Re-evaluation of marine benthic species of nature conservation importance: a new perspective on certain ‘lagoonal specialists’ with particular emphasis on Alkmaria romijni Horst (Polychaeta: Ampharetidae)
✍ Scribed by P.M. Gilliland; W.G. Sanderson
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 177 KB
- Volume
- 10
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1052-7613
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✦ Synopsis
The ampharetid polychaete Alkmaria romijni (protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981) is recorded from a survey of intertidal mudflats on the south bank of the Humber Estuary (UK) in an apparently unusual habitat for the species.
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The records from the Humber are considered together with other records which have been collated recently as part of a review of rare and scarce marine benthic species in the UK. Some of these records are 'new'.
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An assessment of records from the Humber and elsewhere suggests that this tidal estuarine habitat is not atypical for A. romijni. Furthermore, it is not clear why the species shows such a restricted distribution within the Humber.
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A. romijni can now be shown to not be confined to brackish lagoons in the UK, but rather is found in muddy sediments in sheltered to very sheltered conditions in both lagoons and certain estuaries. The majority of current records are now estuarine in the UK, suggesting that A. romijni can no longer be classed as a 'lagoonal specialist' species as previously considered.
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Based on all UK records, the species should be considered 'scarce' rather than 'rare' using current assessment criteria. On balance, however, it is concluded that it is probably still appropriate to maintain the protected status of A. romijni.
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Two other 'lagoonal specialist' species -the starlet sea anemone Nematostella 6ectensis and the lagoon sand shrimp Gammarus insensibilis -indicate, in the light of new records, that the reappraisal of lagoonal specialist status is restricted, for the present, to A. romijni rather than being common to other species.
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The work highlights that there is a need for a re-evaluation mechanism in the assessment of marine species considered to be of conservation importance.