Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Despite the increasing dominance of turf algae in coral reefs, few studies have investigated their physiological and ecological responses to changes in abiotic factors. We tested the effects of depth and ultraviolet radiation on turf algae at different levels of successional stages using two experiments. Depth-related differences were found for all turf algal communities, characterized by a higher amount of the cyanobacteria taxon Dichothrix and the red filamentous genera Poly-/Herposiphonia in the shallow and the appearance of oscillating cyanobacteria in deeper waters. In the first experiment, cross-depth transplantation of 153 days old communities influenced percentage cover, biomass and taxa composition. Downward transplantation lowered overall biomass and abundance of the foraminifera Sorites, whereas the crustose green alga Pringsheimiella and filamentous cyanobacteria colonized the communities. A nearly reverse pattern was observed in upward transplanted communities. Overall we distinguished between sensitive taxa, like Oscillatoria, and taxa able to acclimate to alterations in their environment, like Pringsheimiella, Poly/Herposiphonia and Dichothrix. In the second experiment, algae grown for 285 days at 5 m were exposed together with a set of sterile settlement tiles to three UVR regimes at 2 m for 22 days. UVR had no effect on turf algal communities regardless of successional stage. This study highlights the presence of high light and UV tolerant species. The high UV tolerance of turf communities may confer a competitive advantage over other more sensitive coral reef biota, such as corals. This study demonstrates that turf algae are dynamic communities exhibiting species-specific resistance to environmental changes.
ISSN: 0022-0981

hal-01333486
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01333486
DOI : 10.1016/j.jembe.2014.07.017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Inter-Research
Résumé : International audience
The effects of global change are particularly serious in areas where range shiftsof species are physically constrained such as the Ligurian Sea, which is one ofthe coldest sectors of the Mediterranean. In this basin, historical informationon water temperature (from the sea surface down to 75 m depth) dates backto the 1950s. Early studies also recorded warm-water species occurrence.Thanks to these data we provide the first detailed characterization of watertemperature variation from 1958 up to 2010 in the layer 0–75 m depth. Wecoupled this analysis with the available information on rocky reef epibenthiccommunities (literature review from 1955 to 1964 and field data from 1980 to2010). The analysis of water temperature revealed several patterns of variation:a cooling phase from 1958 to 1980, a phase of rapid warming from 1980 to1990 and a phase of slower warming from 1990 to 2010. Inter-annual variationin temperature increased over the entire period for the water layer down to20 m. Warm-water native and alien species richness increased during thewarming phases. Literature estimates suggest a decrease in warm-water nativespecies richness during the cooling phase. The analysis of quantitative data collectedin the early 1990s and late 2000s indicated a decrease in the cover ofwarm-water native species on shallow rocky reefs and an increase in deeperwaters. We argue that increased inter-annual variation in water temperaturemay disadvantage native warm-water species in shallow waters. Our resultsindicate that the effect of temperature rises in cold, constrained basins may bemore complex than the simple prediction of species changing their geographicalrange according to their thermal limits.
Marine Ecology Progress Series

hal-01239259
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01239259
DOI : 10.1111/maec.12277

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Inter-Research
Résumé : International audience
Ecological connectivity is important for effective marine planning and biodiversity conservation. Our aim was to identify factors important in influencing variation in benthic community structure on shallow rocky reefs in 2 regions of the Mediterranean Sea with contrasting oceanographic regimes. We assessed beta (β) diversity at 146 sites in the littoral and shallow sub-littoral from the Adriatic/Ionian Seas (eastern region) and Ligurian/Tyrrhenian Seas (western region) using a null modelling approach to account for variation in species richness. The distance decay relationship between species turnover within each region and geographic distance by sea was determined using generalised linear models. Mantel tests were used to examine correlations between β diversity and connectivity by ocean currents, estimated from Lagrangian dispersal simulations. Variation in β diversity between sites was partitioned according to environmental and spatial components using a distance-based redundancy approach. Species turnover along a gradient of geographic distance was greater by a factor of 3 to 5 in the western region than the eastern region, suggesting lower con-nectivity between sites. β diversity was correlated with connectivity by ocean currents at both depths in the eastern region but not in the western region. The influence of spatial and environmental predictors of β diversity varied considerably between regions, but was similar between depths. Our results highlight the interaction of oceanographic, spatial and environmental processes influencing benthic marine β diversity. Persistent currents in the eastern region may be responsible for lower observed β diversity compared to the western region, where patterns of water circulation are more variable.
Marine Ecology Progress Series

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
hal-01357935
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357935
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357935/document
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357935/file/m553p001.pdf
DOI : 10.3354/meps11783

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Patterns of connectivity and self-recruitment are recognized as key factors shaping the dynamics of marine populations. Connectivity is also essential for maintaining and restoring natural ecological processes with genetic diversity contributing to the adaptation and persistence of any species in the face of global disturbances. Estimates of connectivity are crucial to inform the design of both marine protected areas (MPAs) and MPA networks. Among several approaches, genetic structure is frequently used as a proxy for patterns of connectivity. Using 8 microsatellite loci, we investigated genetic structure of the two-banded sea bream Diplodus vulgaris, a coastal fish that is both commercially and ecologically important. Adults were sampled in 7 locations (stretches of coastline approximately 8 km long) and juveniles in 14 sites (~100 to 200 m of coastline) along 200 km of the Apulian Adriatic coast (SW Adri-atic Sea), within and outside an MPA (Torre Guaceto MPA, Italy). Our study found similar genetic diversity indices for both the MPA and the surrounding fished areas. An overall lack of genetic structure among samples suggests high gene flow (i.e. connectivity) across a scale of at least 200 km. However, some local genetic divergences found in two locations demonstrate some heterogeneity in processes renewing the population along the Apulian Adriatic coast. Furthermore, two sites appeared genetically divergent, reinforcing our observations within the genetic makeup of adults and confirming heterogeneity in early stage genetics that can come from either different supply populations or from chaotic genetic patchiness occurring under temporal variation in recruitment and in the reproductive success. While the specific role of the MPA is not entirely known in this case, these results confirm the presence of regional processes and the key role of connectivity in maintaining the local population supply.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01442055
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01442055
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01442055/document
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01442055/file/journal.pone.0167441.pdf
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0167441.s009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), if well designed and managed, can produce conservation benefits to fish assemblages within no-take zones and fishery benefits in neighboring areas through ‘spillover’. However, although plenty of studies have provided evidence of the benefits produced within MPA boundaries, overall benefits to local fisheries, especially via spillover, seem to be still unclear. Because of the lost fishing grounds following an MPA establishment, local fishermen usually oppose MPAs. There is, therefore, the urgent need for a better understanding of the mechanism(s) through which MPAs can export fishable fish biomass towards adjacent fished areas, a process that could counterbalance the loss of fishing grounds. Here we review the literature on spillover for refining the terminology, detailing the underlying mechanisms and identifying both the existing and needed methodological approaches to measure spillover. Operationally, two types of spillover should be considered: ecological spillover (i.e. the net export of juvenile, subadult and adult biomass from MPAs outwards driven by density-dependent processes) and the fishery spillover (i.e. the proportion of this biomass that can be fished, taking into account regulations and accessibility). Underwater visual census and tagging/tracking may allow getting evidence of ecological spillover, while experimental catch data are essential to assess and monitor fishery spillover, which is the main component of MPAs that can provide direct benefit to local fisheries.
ISSN: 1617-1381

hal-01325478
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01325478
DOI : 10.1016/j.jnc.2016.04.004