BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Zostera marina
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Dr Harvey Tyler-Walters	Data supplied by	MarLIN
Refereed by	Dr Leigh Jones
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & Ireland	Zostera marina has a wide but patchy distribution in southwest of England, the Solent and Isle of Wight on the south coast, Wales, western Ireland, western and eastern Scotland including Orkney and the Shetland Islands.
Global distribution	Widespread through the Atlantic and Pacific. It is the only seagrass species that extends into the Arctic Circle. It has a restricted distribution in the Mediterranean.
Biogeographic range	Not researched	Depth range	0 to 5m
Migratory	Non-migratory / Resident
Distribution Additional Information	In 1920s and 1930s the previously extensive beds of eelgrass were severely reduced by an outbreak of 'wasting disease', which appears to affect sublittoral Zostera marina primarily. To date, recovery has been poor or slow. An exceptional bed of Zostera marina occurs in the clear waters of Ventry Bay, south-west Ireland and extends from 0.5 to 10m in depth and up to 13m deep in some patches. It should be noted that the global distribution of Zostera marina includes records of Zostera angustifolia which is considered synonymous outside the UK. It extends from Arctic Circle in northern Russia to near Gibraltar, Spain along the European coast. In has a restricted distribution in the Mediterranean, limited to northern parts of Adriatic and Aegean Seas, brackish etangs and lagoons in southern France. On the western Atlantic coast it extends from west coast of Alaska to North Carolina. In the Pacific it is recorded from Japan, Korea and from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico.

Substratum preferences	Gravel / shingle Muddy gravel Sandy mud Muddy sand	Physiographic preferences	Estuary Isolated saline water (Lagoon) Enclosed coast / Embayment
Biological zone	Sublittoral Fringe Upper Infralittoral	Wave exposure	Sheltered Very Sheltered
Tidal stream strength/Water flow	Weak (<1 kn) Very Weak (negligible)	Salinity	Variable (18-40 psu)
Habitat Preferences Additional Information
Distribution References	Hartog den, 1970, Phillips & Menez, 1988, Davison & Hughes, 1998, Jones et al., 2000, Stewart et al., 1994, NBN, 2002,