Brief notes on habitat geology and clay pipe habitat on Stellwagen Bank

Abstract

In our studies of sea floor habitats, my colleagues and I use both biological and geological approaches. We call our studies “habitat geology,” a term coined by a biologist friend of mine. We view it as the study of sea floor materials and biological and geological processes that influence where species live. Some of the factors that we consider are the following: composition of the sea bed, which ranges from mud to sand, gravel, bedrock, and shell beds; shape and steepness of the bottom; roughness of the bottom, which is enhanced by the presence of cobbles, boulders, sand waves and ripples, burrows into the bottom, and species that extend above the bottom; bottom currents generated by storm waves and tides, which can move sediment and expose or cover habitats; and the way in which the sea bed is utilized by species. In addition, we take into account the impact of sea bed disturbance by bottom fishing trawls and dredges. Habitats characterized by attached and burrowing species that protrude above the sea bed appear to be most vulnerable to disturbance.