BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Ahnfeltia plicata
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Will Rayment	Data supplied by	MarLIN
Refereed by	Dr Fabio Rindi
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & Ireland	Occurs on all coasts of Britain and Ireland. There is a paucity of records from south east England, reflecting a lack of suitable substrata.
Global distribution	Occurs in Europe from northern Russia to southern Portugal and in the Baltic Sea. Occurs in the Americas from arctic Canada to Mexico and is widely distributed in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Biogeographic range	Not researched	Depth range	lower shore to 22 m
Migratory	Non-migratory / Resident
Distribution Additional Information	Lüning (1990) suggested that Ahnfeltia plicata typically occurs as an understory algae beneath Laminaria sp. at depths of 1.5 to 4 m.

Substratum preferences	Bedrock Cobbles Pebbles Coarse clean sand	Physiographic preferences	Open coast Strait / sound Enclosed coast / Embayment
Biological zone	Lower Eulittoral Upper Infralittoral Sublittoral Fringe Lower Infralittoral	Wave exposure	Exposed Moderately Exposed Sheltered
Tidal stream strength/Water flow	Moderately Strong (1-3 kn) Weak (<1 kn)	Salinity	Full (30-40 psu) Variable (18-40 psu) Reduced (18-30 psu)
Habitat Preferences Additional Information
Distribution References	Fish & Fish, 1996, Dickinson, 1963, Dixon & Irvine, 1977, Maggs & Pueschel, 1989, Lüning, 1990, JNCC, 1999, Picton & Costello, 1998, Lewis, 1964, Connor et al., 1997(a), Hardy & Guiry, 2003,