UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority habitats cover a wide range of semi-natural habitat types, and were those that were identified as being the most threatened and requiring conservation action under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP). The UK BAP habitats and species lists have been used to draw statutory lists of priority habitats as required under Section 42 of the Natural Environmental and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006. The habitats listed as priority habitats include; blue mussel beds, Fragile sponge and anthozoan communities, Tide swept channels, Horse mussel beds, Maerl beds, Honeycomb worm reefs, Seagrass beds, Oyster beds, Intertidal boulder communities, Intertidal mudflats, mud habitats in deep water, Sheltered muddy gravels, subtidal mixed muddy sediments, Estuarine rocky habitats, Peat and clay exposures, Carbonate reefs, Musculus discors beds, Saline lagoons, Coastal Saltmarsh and Subtidal sands and gravels. The data is related to Subtidal sand and gravels only. Sand and gravel seabeds are widespread. Those found to the west of the UK include a high proportion of shell fragments, whereas those from the North Sea are mainly formed from rock. They occur in a range of environmental conditions, from wave-sheltered, enclosed bays and estuaries to highly exposed open coasts. The mix of sand or gravel, and any sand waves or ripples present on the surface of the seabed, depend on factors such as the strength of the waves and tides. The communities of animals that live in this habitat are also determined by the environmental conditions. There tend to be fewer animals where waves and tides are strong, and the communities there will be characterised by rapid burrowers such as bristleworms, tube worms, bivalve shells and shrimp-like creatures, and perhaps by crabs, hermit crabs and sea snails on the surface of the seabed. Majority of the records are from the 1960s onwards. This data is still in draft format and has not yet been finalised. All habitat records include a confidence measure. Decisions about how these were applied are documented in the processing notes for each habitats.