Dive in Deeper - The Sandy Seabed

Away from the shoreline, the seabed changes from rock to sand and mud. The sandy seabed stretches away from the coast to cover the Moray Firth bay and out into the North Sea.

This is not the easiest habitat to call home and at first glance looks bare of life, but many animals make their living on or under the sandy sediment. The sediment itself can be rich in organic matter and so many burrowing creatures will make a living here. Skates and rays use their electro-perception, their ability to sense weak electric fields given off by living things, to fine animals hiding in the sand or mud. Many bottom feeding fish will also frequent the sandy seabed to look for food below the sands. Flatfish used the sediment to camouflage and will lie in wait to ambush their prey as it swims pass.