Heligoland Felswatt
Coordinates: 54 ° 11 '10.4 " N , 7 ° 52' 18.9" E
The Helgoland Felswatt with the associated “underwater world” belongs to the nature reserve Helgoland Rocksockel and is the only habitat of its kind in Germany. It is located to the west and north of Heligoland . It falls dry at low tide . The average tidal range here is 2.30 meters. The rocky floodplain was created over the centuries by the gradual erosion of the cliff of the rock island.
Flora and fauna
The flora and fauna found in the rocky floodplain have adapted to the changing tides . This habitat, which is unusual in Germany, offers a home to a diverse living world consisting of algae, invertebrates and fish. In a study of the macrofauna carried out in 1984, 172 species were counted. Furthermore, it was found that the biodiversity increases from 23 to 133 from the upper tidal zone (upper littoral ) to the area of the tidal flats, which is only briefly dry during a spring ebb (upper sublittoral ).
The abundance of algae is unique for the German Bight, as Helgoland is the only rock island with a pronounced rocky floodplain and Laminaria - kelp forests . In the “underwater world” live among other things hydroid polyps , bog animals , sea anemones , barnacles as well as woodlice spiders , amphipods and sea urchins . Beach crabs and edible crabs live in the existing rock caves .
A specialty is the so-called "Helgoland lobster", which is the European lobster ( Homarus gammarus ) , which occurs in the North Sea in a larger population only off Helgoland. In order to prevent its extinction at this location, Heligoland lobsters are bred and released in a replenishment program in the Helgoland Biological Institute at the Helgoland ferry port. Fish species in the rocky floodplain, whose population is endangered, are, for example, the rock perch and the spiked ray .
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- Pinneberg district, leaflet: Nature reserves "Helgoland rock plinth" and "Lummenfelsen der Insel Helgoland" (PDF; 1.5 MB)
- Nature Conservation Ordinance "Helgoland Rock Plinth"
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Klaus Janke: The macrofauna and its distribution in the north-east rock face of Heligoland. In: Helgoland Marine Research , Vol. 40, No. 1–2, Biological Institute Helgoland 1986.