BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Balanus crenatus
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Nicola White	Data supplied by	MarLIN
Refereed by	Prof. Alan J. Southward
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & Ireland	All coasts of Britain & Ireland, and offshore in the North Sea and Celtic Sea.
Global distribution	Northeast Atlantic from the Arctic to the west coast of France as far south as Bordeaux; east and west coasts of North America and Japan.
Biogeographic range	Not researched	Depth range	Insufficient information
Migratory	Non-migratory / Resident
Distribution Additional Information	Balanus crenatus is a widespread species that occurs at quite high latitudes in the Arctic. It colonizes a wide range of substrata, attaching to any hard substrata, molluscs and their dead shells (Southward, pers. comm.), often as an initial colonizing species. Densely packed colonies occur particularly in areas exposed to strong tidal streams where few other epifauna survive. It can also be found attached to carapaces of the Norway lobster or Dublin Bay prawn (Nephrops norvegicus) and other crustaceans. Balanus crenatus may have been misidentified as Solidobalanus fallax in shallow waters lying to the south of the UK. The deep water record of Gruvel (noted in Southward, 1998) is an error (Southward, pers. comm.). Balanus crenatus and Solidobalanus fallaxcolonize different substrates and also occur in different temperatures. Solidobalanus fallax occurs in warmer water on shells, false corals, seaweeds and other soft substrata, including plastic bags and synthetic netting (Southward, pers. comm.).

Substratum preferences	Bedrock Artificial (e.g. metal/wood/concrete) Cobbles Gravel / shingle Large to very large boulders Pebbles Small boulders	Physiographic preferences	Open coast Offshore seabed Strait / sound Sealoch Ria / Voe Estuary Enclosed coast / Embayment
Biological zone	Lower Eulittoral Sublittoral Fringe Upper Infralittoral Lower Infralittoral	Wave exposure	Extremely Exposed Very Exposed Exposed Moderately Exposed Sheltered Very Sheltered Extremely Sheltered
Tidal stream strength/Water flow	Very Strong (>6 kn) Strong (3-6 kn) Moderately Strong (1-3 kn) Weak (<1 kn) Very Weak (negligible)	Salinity	Full (30-40 psu) Reduced (18-30 psu) Variable (18-40 psu) Low (<18 psu)
Habitat Preferences Additional Information
Distribution References	Rainbow, 1984, Barnes, 1953, Barnes et al., 1963, JNCC, 1999, Bassindale, 1964, Southward, 1998,