;Collection;Label;Definition;"Is trait of"
Traits:Abyssobenthic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Abyssobenthic (Abyssal)";"Occupying the ocean floor from ca 4000 - 6000 m depth. Usually a more or less flat plain (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:Benthic
Traits:Abyssopelagic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Abyssopelagic (2500-6000 m)";"Overlays the plains of the major ocean basins with a lower boundary of ca 6000 m.";Traits:Pelagic
Traits:AlphaHaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Alpha-haline;"36-40 psu";Traits:MarineSalinity
Traits:AlphaMesohaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Alpha-Mesohaline;"10-<18 psu";Traits:Mesohaline
Traits:AlphaOligohaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Alpha-Oligohaline;"3-<5 psu";Traits:Oligohaline
Traits:AlphaPolyhaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Alpha-Polyhaline;"25-<30 psu";Traits:Polyhaline
Traits:AnchialineCaves;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Anchialine caves";"Coastal salt water habitats with no surface connection to the sea.";Traits:VerticalBiologicalZone
Traits:Artificial;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Artificial (man-made)";"E.g. wood, metal or concrete structures.";Traits:HardImmobile
Traits:Bathybenthic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Bathybenthic (Bathyal)";"Occupying the ocean floor from ca 200 - 4000 m depth (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:Benthic
Traits:Bathylpelagic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Bathylpelagic (1000-2500 m)";"Extends from ca 1000-2500 m.";Traits:Pelagic
Traits:Bedrock;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Bedrock;"Any stable hard substratum, not separated into boulders or smaller sediment units. Includes soft rock-types such as chalk, peat and clay. (Hiscock ''et al.'', 1999; MarLIN)";Traits:HardImmobile
Traits:Benthic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Benthic;"Pertaining to the sea bed, river bed or lake floor (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:VerticalBiologicalZone
Traits:Benthopelagic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Benthopelagic;"A zone of open water extending ca 100 m above the surface of the sea bed at all depths below the edge of the continental shelf.";Traits:Pelagic
Traits:BetaHaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Beta-Haline;"30-36 psu";Traits:MarineSalinity
Traits:BetaMesohaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Beta-Mesohaline;"5-<10 psu";Traits:Mesohaline
Traits:BetaOligohaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Beta-Oligohaline;"0.5-<3 psu";Traits:Oligohaline
Traits:BetaPolyhaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Beta-Polyhaline;"18-<25 psu";Traits:Polyhaline
Traits:BiogenicReef;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Biogenic reef";"An elevated structure on the seabed built by calcareous or other concretion-forming organisms, or by chemical precipitation (Hiscock, 1996); for example by ''Modiolus modiolus'' or ''Sabellaria alveolata''";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Brackish;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Brackish;;Traits:Environment
Traits:BrackishSalinity;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Brackish;"0.5-<30 psu";Traits:Salinity
Traits:BurrowDweller;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Burrow dweller";"Occupies or shares space in burrow constructed by other organisms.";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Cave;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Cave;"A hollow normally eroded in a cliff (or vertical rock) with the penetration being greater than the width of the entrance (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Circalittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Circalittoral;"The subzone of the rocky sublittoral below that dominated by algae (the infralittoral), and dominated by animals. No lower limit is defined, but species composition changes below about 40m to 80m depth, depending on depth of the seasonal thermocline. This subzone can be subdivided into the upper circalittoral where foliose algae are present and the lower circalittoral where they are not (see Hiscock, 1985). The term is also used by Glémarec (1973) to refer to two étages of the sediment benthos below the infralittoral: a ""coastal circalittoral category with a eurythermal environment of weak seasonal amplitude (less than 10°C) varying slowly"" and a ""circalittoral category of the open sea with a stenothermal environment"" (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:Sublittoral
Traits:CircalittoralOffshore;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Circalittoral offshore";"Typically occurs below 50-70 metres away from the influence of wave action. Aphotic with animal communities in stable or stenothermal and stenohaline conditions. Open sea (Connor et al., 1997).";Traits:Sublittoral
Traits:Clay;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Clay;"1) Sediment particles less than 0.004 mm in size (Wentworth, 1922). 2) A soft very fine-grained sedimentary rock composed primarily of clay-sized particles (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:SedimentSoft
Traits:CoarseCleanSand;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Coarse clean sand";"1) Particle size 0.5 - 4 mm (Hiscock, 1996)";Traits:Sand
Traits:CoarseSediments;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Coarse sediments";"Sediments composed of gravel and sand; inc. gravel, gravelly sand and sandy gravel (Long, 2006)";Traits:SedimentSoft
Traits:Cobbles;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Cobbles;"64-256 mm. May be rounded or flat. Substrata that are predominantly cobbles.";Traits:HardMobile
Traits:CrevicesFissures;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Crevices and fissures";"A narrow crack in hard substratum where penetration is deeper than the width at the entrance; a crevice is <10 mm wide at the entrance, while a fissure is >10 mm (Hiscock ,1996)";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Demersal;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Demersal;"Living at or near the bottom of a sea or lake but having the capacity for active swimming (from Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Depth;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Depth;"Maximum recorded depth below chart datum (expressed in metres).";"Traits:Distribution Descriptors"
Traits:DepthRange;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Depth range";"Maximum to minimum recorded depth (expressed as metres below chart datum).";Traits:Depth
Traits:DepthSubstratum;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Depth in substratum";"The depth within the substratum at which the organism is found (max recorded in metres).";Traits:Depth
"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Distribution Descriptors";"Fields and traits that describe the distribution of the species.";"Traits:Marine species traits"
Traits:Elevation;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Elevation;"A measure of height above chart datum, recorded in metres";"Traits:Distribution Descriptors"
Traits:EnclosedCoast;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Enclosed coast or embayment";"A marine inlet or harbour fully enclosed from the open sea except at the entrance, not normally open to the sea at two ends. The connection with the open sea is normally less restricted than is the case with lagoons (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:Physiography
Traits:Endophytic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Endophytic;"A plant living within another plant (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998)";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Endozoic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Endozoic;"Living within the body of an animal (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Environment;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Environment;"Broad descriptors of the major environmental regions";"Traits:Distribution Descriptors"
Traits:EnvironmentalPosition;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Environmental position";"Position relative to substratum or fluid medium (air/water).";Traits:Habitat
Traits:Epibenthic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Epibenthic;"Living on the surface of the seabed.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Epifaunal;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Epifaunal;"An animal living on the surface of the substratum.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Epifloral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Epifloral;"A plant living on the surface of the substratum.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Epilithic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Epilithic;"Living on the surface of rock or other hard inorganic substrata";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Epipelagic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Epipelagic (0-200 m)";"The photic zone, includes the open ocean influenced by light. The lower boundary is dependent on the depth of light penetration and is generally regarded extend to ca 200 m in depth.";Traits:Pelagic
Traits:Epipelic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Epipelic;"An organism that moves over the surface of sediment or lives at the sediment / water interface.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Epiphytic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Epiphytic;"Living on the surface of a living plant but not parasitic upon it.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Epizooic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Epizooic;"Living on the exterior of a living animal but not parasitic upon it.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Estuary;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Estuary;"Downstream part of a river where it widens to enter the sea; often with significant freshwater influence and predominantly comprising sediment habitats.";Traits:Physiography
Traits:Eulittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Littoral;"1) The region between the highest and lowest extent of the tide on the shore. 2) The shore zone between the lowest and highest seasonal water level in a lake (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998)";Traits:Benthic
Traits:Exposed;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Exposed;"1) Coasts which face the prevailing wind but which have a degree of shelter because of extensive shallow areas offshore, offshore obstructions, or a restricted (less than 90°) window to open water. These sites are not generally exposed to large waves or regular swell. 2) Open coasts facing away from prevailing winds but with a long fetch, and where strong winds are frequent.";Traits:WaveExposed
Traits:ExtremelyExposed;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Extremely exposed";"Open coastlines which face into the prevailing wind and receive both wind-driven waves and oceanic swell without any offshore obstructions such as islands or shallows for several thousand kilometres and where deep water is close to the shore (50 m depth contour within about 300 m).";Traits:WaveExposed
Traits:ExtremelySheltered;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Extremely sheltered";"Fully enclosed coasts with a fetch of no more than about 3 km.";Traits:WaveSheltered
Traits:FeaturesOther;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Features or other substratum";"Descriptors of types of unusual or unique types of substratum or habitat";Traits:SubstratumHabitat
Traits:FineCleanSand;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Fine clean sand";"Particle size 0.063 - 0.5 mm (Hiscock, 1996)";Traits:Sand
Traits:Freshwater;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Freshwater;;Traits:Environment
Traits:FreshwaterSalinity;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Freshwater;"<0.5 psu";Traits:Salinity
Traits:GravelShingle;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Gravel or shingle";"1) Particle size 4 -16 mm. 2) Clean stone or shell gravel including dead maerl (Hiscock, 1996) 3) >80% gravel (Long, 2006).";Traits:CoarseSediments
Traits:GravellyMud;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Gravelly mud";"Mud with 5-30% gravel (see Long, 2006)";Traits:Mixed
GravellyMuddySand;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Gravelly muddy sand";"Sand (50-90%) with gravel (>5%) and mud (see Long, 2006)";Traits:Mixed
Traits:GravellySand;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Gravelly sand";"Sand with 5-30% gravel (see Long 2006)";Traits:CoarseSediments
Traits:Habitat;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Habitat;"Traits that describe an organisms preferred habitat and its position within that habitat.";"Traits:Distribution Descriptors"
Traits:HabitatPreferences;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Habitat Preferences";;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors"
Traits:Hadobenthic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Hadobenthic (Hadal)";"Occupying the ocean floor at depths exceeding ca 6000 m. Usually in trenches and canyons of the abyssal zone. (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:Benthic
Traits:Hadopelagic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Hadopelagic (>6000 m)";"Open waters of deep oceanic trenches, from ca 6000 m and below.";Traits:Pelagic
Traits:Hard;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Hard;"Hard substratum e.g. bedrock, concrete, boulders,cobbles and pebbles";Traits:SubstratumHabitat
Traits:HardImmobile;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Immobile hard";"Immobile hard substratum e.g. solid rock, concrete but including soft rocks, such as chalk.";Traits:Hard
Traits:HardMobile;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Mobile hard";"Mobile hard substratum, e.g. cobbles, pebbles that are regularly moved by wave action.";Traits:Hard
Traits:HyperSaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Hyper-saline;">40 psu";Traits:Salinity
Traits:Hyperbenthic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Hyperbenthic;"Living above but close to the substratum (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:IceAssociated;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Ice-Associated;"Sea ice, icebergs and other ice-associated marine habitats.";Traits:VerticalBiologicalZone
Traits:Infaunal;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Infaunal;"Benthic animals which live within the seabed.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Infralittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Infralittoral;"A subzone of the sublittoral in which upward-facing rocks are dominated by erect algae, typically kelps; it can be further subdivided into the upper and lower infralittoral (based on Hiscock, 1985). The term is also used by Glémarec (1973) to refer to areas (étages) with a eurythermal environment of great seasonal and also daily and tidal amplitude. 1) lower The part of the infralittoral subzone which, on hard substrata, supports scattered kelp plants (a kelp park) or from which kelps are absent altogether and the seabed is dominated by foliose red and brown algae. It may be difficult to distinguish the lower infralittoralwhere grazing pressure prevents the establishment of foliose algae. 2) upper The part of the infralittoral subzone which, on hardsubstrata, is dominated by Laminariales forming a dense canopy, or kelp forest (based on Hiscock, 1985).";Traits:Sublittoral
Traits:Interstitial;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Interstitial;"Living within the system of cavities and channels formed by the spaces between grains in a sediment (interstitial space).";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Lagoon;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Isolated saline water (lagoon)";"Enclosed bodies of water, separated or partially separated from the sea by shingle, sand or sometimes rock and with a restricted exchange of water with the sea, yielding varying salinity regimes.";Traits:Physiography
Traits:LargeBoulders;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Large or very large boulders";">512 mm; likely to be stable (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:HardImmobile
Traits:Lithotomous;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Lithotomous;"Stone-boring; an organism that burrows into rock.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:LowerCircalittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Lower circalittoral";"Dominated by animals with no foliose algae but encrusting Rhodophycota patchy in grazed areas. The part of the circalittoral subzone on hard substrata below the maximum depth limit of foliose algae (based on Hiscock, 1985).";Traits:Circalittoral
Traits:LowerInfralittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Lower infralittoral";"The part of the infralittoral subzone which, on hard substrata, supports scattered kelp plants (a kelp park) or from which kelps are absent altogether and the seabed is dominated by foliose red and brown algae. It may be difficult to distinguish the lower infralittoral where grazing pressure prevents the establishment of foliose algae (based on Hiscock, 1985).";Traits:Infralittoral
Traits:LowerLittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Lower littoral";"The lower part of the shore only exposed (emersed) at the lowest part of the tide.";Traits:Eulittoral
Traits:LowerLittoralFringe;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Lower littoral fringe";"The bottom of the littoral fringe. In the UK, characterized by he ''Pelvetia/Porphyra'' belt with patchy ''Verrucaria maura'' and ''Fucus spiralis'' (on sheltered shores). ''Verrucaria mucosa'' present above the main barnacle population. May also include salt marsh species on shale/pebbles in shelter (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:Eulittoral
Traits:Macroalgae;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Macroalgae;"Macroalgal surfaces, such as kelps and fucoids.";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Maerl;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Maerl;"Maerl beds formed by build up of maerl.";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Marine;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Marine;;Traits:Environment
Traits:MarineSalinity;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Marine;"30-40 psu (equals MNCR Full)";Traits:Salinity
Traits:MediumCleanSand;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Medium clean sand";"Particle size 0.25-1mm (Hiscock, 1996)";Traits:Sand
Traits:Mesohaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Mesohaline;"5-<18 psu (equals MNCR Low, <18 psu)";Traits:BrackishSalinity
Traits:Mesopelagic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Mesopelagic (200-1000 m)";"The upper aphotic zone and extends to a depth of ca 1000 m.";Traits:Pelagic
Traits:MidEulittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Mid littoral";"Barnacle - limpet dominated, sometimes mussels, with ''Fucus vesiculosus'' and ''Ascophyllum nodosum. Mastocarpus stellatus'' and ''Palmaria palmata'' patchy in lower part. Usually quite a wide belt (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:Eulittoral
Traits:Mixed;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Mixed;"Mixtures of a variety of sediment types, composed of pebble / gravel / sand / mud. This category includes muddy gravels, muddy sandy gravels, gravelly muds, and muddy gravelly sands.";Traits:SedimentSoft
Traits:ModeratelyExposed;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Moderately exposed";"Generally coasts facing away from prevailing winds and without a long fetch but where strong winds can be frequent.";Traits:WaveExposed
Traits:ModeratelyStrong;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Moderately strong";"1 to 3 knots (0.5-1.5 m/sec.)";Traits:TidalStrength
Traits:Mud;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Mud;"1) Particle size <0.063 mm (silt / clay fraction) (Hiscock, 1996) 2) >90% mud (Long, 2006)";Traits:MudSandyMud
Traits:MudSandyMud;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Mud and sandy mud";"Mud and sandy muds where mud is the major fraction (see Long, 2006)";Traits:SedimentSoft
Traits:MuddyGravel;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Muddy gravel";"Gravel (30-80%) with mud (see Long, 2006)";Traits:Mixed
Traits:MuddySand;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Muddy sand";"Sand (50-90%) with mud (see Long, 2006)";Traits:MudSandyMud
Traits:MuddySandyGravel;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Muddy sandy gravel";"Gravel (30-80%) with mud and sand (see Long, 2006)";Traits:Mixed
Traits:Nekton;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Nektonic (nekton)";"Active swimming organisms that live in the water column and are able to move independently of the water mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Neritic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Neritic;"Water column overlying the continental shelf; surface to ca 200m depth.";Traits:Province
Traits:Neustonic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Neustonic;"Living on or under the surface film of open water.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Oceanic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Oceanic;"Open waters beyond the continental shelf.";Traits:Province
Traits:OffshoreSeabed;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Offshore seabed";"Seabed beyond three miles (5 km) from the shore.";Traits:Physiography
Traits:Oligohaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Oligohaline;"0.5-<5 psu (included under MNCR Low, <18 psu)";Traits:BrackishSalinity
Traits:OpenCoast;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Open coast";"Any part of the coast not within a marine inlet, strait or lagoon, including offshore rocks and small islands. This includes MNCR types; linear coast, islands / rocks and semi-enclosed coast.";Traits:Physiography
Traits:OtherSpecies;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Other species";"The surface of other species, e.g. shells or carapace.";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Overhangs;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Overhang;"An overhanging part of a rock formation. Typically the surface of the rock below the overhang receives some cover or shade from the overhang.";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Pebbles;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Pebbles;"16-64 mm. May be rounded or flat. Substrata which are predominantly pebbles.";Traits:HardMobile
Traits:Pelagic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Pelagic;"Pertaining to the water column. Inhabiting the open sea, excluding the sea floor (rephrased from Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:VerticalBiologicalZone
Traits:Physiography;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Physiography;"Coastal geomorphology and physical features.";Traits:Habitat
Traits:Plankton;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Planktonic (plankton)";"Living in the fluid medium (water or air) but unable to maintain their position or distribution independently of the movement of the water/air mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Pleustonic;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Pleustonic;"Living permanently at the water surface due to their own buoyancy, normally positioned partly in the water and partly in the air.";Traits:EnvironmentalPosition
Traits:Polyhaline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Polyhaline;"18-<30 psu (included under MNCR Reduced, 18-30 psu)";Traits:BrackishSalinity
Traits:Province;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Province;"Descriptors of the major 'regions' of the seas.";"Traits:Distribution Descriptors"
Traits:RiaVoe;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Ria or voe";"Drowned river valleys of south-west Britain (ria) and Shetland (voe). Often with a greater presence of rock and more marine in character than estuaries.";Traits:Physiography
Traits:Rockpools;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Rockpool;"1) A pool of water among rocks left behind by the ebbing tide. 2) a depression in the littoral zone of a rocky seashore where, at low tide, seawater is left behind (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Salinity;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Salinity (regime)";"The range of salinities in which the organism is recorded (scale taken from Reusser & Lee, 2011)";Traits:Habitat
Traits:Saltmarsh;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Salt marsh";"A flat, poorly drained coastal swamp inundated by most high tides (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Sand;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Sand;"1) Particle size 0.063 -4 mm (Hiscock 1996) 2) >90% sand (Long, 2006)";Traits:SandMuddySand
Traits:SandMuddySand;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Sand and muddy sand";"Sands and sands with mud where sand is the major fraction (see Long 2006)";Traits:SedimentSoft
Traits:SandyGravel;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Sandy gravel";"30 -80% gravel with sand (see Long, 2006).";Traits:CoarseSediments
Traits:SandyMud;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Sandy mud";"Mud (50-90%) with sand";Traits:MudSandyMud
Traits:SeaIce;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Sea ice";"The habitat provided by the surface of frozen sea water floating on the surface. Sea ice may form thin sheets, fast moving pieces, pack ice or large icebergs.";Traits:IceAssociated
Traits:SeaLoch;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Sea loch (Scotland), sea lough (Ireland)";"Glacially formed inlets (fjords, fjards) of western Scotland and Ireland; typically elongate and deepened by glacial action with little freshwater influence. Often with narrows and sills dividing the loch into a series of basins.";Traits:Physiography
Traits:Seagrass;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Seagrass;"Habitat associated with seagrass bed communities.";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:SedimentSoft;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Soft (sediment)";"Particulate solid matter accumulated by natural processes (Hiscock, 1996)";Traits:SubstratumHabitat
Traits:Sheltered;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Sheltered;"Coasts with a restricted fetch and/or open water window. Coasts can face prevailing winds but with a short fetch (< 20 km) or extensive shallow area offshore, or may face away from prevailing winds.";Traits:WaveSheltered
Traits:SmallBoulders;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Small boulders";"256 -512 mm; may be unstable.";Traits:HardImmobile
Traits:SplashZone;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Splash zone";"Region of the shore immediately above the highest levels of the water that is subject to wetting by splash from breaking waves (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:Supralittoral
Traits:SprayZone;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Spray Zone";"Region of the shore immediately above the splash zone that is subject to wetting by the spray from breaking waves (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:Supralittoral
Traits:StraitSound;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Strait or sound";"Channels between the mainland and an island or between two islands which are open at both ends to the open coast (it does not refer to similar features or narrows within marine inlets).";Traits:Physiography
Traits:Strandline;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Strand-line;"A line on the shore composing debris deposited by a receding tide; commonly used to denote the line of debris at the level of extreme high water (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:Strong;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Strong;"3 to 6 knots (1.5-3 m/sec.)";Traits:TidalStrength
Traits:Sublittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Sublittoral;"1) The zone exposed to air only at its upper limit by the lowest spring tides, although almost continuous wave action on extremely exposed coasts may extend the upper limit high into the intertidal region. The sublittoral extends from the upper limit of the large kelps and includes, for practical purposes in nearshore areas, all depths below the littoral. Various sub-zones are recognized (based on Hiscock, 1985). 2) The marine zone extending from the lowest limit of the intertidal to the outer edge of the continental slope (rephrased from Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:Benthic
Traits:SublittoralFringe;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Sublittoral fringe";"The upper part of the sublittoral zone which is uncovered by the tide. On hard substrata, the zone is characterized by the kelps ''Laminaria digitata'' and ''Alaria esculenta''. The lower limit of this zone is marked by the upper limit of the truly sublittoral kelp ''Laminaria hyperborea'' (based on Lewis, 1964; Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:Benthic
Traits:SubstratumHabitat;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Substratum;"Description of the substratum on or in which an organism is found or recorded.";Traits:Habitat
Traits:Supralittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Supralittoral;"1) The lower terrestrial zone, characteristically dominated by orange and white-to-grey lichens on hard substrata with scattered salt-tolerant higher plants and mosses (Hiscock, 1996). 2) The region of the shore directly above the highest water level and subject to wetting by spray or wave splash (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998).";Traits:Benthic
Traits:Terrestrial;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Terrestrial;;Traits:Environment
Traits:TidalStrength;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Tidal streams and water flow (range)";"The horizontal movement of water associated with the meteorological, oceanographical and topographical factors. High water flow rates result in areas where water is forced through or over restrictions for example narrows or around protruding offshore rocks. Tidal streams are associated with the rise and fall of the tide where as currents are defined as residual flow after the tidal element is removed (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:Habitat
Traits:Tolerance;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Tolerance;"Based on AMBI";Traits:Habitat
Traits:TypeI;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Type I";"Species very sensitive to organic enrichment and present under unpolluted conditions (initial state). They include the specialist carnivores and some deposit-feeding tubicolous polychaetes.";Traits:Tolerance
Traits:TypeII;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Type II";"Species indifferent to enrichment, always present in low densities with non-significant variations with time (from initial state, to slight unbalance). These include suspension feeders, less selective carnivores and scavengers.";Traits:Tolerance
Traits:TypeIII;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Type III";"Species tolerant to excess organic matter enrichment. These species may occur under normal conditions, but their populations are stimulated by organic richment (slight unbalance situations). They are surface deposit-feeding species, as tubicolous spionids.";Traits:Tolerance
Traits:TypeIV;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Type IV";"Second-order opportunistic species (slight to pronounced unbalanced situations). Mainly small sized polychaetes: subsurface deposit-feeders, such as cirratulids.";Traits:Tolerance
Traits:TypeV;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Type V";"First-order opportunistic species (pronounced unbalanced situations). These are deposit- feeders, which proliferate in reduced sediments.";Traits:Tolerance
Traits:UltraSheltered;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Ultra sheltered";"Fully enclosed coasts with a fetch measured in tens or at most a few hundred metres.";Traits:WaveSheltered
Traits:UnderBoulders;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Under boulders";"Habitat associated with the underside of boulders.";Traits:FeaturesOther
Traits:UnderIce;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Under ice";"The habitat formed by the underside of ice sheets at the interface of frozen ice and fluid seawater.";Traits:IceAssociated
Traits:UpperCircalittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Upper circalittoral";"Dominated by animals with sparse foliose algae except where grazed. The part of the circalittoral subzone on hard substrata distinguished by the presence of scattered foliose algae amongst the dominating animals; its lower limit is the maximum limit of depth for foliose algae (based on Hiscock, 1985).";Traits:Circalittoral
Traits:UpperEulittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Upper littoral";"Barnacles and limpets present in quantity with ''Fucus vesiculosus'' and ''Ascophyllum'' although often this belt has only sparse algal cover compared with the lower eulittoral (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:Eulittoral
Traits:UpperInfralittoral;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Upper infralittoral";"The part of the infralittoral subzone which, on hard substrata, is dominated by Laminariales forming a dense canopy, or kelp forest (based on Hiscock, 1985).";Traits:Infralittoral
Traits:UpperLittoralFringe;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Upper littoral fringe";"Top of the littoral fringe, characterized by ''Verrucaria maura'' with ''Littorina saxatilis'' and ''Littorina neritoides'' often present. May include saltmarsh species on shale/pebbles in shelter (Hiscock, 1996).";Traits:Eulittoral
Traits:VerticalBiologicalZone;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Vertical biological zone (or zonation)";"A description of the vertical biological zone or zonation in which an organism resides. The zone is determined by depth, physical, chemical and biological factors.";"Traits:Distribution Descriptors"
Traits:VeryExposed;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Very exposed";"1) Open coasts which face into prevailing winds and which receive wind-driven waves and oceanic swell without any offshore obstructions for several hundred kilometres, but where deep water is not close to the shore (50 m depth contour further than about 300 m). 2) Open coasts adjacent to extremely exposed sites but which face away from prevailing winds.";Traits:WaveExposed
Traits:VerySheltered;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Very sheltered";"Coasts with a fetch less than about 3 km where they face prevailing winds or about 20 km where they face away from prevailing winds, or which have offshore obstructions such as reefs or a narrow (<30°) open water window.";Traits:WaveSheltered
Traits:VeryStrong;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Very strong";">6 knots (>3 m/sec)";Traits:TidalStrength
Traits:VeryWeak;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Very weak";Negligible;Traits:TidalStrength
Traits:WaveExposed;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Wave exposed";"Defined via traits - but included as some authors do not specify level of wave exposure.";Traits:WaveExposure
Traits:WaveExposure;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Wave exposure";"Traits that describe the range of exposure to wave action in which the organism is recorded.";Traits:Habitat
Traits:WaveSheltered;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";"Wave sheltered";"Defined via traits below - included as some authors do not specify";Traits:WaveExposure
Traits:Weak;"Traits:Distribution Descriptors";Weak;"<1 knot (<0.5 m/sec)";Traits:TidalStrength