Éditeur(s) : Wiley-blackwell
Résumé : An ecomorphological method was developed, with a focus on predation functions, to define functional groups in the Celtic Sea fish community. Eleven functional traits, measured for 930 individuals from 33 species, led to 11 functional groups. Membership of functional groups was linked to body size and taxonomy. For seven species, there were ontogenetic changes in group membership. When diet composition, expressed as the proportions of different prey types recorded in stomachs, was compared among functional groups, morphology-based predictions accounted for 28-56% of the interindividual variance in prey type. This was larger than the 12-24% of variance that could be explained solely on the basis of body size. (C) 2013 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Journal Of Fish Biology (0022-1112) (Wiley-blackwell), 2013-08 , Vol. 83 , N. 2 , P. 355-377

Droits : 2013 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00152/26294/24831.pdf
DOI:10.1111/jfb.12177
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00152/26294/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : Changes in biodiversity may disrupt the ecological functions performed by species assemblages. Hence, we urgently need to examine the implications of biodiversity loss not only in terms of species conservation but also in terms of sustainability of ecosystem services. The ability of protected areas to maintain local species richness has been clearly demonstrated. However, preserving goods and services provided by ecosystems requires not only the conservation of species richness but also the conservation of the most 'original' species, i.e. the ones with the highest average rarity of their attributes which are likely to perform some unique functions in ecosystems. We proposed a new conservation of biological originality (CBO) index as well as associated randomization tests to quantify the ability of piotected areas to maintain viable populations for the most original species. As an application, we used long-term fisheries data collected in the Bonifacio Strait Natural Reserve (BSNR) to determine the species which benefited from the protection reinforcement in 1999. We also estimated a set of 14 ecomorphological functional traits on the 37 fish species caught in the BSNR and we obtained a functional originality value for each species. As a result, we found that functional originality was significantly protected in the fish assemblage of the BSNR: species with the most original functional trait combinations became more abundant after 1999. Our finding suggests that protecting most original species is an insurance against functional diversity erosion in the BSNR. More generally, our new index can be used to test whether protected areas may protect preferentially the most original species and whether restorative management promotes the reestablishment of the most original species with particular habitat requirements. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Biological Conservation (0006-3207) (Elsevier), 2008-06 , Vol. 141 , N. 6 , P. 1569-1580

Droits : 2008 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2008/publication-4480.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2008.04.002
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/4480/