Faunistic diversity of Maltese pocket sandy and shingle beaches: are these of conservation value?

The littoral fauna of Maltese sandy and shingle beaches is generally regarded as impoverished and consequently of little conservation interest. The fauna of three sandy and three shingle beaches was systematically sampled by coring, standardised searching and pitfall traps. Diversity and population density were highest at the surface for sandy beaches, but were highest below the surface for shingle. The two beach types had distinct suites of species and individual beaches were faunistically distinct. Maltese sandy and shingle beaches are of conservation importance for their habitat-restricted species, some of which have limited local and regional distributions, and are internationally protected.