Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The extent of the global human footprint [ 1 ] limits our understanding of what is natural in the marine environment. Remote, near-pristine areas provide some baseline expectations for biomass [ 2, 3 ] and suggest that predators dominate, producing an inverted biomass pyramid. The southern pass of Fakarava atoll—a biosphere reserve in French Polynesia—hosts an average of 600 reef sharks, two to three times the biomass per hectare documented for any other reef shark aggregations [ 4 ]. This huge biomass of predators makes the trophic pyramid inverted. Bioenergetics models indicate that the sharks require ∼90 tons of fish per year, whereas the total fish production in the pass is ∼17 tons per year. Energetic theory shows that such trophic structure is maintained through subsidies [ 5–9 ], and empirical evidence suggests that sharks must engage in wide-ranging foraging excursions to meet energy needs [ 9, 10 ]. We used underwater surveys and acoustic telemetry to assess shark residency in the pass and feeding behavior and used bioenergetics models to understand energy flow. Contrary to previous findings, our results highlight that sharks may overcome low local energy availability by feeding on fish spawning aggregations, which concentrate energy from other local trophic pyramids. Fish spawning aggregations are known to be targeted by sharks, but they were previously believed to play a minor role representing occasional opportunistic supplements. This research demonstrates that fish spawning aggregations can play a significant role in the maintenance of local inverted pyramids in pristine marine areas. Conservation of fish spawning aggregations can help conserve shark populations, especially if combined with shark fishing bans.
ISSN: 0960-9822

hal-01359391
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01359391
DOI : 10.1016/j.cub.2016.05.058

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
A comprehensive inventory of global biodiversity would be greatly improved by automating methods for species delimitation. The Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery method, the Poisson tree processes algorithm and the Generalized mixed Yule coalescent model have been proposed as means of increasing the rate of biodiversity description using single locus data. We applied these methods to explore the diversity within the Aglaopheniidae, a hydrozoan family with many species widely distributed across tropical and tem perate oceans. Our analyses revealed widespread cryptic diversity in this family, almost half of the morpho species presenting several independent evolutionary lineages, as well as support for cases of synonymy. For two common species of this family, Lytocarpia brevirostris and Macrorhynchia phoenicea, we compared the outputs to clustering analyses based on microsatellite data and to nuclear gene phylo genies. For L. brevirostris, microsatellite data were congruent with results of the species delimitation methods, revealing the existence of two cryptic species with Indo Pacific distribution. For M. phoenicea, all analyses confirmed the presence of two cryptic species within the South Western Indian Ocean. Our study suggests that the diversity of Aglaopheniidae might be much higher than assumed, likely related to low dispersal capacities. Sequence based species delimitation methods seem highly valuable to reveal cryptic diversity in hydrozoans; their application in an integrative framework will be very useful in describing the phyletic diversity of these organisms.
ISSN: 1055-7903

hal-01359407
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01359407
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01359407/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01359407/file/Postaire-etal2016MolPhylEvol_sp_delim_hydraires_HAL.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.ympev.2016.08.013

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD PeerJ
Résumé : International audience
Understanding the role of predators in food webs can be challenging in highly diverse predator/prey systems composed of small cryptic species. DNA based dietary analysis can supplement predator removal experiments and provide high resolution for prey identification. Here we use a metabarcoding approach to provide initial insights into the diet and functional role of coral-dwelling predatory fish feeding on small invertebrates. Fish were collected in Moorea (French Polynesia) where the BIOCODE project has generated DNA barcodes for numerous coral associated invertebrate species. Pyrosequencing data revealed a total of 292 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU) in the gut contents of the arc-eye hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus), the flame hawkfish (Neocirrhites armatus) and the coral croucher (Caracanthus maculatus). One hundred forty-nine (51%) of them had species-level matches in reference libraries (>98% similarity) while 76 additional OTUs (26%) could be identified to higher taxonomic levels. Decapods that have a mutualistic relationship with Pocillopora and are typically dominant among coral branches, represent a minor contribution of the predators' diets. Instead, predators mainly consumed transient species including pelagic taxa such as copepods, chaetognaths and siphonophores suggesting non random feeding behavior. We also identified prey species known to have direct negative interactions with stony corals, such as Hapalocarcinus sp, a gall crab considered a coral parasite, as well as species of vermetid snails known for their deleterious effects on coral growth. Pocillopora DNA accounted for 20.8% and 20.1% of total number of sequences in the guts of the flame hawkfish and coral croucher but it was not detected in the guts of the arc-eye hawkfish. Comparison of diets among the three fishes demonstrates remarkable partitioning with nearly 80% of prey items consumed by only one predator. Overall, the taxonomic resolution provided by the metabarcoding approach highlights a highly complex interaction web and demonstrates that levels of trophic partitioning among coral reef fishes have likely been underestimated. Therefore, we strongly encourage further empirical approaches to dietary studies prior to making assumptions of trophic equivalency in food web reconstruction. How to cite this article Leray et al. (2015), Metabarcoding dietary analysis of coral dwelling predatory fish demonstrates the minor contribution of coral mutualists to their highly partitioned, generalist diet. PeerJ 3:e1047
ISSN: 2167-8359

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
hal-01174184
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174184
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174184/document
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174184/file/peerj-1047.pdf
DOI : 10.7717/peerj.1047

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
9th Joint Natural Products Conference
Copenhague, Denmark

hal-01627312
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01627312

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Climatic niche conservatism, the tendency of species-climate associations to remain unchanged across space and time, is pivotal for forecasting the spread of invasive species and biodiversity changes. Indeed, it represents one of the key assumptions underlying species distribution models (SDMs), the main tool currently available for predicting range shifts of species. However, to date, no comprehensive assessment of niche conservatism is available for the marine realm. We use the invasion by Indo-Pacific tropical fishes into the Mediterranean Sea, the world's most invaded marine basin, to examine the conservatism of the climatic niche. We show that tropical invaders may spread far beyond their native niches and that SDMs do not predict their new distributions better than null models. Our results suggest that SDMs may underestimate the potential spread of invasive species and call for prudence in employing these models in order to forecast species invasion and their response to environmental change.
ISSN: 1461-023X

hal-01136126
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01136126
DOI : 10.1111/ele.12401

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
The Western Indian Ocean harbors one of theworld’s most diverse marine biota yet is threatened byexploitation with few conservation measures in place.Primary candidates for conservation in the region are theScattered Islands (Iles Eparses), a group of relativelypristine and uninhabited islands in the MozambiqueChannel. However, while optimal conservation strategiesdepend on the degree of population connectivity amongspatially isolated habitats, very few studies have beenconducted in the area. Here, we use highly variablemicrosatellite markers from two damselfishes (Amphiprionakallopisos and Dascyllus trimaculatus) with differing lifehistory traits [pelagic larval duration (PLD), adult habitat]to compare genetic structure and connectivity among theseislands using classic population structure indices as well asBayesian clustering methods. All classical fixation indexesFST, RST, G0ST, and Jost’s D show stronger genetic differentiationamong islands for A. akallopisos compared to D.trimaculatus, consistent with the former species’ shorterPLD and stronger adult site attachment, which may restrictlarval dispersal potential. In agreement with these results,the Bayesian analysis revealed clear genetic differentiationamong the islands in A. akallopisos, separating the southerngroup (Bassas da India and Europa) from the center(Juan de Nova) and northern (Iles Glorieuses) islands, butnot for D. trimaculatus. Local oceanographic patterns suchas eddies that occur along the Mozambique Channel appearto parallel the results reported for A. akallopisos, but suchfeatures seem to have little effect on the genetic differentiationof D. trimaculatus. The contrasting patterns ofgenetic differentiation between species within the samefamily highlight the importance of accounting for diverselife history traits when assessing community-wide connectivity,an increasingly common consideration in conservationplanning.
ISSN: 0722-4028

hal-01561992
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01561992
DOI : 10.1007/s00338-016-1495-z

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
As climate change continues to impact socio-ecological systems, tools that assist conservation managers to understand vulnerability and target adaptations are essential. Quantitative assessments of vulnerability are rare because available frameworks are complex and lack guidance for dealing with data limitations and integrating across scales and disciplines. This paper describes a semi-quantitative method for assessing vulnerability to climate change that integrates socio-ecological factors to address management objectives and support decision-making. The method applies a framework first adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and uses a structured 10-step process. The scores for each framework element are normalized and multiplied to produce a vulnerability score and then the assessed components are ranked from high to low vulnerability. Sensitivity analyses determine which indicators most influence the analysis and the resultant decision-making process so data quality for these indicators can be reviewed to increase robustness. Prioritisation of components for conservation considers other economic, social and cultural values with vulnerability rankings to target actions that reduce vulnerability to climate change by decreasing exposure or sensitivity and/or increasing adaptive capacity. This framework provides practical decision-support and has been applied to marine ecosystems and fisheries, with two case applications provided as examples: (1) food security in Pacific Island nations under climate-driven fish declines, and (2) fisheries in the Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia. The step-wise process outlined here is broadly applicable and can be undertaken with minimal resources using existing data, thereby having great potential to inform adaptive natural resource management in diverse locations.
ISSN: 0308-597X

hal-01380403
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01380403
DOI : 10.1016/j.marpol.2016.09.024

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
AimThe global biodiversity crisis requires the identification of regions with high evolutionary potential, i.e. evolutionary hotspots (evospots). We created an analytical framework based on comparative phylogeography and coalescent methods to assess the dynamics of diversification and population persistence in the reef ecosystem of a little-studied region: the Southwestern Indian Ocean (SWIO).LocationCoral reefs of the SWIO, with comparative data from the Pacific Ocean.MethodsWe generated sequences of mitochondrial DNA (COI and 16S) for 10 widespread brittle-stars (345 specimens) from 21 localities (8 in the SWIO). We analysed them by combining comparative phylogeography approaches, coalescent-based methods, molecular clocks and the concept of evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) to draw conclusions about the drivers of biodiversity in the region.ResultsCryptic diversity was prevalent, increasing lineage diversity within the 10 nominal species by 70% within the SWIO and by 200% across the Indo-West Pacific. All seven new SWIO lineages meet the criteria for ESUs and at least six are biological species. We detected likely intraregional diversifications dating to the Plio-Pleistocene, supporting the SWIO as a generator of biodiversity. Geographical restriction of ESUs, long coalescent times (> 80 ka) and old in situ diversification (> 1 Ma) point to the persistence of populations over multiple glacio-eustatic cycles. We provide data suggesting demographic expansion during sea-level high stands. Regional connectivity was lower, and cryptic differentiation higher in lecithotrophs than in planktotrophs.Main conclusionsThe analytical framework based on a biodiversity survey makes it possible to identify evospots by assessing the potential of a region to maintain and generate biodiversity and by evaluating the evolutionary processes and potential drivers at play.
ISSN: 0305-0270

hal-01369697
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01369697
DOI : 10.1111/jbi.12155

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD PeerJ
Résumé : International audience
The tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier (Carcharhinidae) is a large elasmobranch suspected to have, as other apex predators, a keystone function in marine ecosystems and is currently considered Near Threatened (Red list IUCN). Knowledge on its ecology, which is crucial to design proper conservation and management plans, is very scarce. Here we describe the isolation of eight polymorphic microsatellite loci using 454 GS-FLX Titanium pyrosequencing of enriched DNA libraries. Their characteristics were tested on a population of tiger shark (n = 101) from Reunion Island (SouthWestern Indian Ocean). All loci were polymorphic with a number of alleles ranging from two to eight. No null alleles were detected and no linkage disequilibrium was detected after Bonferroni correction. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.03 to 0.76 and from 0.03 to 0.77, respectively. No locus deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and the global F IS of the population was of 0.04 NS. Some of the eight loci developed here successfully cross-amplified in the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas (one locus), the spinner shark Carcharhinus brevipinna (four loci), the sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus (five loci) and the scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini (two loci). We also designed primers to amplify and sequence a mitochondrial marker, the control region. We sequenced 862 bp and found a low genetic diversity, with four polymorphic sites, a haplotype diversity of 0.15 and a nucleotide diversity of 2 × 10 −4 .
ISSN: 2167-8359

hal-01317961
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01317961
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01317961/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01317961/file/Pirog_2016PeerJ_microsat_tiger_shark.pdf
DOI : 10.7717/peerj.2041

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Aim : To assess gaps in the representation of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity among coastal fishes in Mediterranean marine-protected areas (MPAs).
ISSN: 1366-9516

hal-01135644
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01135644
DOI : 10.1111/ddi.12280

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD PeerJ
Résumé : International audience
Acoustic recording has been recognized as a valuable tool for non-intrusive monitoring of the marine environment, complementing traditional visual surveys. Acoustic surveys conducted on coral ecosystems have so far been restricted to barrier reefs and to shallow depths (10–30 m). Since they may provide refuge for coral reef organisms, the monitoring of outer reef slopes and describing of the soundscapes of deeper environment could provide insights into the characteristics of different biotopes of coral ecosystems. In this study, the acoustic features of four different habitats, with different topographies and substrates, located at different depths from 10 to 100 m, were recorded during daytime on the outer reef slope of the north Coast of Moorea Island (French Polynesia). Barrier reefs appeared to be the noisiest habitats whereas the average sound levels at other habitats decreased with their distance from the reef and with increasing depth. However, sound levels were higher than expected by propagation models, supporting that these habitats possess their own sound sources. While reef sounds are known to attract marine larvae, sounds from deeper habitats may then also have a non-negligible attractive potential, coming into play before the reef itself.
ISSN: 2167-8359

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
hal-01654685
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01654685
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01654685/document
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01654685/file/peerj-4019.pdf
DOI : 10.7717/peerj.4019

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oldendorf/Luhe
Résumé : International audience
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being increasingly used in studies of marinefauna. Here, we tested the use of a UAV (DJI Phantom II®) to assess fine-scale variation in densitiesof 2 elasmobranchs (blacktip reef sharks Carcharhinus melanopterus and pink whiprays Himanturafai) on reef systems off Moorea (French Polynesia). We flew parallel transects designed to samplereef habitats (fringing, channel and sandflat habitats) across 2 survey blocks. Block 1 included ashark and ray provisioning site with potentially higher elasmobranch densities, whereas Block 2most likely had lower densities with no provisioning activities. Across 10 survey days in July 2014,we flew 3 transects (400 m) within each survey block (n = 60 total transect passes). As expected,densities (animals ha−1) were significantly higher in Block 1 than in Block 2, particularly where provisioningactivities occur. Differences between habitats surveyed were also found. Our study providesthe first direct estimates of shark and ray densities in coral-reef ecosystems and demonstratesthat UAVs can produce important fishery-independent data for elasmobranchs, particularly inshallow-water habitats.
ISSN: 0171-8630

hal-01416757
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01416757
DOI : 10.3354/meps11945

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Magnolia Press
Résumé : International audience
Despite their importance in marine biodiversity, invertebrates are far less studied than vertebrates. Given the current globalbiodiversity crisis and insufficient taxonomic resources, sustained efforts need to be undertaken to assess species diversity,especially in the highly threatened ‘biodiversity hotspots’. Réunion is a young volcanic island lying in the Mascarene Islands(south-western Indian Ocean, SWIO), a marine biodiversity hotspot. A substantial sampling effort was conductedaround Réunion Island to document shallow water reef-associated ophiuroid (brittle-stars) diversity, a class recognised asthe most diverse among echinoderms. A total of 33 species were documented, increasing the known species richness ofthe island by 56%. Findings include 15 new records for Réunion, 11 for the Mascarene Islands and 8 for the Indian Ocean.The most diverse family was Ophiocomidae, a family of large, abundant and conspicuous tropical species. Even in thiswell studied family, a new species was revealed by this survey. Morphological variants together with DNA sequence variationswithin several species revealed cryptic species. We compared our results with the known fauna of other MascareneIslands and discuss biogeographic implications for the region.
ISSN: 1175-5326

hal-01327053
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01327053
DOI : 10.11646/zootaxa.4098.2.4

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Royal Society, The
Résumé : International audience
Endemic species are frequently assumed to have lower genetic diversity than species with large distributions, even if closely related. This assumption is based on research from the terrestrial environment and theoretical evolutionary modelling. We test this assumption in the marine environment by analysing the mitochondrial genetic diversity of 33 coral reef fish species from five families sampled from Pacific Ocean archipelagos. Surprisingly, haplotype and nucleotide diversity did not differ significantly between endemic and widespread species. The probable explanation is that the effective population size of some widespread fishes locally is similar to that of many of the endemics. Connectivity across parts of the distribution of the widespread species is probably low, so widespread species can operate like endemics at the extreme or isolated parts of their range. Mitochondrial genetic diversity of many endemic reef fish species may not either limit range size or be a source of vulnerability.
ISSN: 0962-8452

hal-01333327
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01333327
DOI : 10.1098/rspb.2014.1068

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Ecosystems are commonly affected by natural, episodic disturbances that can abruptly and drastically alter communities. Although it has been shown that resilient ecosystems can eventually recover to pre-disturbed states, the extent to which communities in early stages of recovery could be affected by multiple anthropogenic stressors is poorly understood. Pervasive and rising anthropogenic stressors in coastal marine systems that could interactively affect the recovery of these systems following natural disturbances include high sedimentation, nutrient enrichment, and overfishing. Using a 6-month field experiment, we examined the effects of all combinations of these three stressors on key functional groups in the benthic community growing on simulated, post-disturbance reef patches within a system recovering from large-scale natural disturbances (corallivorous seastar outbreak and cyclone). Our study revealed that sedimentation, nutrient enrichment, and overfishing (simulated using exclusion cages) interactively affected coral survival and algal growth, with taxon-specific effects at multiple scales. First, our treatments affected corals and algae differently, with sedimentation being more detrimental to macroalgal growth but less detrimental to coral (Porites rus) survival in caged plots, driving significant interactions between sedimentation and caging for both taxa. We also observed distinct responses between coral species and between algal functional groups, with the most extensive responses from algal turf biomass, for which sedimentation suppressed the synergistic (positive) combined effect of nutrient enrichment and caging. Our findings suggest that different combinations of ubiquitous anthropogenic stressors, related to either sea- or land-based activities, interactively influence community recovery from disturbance and may alter species compositions in the resulting community. Our findings further suggest that anthropogenic stressors could promote further degradation of coral reefs following natural disturbances by inhibiting recovery to coral-dominated states that provide vital ecosystem services to coastal populations worldwide.
ISSN: 0722-4028

hal-01430977
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01430977
DOI : 10.1007/s00338-016-1489-x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Anthropogenic impacts are increasingly affecting the world's oceans. Networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) provide an option for increasing the ecological and economic benefits often provided by single MPAs. It is vital to empirically assess the effects of MPA networks and to prioritize the monitoring data necessary to explain those effects. We summarize the types of MPA networks based on their intended management outcomes and illustrate a framework for evaluating whether a connectivity network is providing an outcome greater than the sum of individual MPA effects. We use an analysis of an MPA network in Hawai'i to compare networked MPAs to non-networked MPAs to demonstrate results consistent with a network effect. We assert that planning processes for MPA networks should identify their intended outcomes while also employing coupled field monitoring-simulation modeling approaches, a powerful way to prioritize the most relevant monitoring data for empirically assessing MPA network performance.
ISSN: 1932-6203

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
hal-01341695
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01341695
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01341695/document
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01341695/file/journal.pone.0102298.PDF
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0102298

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Royal Society
Résumé : Coral bleaching events are predicted to occur more frequently in the coming decades with global warming. The susceptibility of corals to bleaching during thermal stress episodes depends on many factors, including the magnitude of thermal stress and irradiance. The interactions among these two factors, and in particular with ultra-violet radiation (UVR), the most harmful component of light, are more complex than assumed, and are not yet well understood. This paper explores the individual and combined effects of temperature and UVR on the metabolism of Acropora muricata, one of the most abundant coral species worldwide. Particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM/DOM) fluxes and organic matter (OM) degradation by the mucus-associated bacteria were also monitored in all conditions. The results show that UVR exposure exacerbated the temperature-induced bleaching, but did not affect OM fluxes, which were only altered by seawater warming. Temperature increase induced a shift from POM release and DOM uptake in healthy corals to POM uptake and DOM release in stressed ones. POM uptake was linked to a significant grazing of pico- and nanoplankton particles during the incubation, to fulfil the energetic requirements of A. muricata in the absence of autotrophy. Finally, OM degradation by mucus-associated bacterial activity was unaffected by UVR exposure, but significantly increased under high temperature. Altogether, our results demonstrate that seawater warming and UVR not only affect coral physiology, but also the way corals interact with the surrounding seawater, with potential consequences for coral reef biogeochemical cycles and food webs.
ISSN: 2046-6390

hal-01606454
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01606454
DOI : 10.1242/bio.026757
PRODINRA : 406580
PUBMED : 28811302

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer International Publishing AG.
Résumé : International audience
Underwater Seascapes. From geographical to ecological perspectives

hal-01451929
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01451929

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Coral reefs are increasingly being altered by a myriad of anthropogenic activities and natural disturbances. Long-term studies offer unique opportunities to understand how multiple and recurrent disturbances can influence coral reef resilience and long-term dynamics. While the long-term dynamics of coral assemblages have been extensively documented, the long-term dynamics of coral reef fish assemblages have received less attention. Here, we describe the changes in fish assemblages on Tiahura reef, Moorea, from 1979 to 2011. During this 33-yr period, Tiahura was exposed to multiple disturbances (crown-of-thorns seastar outbreaks and cyclones) that caused recurrent declines and recoveries of coral cover and changes in the dominant coral genera. These shifts in coral composition were associated with long-term cascading effects on fish assemblages. The composition and trophic structure of fish assemblages continuously shifted without returning to their initial composition, whereas fish species richness remained stable, albeit with a small increase over time. We detected nonlinear responses of fish density when corals were most degraded. When coral cover dropped below 10 % following a severe crown-of-thorns sea star outbreak, the density of most fish trophic groups sharply decreased. Our study shows that historical contingency may potentially be an important but largely underestimated factor explaining the contemporary structure of reef fish assemblages and suggests that temporal stability in their structure and function should not necessarily be the target of management strategies that aim at increasing or maintaining coral reef resilience.
ISSN: 0722-4028

hal-01282725
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01282725
DOI : 10.1007/s00338-015-1371-2

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
Understanding the distribution of genetic diversity in the light of past demographic events linked with climatic shifts will help to forecast evolutionary trajectories of ecosystems within the current context of climate change. In this study, mitochondrial sequences and microsatellite loci were analysed using traditional population genetic approaches together with Bayesian dating and the more recent approximate Bayesian computation scenario testing. The genetic structure and demographic history of a commercial fish, the black scorpionfish, Scorpaena porcus, was investigated throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The results suggest that the species recently underwent population expansions, in both seas, likely concomitant with the warming period following the Last Glacial Maximum, 20 000 years ago. A weak contemporaneous genetic differentiation was identified between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. However, the genetic diversity was similar for populations of the two seas, suggesting a high number of colonizers entered the Black Sea during the interglacial period and/or the presence of a refugial population in the Black Sea during the glacial period. Finally, within seas, an east/west genetic differentiation in the Adriatic seems to prevail, whereas the Black Sea does not show any structured spatial genetic pattern of its population. Overall, these results suggest that the Black Sea is not that isolated from the Mediterranean, and both seas revealed similar evolutionary patterns related to climate change and changes in sea level.
ISSN: 1471-8278

hal-01330323
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01330323
DOI : 10.1111/mec.13616