Print Report
CEGL006614 Intertidal Mudflats Sparse Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Intertidal Mudflats Sparse Vegetation
Colloquial Name: North Atlantic Coast Estuarine Intertidal Mudflats
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This is a saline (>18.0 ppt) intertidal mudflat community that typically lacks vegetation. Ulva lactuca (sea-lettuce) may be present or prominent. The substrate consists of silt or sand that is rich in organic matter and poorly-drained at low tide. These saline intertidal mudflats extend along the North Atlantic Coast from Maine to New York.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type is likely covered by the marine classification; however, this mudflat community occurs in coastal vegetation mapping projects, and it seems appropriate to classify it under sparse vegetation for the time being, until the marine classification can be applied to vegetation mapping projects.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association typically does not have vegetation. However, some examples have dense cover of the green alga Ulva lactuca.
Dynamics: Maritime dynamics influence this Atlantic Coast intertidal mudflat association. It is washed by low-energy waves and flooded by semidiurnal tides. Fluctuating salinity levels also influence the community. This is a relatively low-diversity but highly productive community, best characterized by the benthic invertebrate fauna including Mya arenaria (softshell clam), Littorina littorea (common periwinkle), Mytilus edulis (blue mussel), and various mud worms in Polydora spp., Streblospio benedicti and others. These invertebrates are a food source for migrant shorebirds such as Calidris alba (sanderling), Calidris minutilla (least sandpiper), Haematopus palliatus (American oystercatcher), Tringa semipalmata (willet), Charadrius semipalmatus (semipalmated plover), Pluvialis squatarola (black-bellied plover), and others. Coastal and estuarine fish migrate over these flats at high tide and feed on invertebrates in the sediment (Edinger et al. 2014a).
Environmental Description: This association occurs on saline mudflats located between the highest high tide and the lowest low tide along the North Atlantic Coast. Salinity levels are greater than 18.0 parts per thousand of ocean-derived salts. They are completely exposed at low tide and are tidally-flooded twice daily. The substrate consists of silt or sand that is poorly-drained at low tide and rich in organic matter. These areas are subject to moderated fluctuations in salinity and moisture and are washed by low-energy waves. The substrate may be covered with algae.
Geographic Range: These intertidal mudflats extend along the Atlantic Coast from Maine to New York and possibly New Jersey.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.800094
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G5
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 5 Aquatic Vegetation Class | C05 | 5 |
| Subclass | 5.A Saltwater Aquatic Vegetation Subclass | S09 | 5.A |
| Formation | 5.A.2 Benthic Macroalgae Saltwater Vegetation Formation | F053 | 5.A.2 |
| Division | 5.A.2.Wb Temperate Intertidal Shore Division | D047 | 5.A.2.Wb |
| Macrogroup | 5.A.2.Wb.1 Temperate Atlantic Intertidal Shore Macrogroup | M104 | 5.A.2.Wb.1 |
| Group | 5.A.2.Wb.1.a Yellow Tang - Sea-lettuce Intertidal Algal Flat Group | G387 | 5.A.2.Wb.1.a |
| Alliance | A4132 North Atlantic Intertidal Mudflat Alliance | A4132 | 5.A.2.Wb.1.a |
| Association | CEGL006614 Intertidal Mudflats Sparse Vegetation | CEGL006614 | 5.A.2.Wb.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Ulva lactuca community (Metzler and Barrett 2006)
= Intertidal Mudflats Sparse Vegetation (MNAP 1991)
= Intertidal Mudflats Sparse Vegetation (MNAP 1991)
- Anderson, J. R., E. E. Hardy, J. T. Roach, and R. E. Witmer. 1976. A land use and land cover classification system for use with remote sensor data. USDI, Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 964. Washington, DC. 26 pp.
- Bell, R., M. Chandler, R. Buchsbaum, and C. Roman. 2002. Inventory of intertidal habitats: Boston Harbor Islands, a National Park area. Technical Report NPS/NERBOST/NRTR-2004/1. National Park Service, Northeast Region, Boston, MA. 13 pp.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Edinger, G. J., A. L. Feldmann, T. G. Howard, J. J. Schmid, E. Eastman, E. Largay, and L. A. Sneddon. 2008a. Vegetation classification and mapping at Gateway National Recreation Area. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2008/107. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 283 pp.
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- Enser, R. W., and J. A. Lundgren. 2006. Natural communities of Rhode Island. A joint project of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Natural Heritage Program and The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Natural History Survey, Kingston. 40 pp. [www.rinhs.org]
- Largay, E. F., and L. A. Sneddon. 2017. Vegetation mapping and classification of Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2017/1529. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
- MNAP [Maine Natural Areas Program]. 1991. Natural landscapes of Maine: Classification of ecosystems and natural communities. Maine Natural Areas Program, Maine Department of Conservation, Natural Resources Information and Mapping Center, Augusta, ME. 77 pp.
- Metzler, K., and J. Barrett. 2006. The vegetation of Connecticut: A preliminary classification. State Geological and Natural History Survey, Report of Investigations No. 12. Connecticut Natural Diversity Database, Hartford, CT.
- NatureServe. 2009. Vegetation of the E.B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. International Ecological Classification Standard: Terrestrial Ecological Classifications. NatureServe Central Databases. Arlington, VA. U.S.A. Data current as of 1 December 2009.
- Sneddon, L. A., Zaremba, R. E., and M. Adams. 2010. Vegetation classification and mapping at Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts. Natural Resources Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2010/147. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 481 pp. [http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/caco/cacorpt.pdf]
- Sperduto, D. D., and W. F. Nichols. 2004. Natural communities of New Hampshire: A guide and classification. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord. 242 pp.
- Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2014. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Version 2.0. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA. [http://www.mass.gov/nhesp/http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/natural-communities/classification-of-natural-communities.html]
- Walz, K. S., K. H. Anderson, L. C. Kelly, A. G. Windisch, and M. C. Wong. 2008. New Jersey ecological community crosswalk: A tool for the identification of habitats across jurisdictional boundaries. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, Office of Natural Lands Management, Natural Heritage Program, Trenton.
- Welsh, B. L. 1980. Comparative nutrient dynamics of a marsh-mudflat ecosystem. Estuarine Coastal and Marine Science 10:143-164.
- Whitlatch, R. B. 1982. The ecology of New England tidal flats: A community profile. FWS/OBS-81/01. USDI Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Services Program, Washington, DC. 125 pp.