of clean, medium to fine and very fine sand, with no coarse sand, gravel or mud present. Shells and stones may occasionally be present on the surface. The sand may be duned or rippled as a result of wave action or tidal currents. The degree of drying between tides is limited, and the sediment usually remains damp throughout the tidal cycle. Typically, no anoxic layer is present. Fine sand shores support a range of species including amphipods and polychaetes. On the lower shore, and where sediments are stable, bivalves such as Angulus tenuis may be present in large numbers. An exceptionally rich fine sand community has been recorded from very sheltered reduced salinity shores in Poole Harbour. Species recorded include Anaitides maculata, Hediste diversicolor, Scoloplos armiger, Pygospio elegans, Tharyx killariensis, oligochaetes, Gammarus locusta, Hydrobia ulvae, Cerastoderma edule and Mya truncata.
Situation: Fine sand communities may be present throughout the intertidal zone on moderately exposed beaches, or they may be present on the lower parts of the shore with mobile sand communities present along the upper shore. A strandline of talitrid amphipods (MA5-211) typically develops at the top of the shore where decaying seaweed accumulates.
Temporal variation: Fine sand shores may show seasonal changes, with sediment accretion during calm summer periods and beach erosion during more stormy winter months. There may be a change in sediment particle size structure, with finer sediment grains washed out during winter months, leaving behind coarser sediments.

Bibliography

European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity 2022. EUNIS marine habitat classification 2022 including crosswalks. Table Excel. (Source)