[4] Zostera noltii is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean along the coasts of Europe as far north as Norway, Sweden and the Baltic Sea.

It tends to grow in a band higher up the beach than Zostera marina beds and is often mixed with other seagrasses (Ruppia spp.).

Dense beds of shoots appear with seagrass meadows covering the intertidal flats during the summer, and at this time, flowering takes place.

By autumn growth has stopped and over the winter most of the leaves either get broken off or are eaten by birds so that the only parts left are the submerged rhizomes.

These include the brown algae species Cladosiphon zosterae, Halothrix lumbricalis, Leblondiella densa, Myrionema magnusii and Punctaria crispata.

[4] Eel grass beds provide a refuge for many invertebrates and a safe haven for developing juvenile fish.

[12] They are shy birds and only resort to feeding on Zostera noltii when the seagrass beds lower down the beach are exhausted.

However, seedlings of Zostera noltii are seldom encountered and vegetative reproduction, in which sections of rhizome become detached from the parent plant, is probably the most common means of spread.

[8] Zostera noltii and other seagrasses are important in stabilising sediments and reducing wave energy and may provide a coastal defence against erosion.