BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Aphelochaeta marioni
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Will Rayment	Data supplied by	MarLIN
Refereed by	Dr Peter Gibbs
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & Ireland	Patchily distributed all around the British coast where suitable substrata exist. Occurs on the south west and south coasts of the Isle of Man and has also been recorded in north east Ireland.
Global distribution	Recorded from parts of the North Atlantic, North Sea, western Baltic, Mediterranean, South Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
Biogeographic range	Not researched	Depth range	Mid shore to 5000 m. Mid shore to 5000 m
Migratory	Non-migratory / Resident
Distribution Additional Information	Aphelochaeta marioni has been recorded from a variety of different sediment types. In the intertidal area of the Wadden Sea, it achieved highest abundance where the sediment fraction smaller than 0.04 mm diameter was greater than 10% of the total sediment (Farke, 1979). In the Severn Estuary, Aphelochaeta marioni (studied as Tharyx marioni) characterized the faunal assemblage of very poorly oxygenated, poorly sorted mud with relatively high interstitial salinity (Broom et al., 1991). In fact, Aphelochaeta marioni displays a remarkable tolerance for salinity range. Wolff (1973) recorded Aphelochaeta marioni (studied as Tharyx marioni) from brackish inland waters in the Netherlands with a salinity of 16 psu, but not in areas permanently exposed to lower salinities. Farke (1979) reported that the species also penetrated into areas exposed to salinities of 4 psu during short periods at low tide when the freshwater discharge from rivers was high.

Substratum preferences	Fine clean sand Mud Muddy sand Sandy mud	Physiographic preferences	Open coast Offshore seabed Strait / sound Estuary Enclosed coast / Embayment
Biological zone	Mid Eulittoral Lower Eulittoral Sublittoral Fringe Upper Infralittoral Lower Infralittoral Upper Circalittoral Lower Circalittoral Circalittoral Offshore Bathybenthic (Bathyal)	Wave exposure	Sheltered Very Sheltered Extremely Sheltered
Tidal stream strength/Water flow	Moderately Strong (1-3 kn) Weak (<1 kn) Very Weak (negligible)	Salinity	Low (<18 psu) Reduced (18-30 psu) Variable (18-40 psu) Full (30-40 psu)
Habitat Preferences Additional Information
Distribution References	Farke, 1979, Gibbs, 1969, Broom et al., 1991, Wolff, 1973, Bruce et al., 1963, JNCC, 1999, Connor et al., 1997(a),