These habitats tend to have gravel or pebbles overlying or mixed in with sand.

Diagnostic Species

The isopod Exosphaeroma inornata, the polychaetes Hemipodus borealis and Armandia brevis.

Common Associates

The crustaceans Anisogammarus pugettensis, Paramoera mohri, and Excirolana kincaidi; the polychaetes Glycinde picta, Capitella capitata, and Notomastus tenuis.   Fish characteristically include shiner seaperch, juvenile English sole and cabezon, starry flounder, sculpins (padded, buffalo, staghorn, silverspotted, sharpnose, great, and tidepool), whitespotted greenling, penpoint gunnel, sturgeon poacher and tubenose poacher.

Sites Surveyed

Guemes Island, Fidalgo Bay, Legoe Bay (Lummi Island).

Sources

Nyblade, 1979a; Smith and Webber, 1978; C. Simenstad unpubl. data.