Evaluación de los sitios de asentamiento de Diplodus spp. (Sparidae) a lo largo de la costa rocosa de Marsella (Francia, Mediterráneo Noroccidental).

This work aimed at performing a large scale assessment of Diplodus spp. (Sparidae) nurseries along the rocky shore of Marseilles (France, NW Mediterranean) by locating and quantifying nursery microhabitats and estimating the settlement pattern along this shore in 2004. Nursery grounds of Diplodus spp. represented only 9% of the 52 km-long rocky shore of Marseilles. Their location, shallow rocky habitats sheltered within coves, made them vulnerable to human-induced habitat transformations. D. vulgaris settled along this coast at the end of February 2004 and D. puntazzo settled a couple of months earlier. Maximum densities observed reached 215 and 67 ind./100 m for D. vulgaris and D. puntazzo respectively. The settlement rates were spatially variable. At a regional scale, lower settlement rates were observed within the south and centre zones, compared to those observed in the west, east, and the Marseilles Bay zones. Suitable nurseries along this shore seem insufficient for the replenishment of adult assemblages, which suggests that they depend on the migration of adults from other areas. Along the Marseilles rocky shore, coastal development projects leading to the destruction of habitats would represent a major threat to the Diplodus life cycle, which could be even greater than usual given the vulnerability and small size of the nurseries. These results show that it is necessary to protect these scarce local nursery habitats and manage other nearby nurseries to ensure the survival of fish at a critical life stage and the replenishment of adult assemblages.Este estudio tiene por objetivo realizar una evaluación a gran escala de las áreas adecuadas para el asentamiento de Diplodus spp. a lo largo de la costa rocosa de Marsella (Francia, Mediterráneo Noroccidental) a través del estudio de la ubicación y abundancia de estos microhábitats y del patrón de asentamiento durante el año 2004. Los microhábitats de asentamiento representaron tan sólo el 9% de los 52 km de las extensas costas rocosas de Marsella. Su ubicación en el interior de las calas, en substratos rocosos protegidos y a poca profundidad, los convierte en hábitats vulnerables a las transformaciones inducidas por el hombre. El asentamiento a lo largo de esta costa tuvo lugar a finales de febrero 2004 para D. vulgaris, y dos de meses antes para D. puntazzo. Las máximas densidades observadas por cada 100 metros de costa alcanzaron 215 y 67 individuos de D. vulgaris y D. puntazzo respectivamente. Las tasas de asentamiento fueron variables en el espacio. A escala regional, las tasas de asentamiento menores fueron observadas en las zonas sur y central. Los lugares de asentamiento adecuados a lo largo de esta costa parecieron insuficientes para abastecer las poblaciones adultas, lo que sugiere que éstas dependen de la migración de adultos desde otras áreas. La urbanización de la costa produciría destrucción de estos microhábitats, lo que pondría en peligro el ciclo vital de Diplodus, dada la vulnerabilidad y rareza de dichos microhábitats. Nuestros resultados mostraron la necesidad de proteger estos escasos hábitats de asentamiento y gestionar zonas de asentamiento a su alrededor para asegurar la conectividad entre hábitats, la supervivencia de determinadas fases críticas de los peces y el suministro de individuos a las poblaciones adultas

Influence des apports rhodaniens sur les traits d'histoires de vie de la sole commune (Solea Solea) (apports de l'analyse structurale et minéralogique des otolithes.)

La sole commune présente au cours de son cycle de vie un changement ontogénétique d habitat. Les larves sont marines et pélagiques, les juvéniles sont benthiques et vivent dans les nourriceries côtières (lagunes et estuaires) alors que les adultes sont benthiques et marins en zones plus profondes. Les otolithes sont des concrétions minéralisées de carbonate de calcium de l oreille interne des téléostéens qui ne subissent ni dissolution ni résorption. Ils enregistrent les caractéristiques chimiques et isotopiques des milieux traversés.L étude de la croissance, de la composition chimique et isotopique des otolithes des soles des nourriceries a confirmé l existence de deux stocks de soles dans le golfe du Lion, un à l Est et l autre à l Ouest. Les faibles valeurs de 13C et les fortes valeurs de Ba/Ca des otolithes des soles de l Est du golfe ont été associées à une forte influence des apports rhodaniens sur la phase de vie larvaire lors des années où le débit du Rhône est normal. En période de crue, une forte influence du fleuve est visible sur les otolithes des soles des nourriceries de l ensemble du golfe. La croissance des otolithes des juvéniles a été plus élevée lorsque la salinité a été proche de 20 et la température comprise entre 20 et 25C (période estivale). Les signatures des otolithes de Mauguio et Berre ont présenté des 13C et Sr/Ca plus faibles que ceux de Thau (influences plus marines sur les proies et les masses d eau). La spécificité des signatures chimiques et isotopiques des otolithes a permis d élaborer des profils qui ont été retrouvés chez les populations de soles adultes du golfe, mais aussi vers Marseille et Bandol. Ces soles ont montré une influence du Rhône durant la phase de vie larvaire à 53%. Elles ont également montré une forte similarité avec les profils chimiques de type lagune de Thau (10-56%) et Rhône (19-30%) durant leur vie juvénile. Toutefois, une proportion non négligeable de soles originaires de nourriceries non caractérisées (26-50%) a été observée.The life cycle of the common sole shows an ontogenetic shift of habitats. The larvae are marine and pelagic, the juveniles are benthic in coastal nurseries (lagoons and estuaries) whereas adults are benthic and live in marine deeper areas. Otoliths are paired calcified structures from the inner ear of teletost fish. They are metabolically inert (neither resorption nor dissolution) and they record, both the age (daily and annual increments) and the chemical and isotopic characteristics of the environment inhabited. Otoliths study provides information on the life history traits of individuals.The study of growth, chemical and isotopic otolith composition of soles from nurseries confirmed the existence of two sole stocks in the Gulf of Lions, one in the Eastern part and the other in the Western part. Low values in 13C and higher values in Ba/Ca ratio measured in Eastern sole otoliths during the larval life were associated to a high influence of the Rhône River discharge during a normal flow rate periods. Conversely, the one hundred return flood of the 2nd of December 2003 was very high and visible on otoliths from all nurseries in the Gulf of Lions. Juvenile otolith growth was higher in nurseries with low salinity (~20) and temperatures between 20 and 25C than in more marine nurseries. 13C and Sr/Ca ratios of otoliths from Berre and Mauguio coastal lagoons were lower than those observed in Thau coastal lagoon (more marine influences on preys and water masses). These specificities of otolith compositions were used for the elaboration of reference profiles, which have been identified in adult populations of the Gulf of Lions, Marseilles and Bandol. Adult have shown an influence of the Rhône River during their larval life at 53%. They have shown a similarity with Thau chemical profile (10-56%) and Rhône profile (19-30%) during their juvenile life. However, 26-50% of fish from uncharacterised nurseries have been observed.AIX-MARSEILLE2-Bib.electronique (130559901) / SudocSudocFranceF

The nutritional quality of non-calcified macroalgae in Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles) evaluated by their biochemical composition

Biochemical compositions of 15 species and 1 genus of macroalgae were studied. Concentrations of macronutrients were measured to evaluate their nutritional quality. High concentrations of proteins, lipids and soluble carbohydrates generally indicate a high nutritional quality because these compounds are readily metabolically available for consumers and provide a large proportion of energy. Insoluble carbohydrates are more difficult to digest and high concentrations indicate a low nutritional quality. Three groups of macroalgae were identified according to their biochemical characteristics. The first group clusters Ceramium cf nitens, Ulva cf lactuca and Lobophora cf variegata due to their high concentrations of proteins and soluble carbohydrates, and low proportion of ashes. These species presented high nutritional qualities and, according to previous studies, are preferredby herbivorous fishes. A second group constituted by Dictyota cf pulchella, Caulerpa cupressoides, C. sertularioides and Sargassum cf polyceratium presented intermediate nutritional qualities due to higher concentrations of lipids and insoluble carbohydrates. Finally, the others species and genus are characterized by a high proportion of ashes and a low nutritional quality. However, some of these species (Acanthophora spicifera, Padina cf sanctae-crucis or Laurencia cf chondrioides) are cited as preferred macroalgae for some herbivorous fishes. The present study indicates that the biochemical composition in macronutrients only partially explains the food choice made by fishes. The consumption of macroalgae by herbivores depends also on the presence of deterrent molecules, the composition in micronutrients, and their palatability that often decreased with increasing size. Most of macroalgae are preferentially consumed when young and small

Use of stable isotope signatures (δ13C & δ15N) in the Black Sea Danubian area – new approach for understanding the influence of terrestrial discharge upon the marine ecosystem

Abstract. Coastal marine zones located in front of large rivers are of major biological interest. In these areas, the origin of the organic matter is complex and highly variable. The continental inputs, added to the nutrients already present in the marine environment, influence considerably the productivity and functioning of the ecosystems. Used for the first time in aquatic ecology on the Romanian coast, the proportion of stable isotopes of carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) allowed the identification of the organic material sources (terrestrial and marine) as well as the analysis of the food webs due to the predictable isotopic relation between consumers and their food. Preliminary analyses of stable isotopes of the particulate organic matter POM of the Danube water as well as marine POM, sediments and marine organisms were made on 186 samples collected at 10 stations in October 2004. The identification of the isotopic signatures of the main sources of organic material (terrestrial and marine) was achieved along with those of some groups of marine organisms present in this area (macrophytes, bivalves, polychaetes, amphipods, macrurans, brachyurans and fish). The results obtained in the Black Sea were compared with those of the Mediterranean Sea seawards the Rhone river and showed that the isotopic signatures of the two river POM were close to each other, whereas they largely differed in marine phytoplankton and macrophytes

Delineating reef fish trophic guilds with global gut content data synthesis and phylogeny

Understanding species' roles in food webs requires an accurate assessment of their trophic niche. However, it is challenging to delineate potential trophic interactions across an ecosystem, and a paucity of empirical information often leads to inconsistent definitions of trophic guilds based on expert opinion, especially when applied to hyperdiverse ecosystems. Using coral reef fishes as a model group, we show that experts disagree on the assignment of broad trophic guilds for more than 20% of species, which hampers comparability across studies. Here, we propose a quantitative, unbiased, and reproducible approach to define trophic guilds and apply recent advances in machine learning to predict probabilities of pairwise trophic interactions with high accuracy. We synthesize data from community-wide gut content analyses of tropical coral reef fishes worldwide, resulting in diet information from 13,961 individuals belonging to 615 reef fish. We then use network analysis to identify 8 trophic guilds and Bayesian phylogenetic modeling to show that trophic guilds can be predicted based on phylogeny and maximum body size. Finally, we use machine learning to test whether pairwise trophic interactions can be predicted with accuracy. Our models achieved a misclassification error of less than 5%, indicating that our approach results in a quantitative and reproducible trophic categorization scheme, as well as high-resolution probabilities of trophic interactions. By applying our framework to the most diverse vertebrate consumer group, we show that it can be applied to other organismal groups to advance reproducibility in trait-based ecology. Our work thus provides a viable approach to account for the complexity of predator-prey interactions in highly diverse ecosystems.Peer reviewe

Rare Species Support Vulnerable Functions in High-Diversity Ecosystems

Around the world, the human-induced collapses of populations and species have triggered a sixth mass extinction crisis, with rare species often being the first to disappear. Although the role of species diversity in the maintenance of ecosystem processes has been widely investigated, the role of rare species remains controversial. A critical issue is whether common species insure against the loss of functions supported by rare species. This issue is even more critical in species-rich ecosystems where high functional redundancy among species is likely and where it is thus often assumed that ecosystem functioning is buffered against species loss. Here, using extensive datasets of species occurrences and functional traits from three highly diverse ecosystems (846 coral reef fishes, 2,979 alpine plants, and 662 tropical trees), we demonstrate that the most distinct combinations of traits are supported predominantly by rare species both in terms of local abundance and regional occupancy. Moreover, species that have low functional redundancy and are likely to support the most vulnerable functions, with no other species carrying similar combinations of traits, are rarer than expected by chance in all three ecosystems. For instance, 63% and 98% of fish species that are likely to support highly vulnerable functions in coral reef ecosystems are locally and regionally rare, respectively. For alpine plants, 32% and 89% of such species are locally and regionally rare, respectively. Remarkably, 47% of fish species and 55% of tropical tree species that are likely to support highly vulnerable functions have only one individual per sample on average. Our results emphasize the importance of rare species conservation, even in highly diverse ecosystems, which are thought to exhibit high functional redundancy. Rare species offer more than aesthetic, cultural, or taxonomic diversity value; they disproportionately increase the potential breadth of functions provided by ecosystems across spatial scales. As such, they are likely to insure against future uncertainty arising from climate change and the ever-increasing anthropogenic pressures on ecosystems. Our results call for a more detailed understanding of the role of rarity and functional vulnerability in ecosystem functioning

The great melting pot. Common sole population connectivity assessed by otolith and water fingerprints

Quantifying the scale and importance of individual dispersion between populations and life stages is a key challenge in marine ecology. The common sole (Solea solea), an important commercial flatfish in the North Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, has a marine pelagic larval stage, a benthic juvenile stage in coastal nurseries (lagoons, estuaries or shallow marine areas) and a benthic adult stage in deeper marine waters on the continental shelf. To date, the ecological connectivity among these life stages has been little assessed in the Mediterranean. Here, such an assessment is provided for the first time for the Gulf of Lions, NW Mediterranean, based on a dataset on otolith microchemistry and stable isotopic composition as indicators of the water masses inhabited by individual fish. Specifically, otolith Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca profiles, and delta C-13 and delta O-18 values of adults collected in four areas of the Gulf of Lions were compared with those of young-of-the-year collected in different coastal nurseries. Results showed that a high proportion of adults (>46%) were influenced by river inputs during their larval stage. Furthermore Sr/Ca ratios and the otolith length at one year of age revealed that most adults (similar to 70%) spent their juvenile stage in nurseries with high salinity, whereas the remainder used brackish environments. In total, data were consistent with the use of six nursery types, three with high salinity (marine areas and two types of highly saline lagoons) and three brackish (coastal areas near river mouths, and two types of brackish environments), all of which contributed to the replenishment of adult populations. These finding implicated panmixia in sole population in the Gulf of Lions and claimed for a habitat integrated management of fisherie

Feeding behaviour of Black Sea bottom fishes: Did it change over time?

2nd Joint European Stable Isotope User Meeting (JESIUM), Presquile de Giens, FRANCE, AUG 31-SEP 05, 2008International audienceThis Study was designed to improve knowledge in feeding behaviour of the round goby (Apollonia melanostomus (Pallas, 1814)), the red mullet (Mullus barbatus ponticus Essipov, 1927), the whiting (Merlangius merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758)), the flounder (Platichthys flesus (Linnaeus, 1758)), the sole (Solea solea (Linnaeus, 1758)), the turbot (Psetta maeotica (Pallas, 1814)) and the starry Sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus Pallas, 1771) from the north-western Black Sea. Gut content coupled with stable isotope analysis allowed describing food web variations according to species, in two seasons and at two areas located seawards the Danube River. Present results showed that most fishes have likely changed their feeding behaviour compared to past studies from the same area. Trophic niches were reduced and dietary overlap was common, as different fish species consumed the same dominant prey types. Fishes probably adapted their feeding behaviour to the increasingly low biodiversity of the Black Sea communities. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved