]> 2026-04-20T20:09:06+02:00 Traits:Abyssobenthic 200 en Abyssobenthic (Abyssal) Occupying the ocean floor from ca 4000 - 6000 m depth. Usually a more or less flat plain (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998). Traits:Abyssopelagic 200 en Abyssopelagic (2500-6000 m) Overlays the plains of the major ocean basins with a lower boundary of ca 6000 m. Traits:AlphaHaline 200 en Alpha-haline 36-40 psu Traits:AlphaMesohaline 200 en Alpha-Mesohaline 10-<18 psu Traits:AlphaOligohaline 200 en Alpha-Oligohaline 3-<5 psu Traits:AlphaPolyhaline 200 en Alpha-Polyhaline 25-<30 psu Traits:AnchialineCaves 200 en Anchialine caves Coastal salt water habitats with no surface connection to the sea. Traits:Artificial 200 en Artificial (man-made) E.g. wood, metal or concrete structures. Traits:Bathybenthic 200 en Bathybenthic (Bathyal) Occupying the ocean floor from ca 200 - 4000 m depth (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998). Traits:Bathylpelagic 200 en Bathylpelagic (1000-2500 m) Extends from ca 1000-2500 m. Traits:Bedrock 200 en 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:Benthic 200 en Benthic Pertaining to the sea bed, river bed or lake floor (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998). Traits:Benthopelagic 200 en 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:BetaHaline 200 en Beta-Haline 30-36 psu Traits:BetaMesohaline 200 en Beta-Mesohaline 5-<10 psu Traits:BetaOligohaline 200 en Beta-Oligohaline 0.5-<3 psu Traits:BetaPolyhaline 200 en Beta-Polyhaline 18-<25 psu Traits:BiogenicReef 200 en 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:Brackish 200 en Brackish Traits:BrackishSalinity 200 en Brackish 0.5-<30 psu Traits:BurrowDweller 200 en Burrow dweller Occupies or shares space in burrow constructed by other organisms. Traits:Cave 200 en 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:Circalittoral 200 en 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:CircalittoralOffshore 200 en 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:Clay 200 en 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:CoarseCleanSand 200 en Coarse clean sand 1) Particle size 0.5 - 4 mm (Hiscock, 1996) Traits:CoarseSediments 200 en Coarse sediments Sediments composed of gravel and sand; inc. gravel, gravelly sand and sandy gravel (Long, 2006) Traits:Cobbles 200 en Cobbles 64-256 mm. May be rounded or flat. Substrata that are predominantly cobbles. Traits:CrevicesFissures 200 en 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:Demersal 200 en 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:Depth 200 en Depth Maximum recorded depth below chart datum (expressed in metres). Traits:DepthRange 200 en Depth range Maximum to minimum recorded depth (expressed as metres below chart datum). Traits:DepthSubstratum 200 en Depth in substratum The depth within the substratum at which the organism is found (max recorded in metres). Traits:Distribution Descriptors 200 en Distribution Descriptors Fields and traits that describe the distribution of the species. Traits:Elevation 200 en Elevation A measure of height above chart datum, recorded in metres Traits:EnclosedCoast 200 en 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:Endophytic 200 en Endophytic A plant living within another plant (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998) Traits:Endozoic 200 en Endozoic Living within the body of an animal (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998). Traits:Environment 200 en Environment Broad descriptors of the major environmental regions Traits:EnvironmentalPosition 200 en Environmental position Position relative to substratum or fluid medium (air/water). Traits:Epibenthic 200 en Epibenthic Living on the surface of the seabed. Traits:Epifaunal 200 en Epifaunal An animal living on the surface of the substratum. Traits:Epifloral 200 en Epifloral A plant living on the surface of the substratum. Traits:Epilithic 200 en Epilithic Living on the surface of rock or other hard inorganic substrata Traits:Epipelagic 200 en 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:Epipelic 200 en Epipelic An organism that moves over the surface of sediment or lives at the sediment / water interface. Traits:Epiphytic 200 en Epiphytic Living on the surface of a living plant but not parasitic upon it. Traits:Epizooic 200 en Epizooic Living on the exterior of a living animal but not parasitic upon it. Traits:Estuary 200 en Estuary Downstream part of a river where it widens to enter the sea; often with significant freshwater influence and predominantly comprising sediment habitats. Traits:Eulittoral 200 en 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:Exposed 200 en 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:ExtremelyExposed 200 en 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:ExtremelySheltered 200 en Extremely sheltered Fully enclosed coasts with a fetch of no more than about 3 km. Traits:FeaturesOther 200 en Features or other substratum Descriptors of types of unusual or unique types of substratum or habitat Traits:FineCleanSand 200 en Fine clean sand Particle size 0.063 - 0.5 mm (Hiscock, 1996) Traits:Freshwater 200 en Freshwater Traits:FreshwaterSalinity 200 en Freshwater <0.5 psu Traits:GravelShingle 200 en 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:GravellyMud 200 en Gravelly mud Mud with 5-30% gravel (see Long, 2006) GravellyMuddySand 0 en Gravelly muddy sand Sand (50-90%) with gravel (>5%) and mud (see Long, 2006) Traits:GravellySand 200 en Gravelly sand Sand with 5-30% gravel (see Long 2006) Traits:Habitat 200 en Habitat Traits that describe an organisms preferred habitat and its position within that habitat. Traits:HabitatPreferences 200 en Habitat Preferences Traits:Hadobenthic 200 en 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:Hadopelagic 200 en Hadopelagic (>6000 m) Open waters of deep oceanic trenches, from ca 6000 m and below. Traits:Hard 200 en Hard Hard substratum e.g. bedrock, concrete, boulders,cobbles and pebbles Traits:HardImmobile 200 en Immobile hard Immobile hard substratum e.g. solid rock, concrete but including soft rocks, such as chalk. Traits:HardMobile 200 en Mobile hard Mobile hard substratum, e.g. cobbles, pebbles that are regularly moved by wave action. Traits:HyperSaline 200 en Hyper-saline >40 psu Traits:Hyperbenthic 200 en Hyperbenthic Living above but close to the substratum (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998). Traits:IceAssociated 200 en Ice-Associated Sea ice, icebergs and other ice-associated marine habitats. Traits:Infaunal 200 en Infaunal Benthic animals which live within the seabed. Traits:Infralittoral 200 en 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:Interstitial 200 en Interstitial Living within the system of cavities and channels formed by the spaces between grains in a sediment (interstitial space). Traits:Lagoon 200 en 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:LargeBoulders 200 en Large or very large boulders >512 mm; likely to be stable (Hiscock, 1996). Traits:Lithotomous 200 en Lithotomous Stone-boring; an organism that burrows into rock. Traits:LowerCircalittoral 200 en 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:LowerInfralittoral 200 en 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:LowerLittoral 200 en Lower littoral The lower part of the shore only exposed (emersed) at the lowest part of the tide. Traits:LowerLittoralFringe 200 en 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:Macroalgae 200 en Macroalgae Macroalgal surfaces, such as kelps and fucoids. Traits:Maerl 200 en Maerl Maerl beds formed by build up of maerl. Traits:Marine 200 en Marine Traits:MarineSalinity 200 en Marine 30-40 psu (equals MNCR Full) Traits:MediumCleanSand 200 en Medium clean sand Particle size 0.25-1mm (Hiscock, 1996) Traits:Mesohaline 200 en Mesohaline 5-<18 psu (equals MNCR Low, <18 psu) Traits:Mesopelagic 200 en Mesopelagic (200-1000 m) The upper aphotic zone and extends to a depth of ca 1000 m. Traits:MidEulittoral 200 en 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:Mixed 200 en 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:ModeratelyExposed 200 en Moderately exposed Generally coasts facing away from prevailing winds and without a long fetch but where strong winds can be frequent. Traits:ModeratelyStrong 200 en Moderately strong 1 to 3 knots (0.5-1.5 m/sec.) Traits:Mud 200 en Mud 1) Particle size <0.063 mm (silt / clay fraction) (Hiscock, 1996) 2) >90% mud (Long, 2006) Traits:MudSandyMud 200 en Mud and sandy mud Mud and sandy muds where mud is the major fraction (see Long, 2006) Traits:MuddyGravel 200 en Muddy gravel Gravel (30-80%) with mud (see Long, 2006) Traits:MuddySand 200 en Muddy sand Sand (50-90%) with mud (see Long, 2006) Traits:MuddySandyGravel 200 en Muddy sandy gravel Gravel (30-80%) with mud and sand (see Long, 2006) Traits:Nekton 200 en Nektonic (nekton) Active swimming organisms that live in the water column and are able to move independently of the water mass (adapted from Lincoln <i>et al.</i>, 1998). Traits:Neritic 200 en Neritic Water column overlying the continental shelf; surface to ca 200m depth. Traits:Neustonic 200 en Neustonic Living on or under the surface film of open water. Traits:Oceanic 200 en Oceanic Open waters beyond the continental shelf. Traits:OffshoreSeabed 200 en Offshore seabed Seabed beyond three miles (5 km) from the shore. Traits:Oligohaline 200 en Oligohaline 0.5-<5 psu (included under MNCR Low, <18 psu) Traits:OpenCoast 200 en 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:OtherSpecies 200 en Other species The surface of other species, e.g. shells or carapace. Traits:Overhangs 200 en 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:Pebbles 200 en Pebbles 16-64 mm. May be rounded or flat. Substrata which are predominantly pebbles. Traits:Pelagic 200 en Pelagic Pertaining to the water column. Inhabiting the open sea, excluding the sea floor (rephrased from Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998). Traits:Physiography 200 en Physiography Coastal geomorphology and physical features. Traits:Plankton 200 en 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 <i>et al.</i>, 1998). Traits:Pleustonic 200 en Pleustonic Living permanently at the water surface due to their own buoyancy, normally positioned partly in the water and partly in the air. Traits:Polyhaline 200 en Polyhaline 18-<30 psu (included under MNCR Reduced, 18-30 psu) Traits:Province 200 en Province Descriptors of the major 'regions' of the seas. Traits:RiaVoe 200 en 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:Rockpools 200 en 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:Salinity 200 en Salinity (regime) The range of salinities in which the organism is recorded (scale taken from Reusser & Lee, 2011) Traits:Saltmarsh 200 en Salt marsh A flat, poorly drained coastal swamp inundated by most high tides (Lincoln ''et al.'', 1998). Traits:Sand 200 en Sand 1) Particle size 0.063 -4 mm (Hiscock 1996) 2) >90% sand (Long, 2006) Traits:SandMuddySand 200 en Sand and muddy sand Sands and sands with mud where sand is the major fraction (see Long 2006) Traits:SandyGravel 200 en Sandy gravel 30 -80% gravel with sand (see Long, 2006). Traits:SandyMud 200 en Sandy mud Mud (50-90%) with sand Traits:SeaIce 200 en 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:SeaLoch 200 en 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:Seagrass 200 en Seagrass Habitat associated with seagrass bed communities. Traits:SedimentSoft 200 en Soft (sediment) Particulate solid matter accumulated by natural processes (Hiscock, 1996) Traits:Sheltered 200 en 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:SmallBoulders 200 en Small boulders 256 -512 mm; may be unstable. Traits:SplashZone 200 en 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:SprayZone 200 en 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:StraitSound 200 en 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:Strandline 200 en 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:Strong 200 en Strong 3 to 6 knots (1.5-3 m/sec.) Traits:Sublittoral 200 en 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:SublittoralFringe 200 en 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:SubstratumHabitat 200 en Substratum Description of the substratum on or in which an organism is found or recorded. Traits:Supralittoral 200 en 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:Terrestrial 200 en Terrestrial Traits:TidalStrength 200 en 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:Tolerance 200 en Tolerance Based on AMBI Traits:TypeI 200 en 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:TypeII 200 en 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:TypeIII 200 en 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:TypeIV 200 en Type IV Second-order opportunistic species (slight to pronounced unbalanced situations). Mainly small sized polychaetes: subsurface deposit-feeders, such as cirratulids. Traits:TypeV 200 en Type V First-order opportunistic species (pronounced unbalanced situations). These are deposit- feeders, which proliferate in reduced sediments. Traits:UltraSheltered 200 en Ultra sheltered Fully enclosed coasts with a fetch measured in tens or at most a few hundred metres. Traits:UnderBoulders 200 en Under boulders Habitat associated with the underside of boulders. Traits:UnderIce 200 en Under ice The habitat formed by the underside of ice sheets at the interface of frozen ice and fluid seawater. Traits:UpperCircalittoral 200 en 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:UpperEulittoral 200 en 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:UpperInfralittoral 200 en 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:UpperLittoralFringe 200 en 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:VerticalBiologicalZone 200 en 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:VeryExposed 200 en 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:VerySheltered 200 en 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:VeryStrong 200 en Very strong >6 knots (>3 m/sec) Traits:VeryWeak 200 en Very weak Negligible Traits:WaveExposed 200 en Wave exposed Defined via traits - but included as some authors do not specify level of wave exposure. Traits:WaveExposure 200 en Wave exposure Traits that describe the range of exposure to wave action in which the organism is recorded. Traits:WaveSheltered 200 en Wave sheltered Defined via traits below - included as some authors do not specify Traits:Weak 200 en Weak <1 knot (<0.5 m/sec)