MG4-2 - Sédiment hétérogène de l'abyssal en Atlantique

Atlantic abyssal mixed sediment

Classification des habitats EUNIS 2022

Descriptif de l'habitat

Deep-sea mixed sediment has not been sampled widely for infauna so little is currently known about infaunal community structure. Epifauna tend to be sparse mobile species. In the absence of ecological data, mixed sediment habitat can be defined according to Long (2006), which describes the classification's broad sediment types according to the relative proportion of mud, sand and gravel (see p3 of UKSeaMap 2010 technical report 3 http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/UKSeaMap2010_TechnicalReport_3_Substrate2.pdf). It can be difficult to reliably distinguish between coarse sediment and mixed sediment using video data only. Note that mixed sediment has a greater mud content than coarse sediment. If muddy sand sediment contains a high enough percentage of gravel, then it would be classed as mixed sediment. Stable pebbles, cobbles and boulders are classed as rock; any rock present on mixed sediment is considered a separate habitat within a mosaic.

Bibliography

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