Coastal Urbanization and Land Planning in Southern France

International audienceUrban sprawl is one of the main pressures affecting coastal areas in the Mediterranean. To assist spatial planning and coastal management policies, the study of urbanization and the characterization of the evolution of built-up areas along the coast are essential prerequisites. In this perspective, the production of land use data sets at a large-scale is necessary. They allow spatio-temporal analysis and, simultaneously, may be used to assess the efficiency of city planning and land planning documents. In France, where the political concern for the protection of the coasts and the limitation of urbanized areas started in the seventies, many tools and planning documents exist and can be put into force at several levels of territorial administration. However, urban sprawl is still a critical issue. It is therefore necessary to analyze how far national policies as well as local spatial planning practices are adapted. Taking as case studies two Mediterranean coastal zones of France (the Côte bleue, close to Marseilles, and the area of the Biguglia Lagoon, next to Bastia in Corsica), this article aims at analyzing jointly the evolution of urban areas along with the process of land planning

Evolution and Vitality of Seagrasses in a Mediterranean Lagoon

International audienceDespite their registration on the list of the Ramsar convention sites, the Mediterranean lagoons rarely beneficiate of an effective protection, and are particularly sensitive to environmental quality. A control of these wetlands needs the creation of an inventory of knowledge for the concerned environment. In this perspective, the seagrass beds were followed up in the coastal lagoon of Urbino (Corse, France) since 1990. A cartographic study was carried out by remote sensing of aerial photography. Temporal evolution of the seagrass beds (Cymodocea nodosa principally) allows to determine the vitality of these structures. A comparison of the surface areas occupied by Cymodocea nodosa, between 1990 and 1999, did not allow seeing any significant evolution. However, some variations appear like biotopes all more fragile and coveted as the Mediterranean coastal fringe is straight and is the privileged site of appear in the localization of the beds, due to the modification of environmental conditions in the lagoon

Problematic of the Pelagia noctiluca outbreaks in the Bay of Calvi (Corsica)

peer reviewedThe interannual variations of the Schyphozoan jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca is estimated by weekly measurements in the Bay of Calvi (Corsica) from 2003. The mean annual abundance reaches a dramatic maximum in 2006. The medusae appear by migration of active swarms on the shelf and at the external limit of the Bay. Degraded individuals drift as passive swarms, throughout inner side of the Bay and embayments

Automatic activies of the spinal cord concerned with the respiratory movements

1. After spinal transection at the medulla-spinal junction the thoracic respiratory movements no longer appear in the adult animals, nevertheless the sporadic spike discharges can be recorded from the intercostal muscles. 2. Both in the acute and chronic experiments the spinal cord is transected at the two levels of Th7 and Thl1 respectively and all the dorsal rootlets coming into that part of the cord lying between the transections are severed. The sporadic spike discharges with irregular intervals varying about 0.5 to 3.0 sec. can be recorded from intercostal muscles in the 8th to 10th segments of the spinal cord isolated. There can never be found any reflex influence of the skin stimulation upon the discharges, which also disappear provided the intercostal nerves innervating the muscles are severed. 3. From these results it may be concluded that the spinal cord is endowed with an ability to initiate the impulses autochthonously to excite the intercostal muscles, even though it is only poorly developed in the adult animals.</p

Volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in smoke exposure of firefighters during prescribed burning in the Mediterranean region

International audienc

Posidonia oceanica and Zostera marina as Potential Biomarkers of Heavy Metal Contamination in Coastal Systems

International audienc

Du phytoplancton à la gestion des écosystèmes côtiers.

National audienc

Effect of coastal lagoon environmental instability on the dual nature of sea urchin gonads.

International audienc

Les socio-écosystèmes lagunaires : retour sur 10 ans de recherche au sein de l’OHM Littoral Méditerranéen

International audienc

Morpho-chronological variations and primary production in Posidonia sea grass from Western Australia

International audienceThe occurrence of morpho-chronological variations was demonstrated in three Australian species of phanerogams, Posidonia australis, Posidonia coriacea and Posidonia sinuosa, which are found living around Rottnest Island (Western Australia). Three chronological parameters were identi¢ed: the thickness of dead sheaths, the internodal distance and the regular presence of £oral stalk remains. The foliar primary production for these three species, as estimated using the lepidochronology method, is very high since values of 1374, 1811and 678 mg dw shoot 71 y 71 were recorded, respectively. Rhizome production values range from 70.6 and 376.7 mg dw shoot 71 y 71 for Posidonia coriacea and Posidonia australis respectively. The results obtained are very encouraging and con¢rm that these morpho-chronological variations are particularly well developed for the genus Posidonia