Survey of an area in 1997 known as the Plymouth Sound and Estuaries candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Mapping was carried out using a technique of acoustic survey known as RoxAnn. Habitat diversity was high throughout the site, ranging from sheltered muddy habitats within the Tamar Estuary Complex to more exposed rocky shores at Wembury and Bovisand, and there was a high diversity of species in most habitats. One habitat was discovered near the Breakwater which had only previously been recorded at Portland Harbour. This was a muddy substrate supporting Virgularia mirabilis, the sea pen. A regional variation of a rockpool biotope was found in the intertidal zone near Wembury, which comprised of rock pools with Sargassum muticum, Bifurcaria bifurcata, Himanthalia elongata and other algal species. This biotope was subject to consideration by the Marine Nature Conservation Review (MNCR) team.
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