Seagrass macrophytodetritus : a copepod hub: species diversity, dynamics and trophic ecology of the meiofauna community in Posidonia oceanica leaf litter accumulations

Macrophytodetritus is a heterogeneous mixture of detrital material that accumulates on submerged unvegetated sand patches amid vast Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows. Several vagile invertebrates are present in substantial biomass and biodiversity. Among these invertebrates, meiofauna (fauna between 38µm and 1mm) is ubiquitous and seems to play a key-feature in this dynamic and patchy system. Coastal ecosystems are under the direct effect of anthropogenic disturbance and degradation. Extra research is crucially needed to understand better the dynamics of coastal vegetation, in order to have a more successful restauration of these regressing ecosystems. In this context, the main goal of this PhD research was triple: (1) characterising in situ the physico-chemistry and the composition of the macrophytodetritus accumulations in the Calvi Bay, Corsica, (2) identifying the diversity of the associated meiofauna communities, especially harpacticoid copepods together with unravelling the origin of the present copepods and (3) characterizing the trophic ecology of the copepod communities in the macrophytodetritus at the specific and eco-morphological level. This research showed that macrophytodetritus biomass is composed on average for 75% of dead P. oceanica seagrass leaves shed after senescence. Attached to the surface of the seagrass leaves numerous micro- and macroepiphytes are present, representing on average 10% of the total biomass. The remaining part is mainly constituted of drift material, like detached P. oceanica shoots and epilithic macroalgae. A seasonal pattern is observed regarding the amount of accumulated material and the physico-chemical composition inside the accumulation. Wind-induced hydrodynamics is the responsible driver behind the variability of the macrophytodetritus and consequently it has a major impact on the faunal communities already present in a macrophytodetritus accumulation. Previous studies showed that the presence of macrofaunal invertebrates (> 1 mm) in high amounts contributes to the degradation of the detritus. Similarly, this study proves the ubiquitous presence of meiofauna in macrophytodetritus. Depending on the season, densities from 20.10³ to 160.10³ meiofaunal organisms per square metre of accumulation were recorded. Copepods were the most abundant taxon (> 50%) of which 87% belonged to the order Harpacticoida. Nematodes were the second most abundant taxon, representing on average 18% of the total meiofauna densities. A total of 61 copepod species were found in Calvi Bay macrophytodetritus accumulations and adjacent habitats (bare sand, seagrass and water column), wherefrom 85% were shared amongst these habitats, underlining the high colonization capabilities of copepods. Active colonization occurred within 24h through species-specific dispersal pathways. Certain species were more avid to colonize, resulting in a colonizer-competitor trade-off among the copepod community. Eco-morphological characteristics seemed to be responsible for the dispersal potential. However, the variety of the composition of the copepod community suggested that other factors also contributed to the attractiveness of the structurally complex macrophytodetritus habitat. The isotopic niches of four abundant copepod species, representing four different eco-morphological groups were identified: Ectinosoma dentatum (mesopsammic-type), Diosaccus tenuiremis (phytal-type), Tisbe furcata (epibenthic-type) and Clausocalanus arcuicornis (water-column-type). Based on stable isotope analysis, fatty acid profiling and Bayesian mixing model, results suggested an interspecific diversity which would indicate a species-specific resource partitioning. C. arcuicornis mainly fed on suspended organic matter, while D. tenuiremis thrived mainly on epiphytes (mostly diatoms). E. dentatum was dependent on the seasonal availability of food sources, while T. furcata fed on a heterogeneous mixture of sources. Presumably none of the species directly assimilated dead seagrass leaf litter. Overall, by combining in situ sampling, novel mesocosm experiment, biomarkers and mixing models, this study displayed the carrying capacity of macrophytodetritus to support a large amount of meiofauna and a wide diversity of copepod species. The morphological differences among copepod species seem to allow specialization towards habitat preferences, (physical habitat preferences and colonization potential) and towards resource preferences (food partitioning). Macrophytodetritus seems thus to be a suitable home, or a temporary hub for a diverse copepod community. Finally, this dynamic and patchy habitat, prone to swift changes and situated at the crossing of different ecosystems, plays a major role in coastal ecology

The secret life of a Mediterranean seagrass litter macrofauna community : a history of oxygen

Most of the foliar primary production of Posidonia oceanica, a major Mediterranean seagrass, sheds in autumn and is exported from the meadow to adjacent areas to form "Exported Macrophytodetritus Accumulations", EMAs. These EMAs are a habitat, shelter and feeding place for an abundant and diverse community of macrofauna. Being very dynamic places and potentially playing a role of transition compartment between water column and sediment, EMAs present high variability in term of physicochemical conditions and more specifically in term of oxygen concentration. Mild to severe hypoxic periods (2 - 0.01 mL O2.L-1) can be observed in situ at different moments of the year, and this variability thus potentially play a structuring role on the macrofauna community. During this study, our main specific questions were (1) Does oxygen stratification occur inside EMAs? (2) If present, how long does it take to observe this stratification? (3) Is the macrofauna impacted and do the dominant species occupy defined positions inside the different micro-habitats? To assess the importance of this impact, an experimental study was conducted in October 2014 near the STARESO oceanographic station (Calvi, Corsica) using an original "layer-sampling" design. The experimental construction was put underwater inside an EMA for 48 hours at a depth of 8m. Samples were collected (N=8) in a 20cm thick EMA using "sealed" boxes to sample every 5cm, from the sediment, to the water column. Oxygen, nutrients and of course the litter itself (containing the macrofauna) were sampled carefully to make sure no exchange occurred between the 4 different layers. After data analysis, the assessment was clear: oxygen stratification occurred in less than 48h and oxygen level inside the layer close to the sediment experienced a fast decrease below the hypoxia threshold (2 mL O2.L-1). Diversity was highly impacted, showing a clear positive link with oxygen concentration. Macrofauna also appeared to follow this oxygen stratification but this response was very species specific. Some species didn't follow oxygen and are present in every layer and most of them were strongly positively linked to oxygen concentration. But a few (Nebalia strausi and Athanas nitescens) were strongly negatively linked to oxygen concentration and were present only in the more hypoxic layers. This experimentation thus confirmed our in situ observations. Oxygen stratification occurred quickly (< 48h) when EMAs were experiencing calm weather. This stratification observed from the water column to the sediment was very marked. Diversity and abundance of most abundant macrofauna species were drastically influenced by this stratification, showing the importance of these micro-habitats in structuring of this macrofauna community.La théorie des pulses peut-elle être appliquée aux macro-invertébrés des accumulations de macrophytodétritus marins en Méditerranée

Stable isotope ratios of C and N in benthic macrofauna from Mediterranean seagrass litter accumulations from Calvi Bay in 2011-2012

Measurements of trophic markers performed in benthic macrofauna sampled in seagrass litter accumulations from Calvi Bay (Corsica, France) in 2011-2012. more This dataset contains measurements of stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen made in 568 individual specimens of 19 different taxa of benthic macrofauna (Nemertea, Mollusca, Polychaeta, Crustacea, Actinopterygii). Samples were taken in submerged seagrass litter accumulations, seasonally in 2011-2012, and at two sites of Calvi Bay (Corsica, France). Analytical measurements were performed at University of Liège (Belgium)’s stable isotope facility (Laboratory of Oceanology, Stable Isotope in Environmental Sciences and Trophic Ecology workgroup, https://www.oceanobio.uliege.be/). More info about the studies and sample preparation can be found in the publications referenced below. The dataset consists of two files: one containing the data itself, and one describing all used terms (measurements or metadata, derived from Darwin Core standards, https://dwc.tdwg.org/terms/). Publications based on this data set: Remy, F. (2016). Characterization, dynamics and trophic ecology of macrofauna associated to seagrass macrophytodetritus accumulations (Calvi Bay, Mediterranean Sea). PhD Thesis. University of Liège: Liège. xi, 285 pp. + Remy, F. et al. (2018). Seagrass organic matter transfer in Posidonia oceanica macrophytodetritus accumulations. Est., Coast. and Shelf Sci. 212: 73-79. https://hdl.handle.net/10.1016/j.ecss.2018.07.001 + Remy et al. 2021 Trophic ecology of macrofauna inhabiting seagrass litter accumulations is related to the pulses of dead leaves. ECSS in pres