| Attribute |
Indicators of Favourable Conditions |
| Area |
No reduction in subtidal mobile sandbank beyond natural
fluctuations. |
| Substratum |
Predominantly sandy substrata with a low proportion of silt
and clay material. Maintenance of baseline thickness, structure, stability characteristics
and particle composition of sand bank within natural fluctuations |
| Depth and tidal range |
Sandbank to be covered at all stages of the tidal cycle and
with no significant increase in water depth beyond natural fluctuations. |
| Water characteristics |
Maintenance of water characteristics over the subtidal mobile
sandbank, in particular salinity. |
| Hydrographical regime |
Maintenance of tidal, wind and residual flow baseline
conditions with no disruption to patterns which ensure the delivery to the subtidal mobile
sandbank of colonising organisms and organic matter as food. |
| Community structure |
Maintenance of community structure, diversity and zonations
expected given the subtidal mobile sandbank’s hydrophysical environmental regime. |
| Biotopes |
Maintenance of presence and quality of important biotope
complexes, including those listed in the Site Notification. The site should continue to be
dominated by biotopes representative of the habitat in the region. |
| Species |
Maintenance of presence and viability of important species,
including those listed in Appendix 1 in Sanderson (1996) if present and listed in the Site
Notification. |
| Community function |
The subtidal mobile sandbank should continue to support
important predator populations. |
