BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Arctica islandica
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Lizzie Tyler	Data supplied by	University of Sheffield
Refereed by	This information is not refereed.
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & Ireland	The Icelandic cyprine is found around all British and Irish coasts and offshore.
Global distribution	Recorded from Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, Onega Bay in the White Sea to the Bay of Biscay and from Labrador to North Carolina.
Biogeographic range	Not researched	Depth range	4 - 256 m
Migratory	Insufficient info.
Distribution Additional Information	Arctica islandica is distributed within the North Sea north of 53° 30`N and along the southern and eastern borders of its range is limited to depths below 30 m (Witbaard & Bergman, 2003). Similarly, the optimal temperature for Arctica islandica was estimated to be 6-16°C, while the inshore limit of their distribution in the eastern USA was reported to be the 16°C bottom isotherm (Cargnelli et al., 1999a). Nicol (1951; cited in Holmes et al., 2003) stated that Arctica islandica occurs at depths ranging from 4-482 m, although it is commonly found between 10-280 m.

Substratum preferences	Fine clean sand Coarse clean sand Sandy mud Muddy sand	Physiographic preferences	Offshore seabed
Biological zone	Sublittoral Fringe Upper Infralittoral Lower Infralittoral Upper Circalittoral Lower Circalittoral	Wave exposure	Extremely Exposed Very Exposed Exposed Moderately Exposed
Tidal stream strength/Water flow	Insufficient information	Salinity	Variable (18-40 psu) Full (30-40 psu)
Habitat Preferences Additional Information
Distribution References	Hayward et al., 1996, Hayward & Ryland, 1995b, Tebble, 1976, Fish & Fish, 1996, NBN, 2002, JNCC, 1999, Picton & Costello, 1998, Rees & Dare, 1993, Cargnelli et al., 1999a, Witbaard & Bergman, 2003, Holmes et al., 2003, Merrill et al., 1969, Hayward & Ryland, 1990, Julie Bremner, unpub data, Rees & Dare, 1993,