BIOTIC Species Information for Aphelochaeta marioni
Researched byWill Rayment Data supplied byMarLIN
Refereed byDr Peter Gibbs
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & IrelandPatchily 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 distributionRecorded from parts of the North Atlantic, North Sea, western Baltic, Mediterranean, South Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
Biogeographic rangeNot researched Depth rangeMid shore to 5000 m. Mid shore to 5000 m
MigratoryNon-migratory / Resident   
Distribution Additional InformationAphelochaeta 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 preferencesFine clean sand
Mud
Muddy sand
Sandy mud
Physiographic preferencesOpen coast
Offshore seabed
Strait / sound
Estuary
Enclosed coast / Embayment
Biological zoneMid Eulittoral
Lower Eulittoral
Sublittoral Fringe
Upper Infralittoral
Lower Infralittoral
Upper Circalittoral
Lower Circalittoral
Circalittoral Offshore
Bathybenthic (Bathyal)
Wave exposureSheltered
Very Sheltered
Extremely Sheltered
Tidal stream strength/Water flowModerately Strong (1-3 kn)
Weak (<1 kn)
Very Weak (negligible)
SalinityLow (<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),
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