Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Regeneration of artificially induced lesions was monitored in nubbins of the branching coral Acropora muricata at two reef-flat sites representing contrasting environments at Réunion Island (21u079S, 55u329E). Growth of these injured nubbins was examined in parallel, and compared to controls. Biochemical compositions of the holobiont and the zooxanthellae density were determined at the onset of the experiment, and the photosynthetic efficiency (F v /F m) of zooxanthellae was monitored during the experiment. Acropora muricata rapidly regenerated small lesions, but regeneration rates significantly differed between sites. At the sheltered site characterized by high temperatures, temperature variations, and irradiance levels, regeneration took 192 days on average. At the exposed site, characterized by steadier temperatures and lower irradiation, nubbins demonstrated fast lesion repair (81 days), slower growth, lower zooxanthellae density, chlorophyll a concentration and lipid content than at the former site. A trade-off between growth and regeneration rates was evident here. High growth rates seem to impair regeneration capacity. We show that environmental conditions conducive to high zooxanthellae densities in corals are related to fast skeletal growth but also to reduced lesion regeneration rates. We hypothesize that a lowered regenerative capacity may be related to limited availability of energetic and cellular resources, consequences of coral holobionts operating at high levels of photosynthesis and associated growth.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01369712
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01369712
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01369712/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01369712/file/journal.pone.0072618.PDF
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0072618

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Sharks International
Durban, South Africa

hal-01487162
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01487162

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag (Germany)
Résumé : International audience
Mass bleaching events resulting in coral mortality are among the greatest threats to coral reefs, and are projected to increase in frequency and intensity with global warming. Achieving a better understanding of the consistency of the response of coral assemblages to thermal stress, both spatially and temporally, is essential to determine which reefs are more able to tolerate climate change. We compared variations in spatial and taxonomic patterns between two bleaching events at the scale of an island (Moorea Island, French Polynesia). Despite similar thermal stress and light conditions, bleaching intensity was significantly lower in 2007 (approximately 37 % of colonies showed signs of bleaching) than in 2002, when 55 % of the colonies bleached. Variations in the spatial patterns of bleaching intensity were consistent between the two events. Among nine sampling stations at three locations and three depths, the stations at which the bleaching response was lowest in 2002 were those that showed the lowest levels of bleaching in 2007. The taxonomic patterns of susceptibility to bleaching were also consistent between the two events. These findings have important implications for conservation because they indicate that corals are capable of acclimatization and/or adaptation and that, even at small spatial scales, some areas are consistently more susceptible to bleaching than others.
ISSN: 0167-6369

hal-00905944
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00905944
DOI : 10.1007/s10661-012-2923-3

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The active selection of recent volcanic habitats by juvenile fish following a cyclone could explain the unusual mass-settlement of the Indian Ocean blacktip grouper Epinephelus oceanicus observed on 25 May 2006, few weeks after tropical storm Diwa on the latest lava flows of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano at Reunion Island. Following a cyclonic depression, shallow underwater habitats are devoid of resident fishes, including predators, favouring juvenile fish survival. Otherwise, the recent origin of the volcanic habitats, which vary in age, could facilitate the spatial segregation of adult and juvenile fish on the lava flows, reducing intraspecific competition and adult aggression toward juveniles. Regional characteristics of larval recruitment could also contribute to the infrequency of the described event; the isolated situation of the island would be expected to result in an average density of fish postlarvae 0.25 % to 1 % of that seen on some reefs in the Pacific. The supposed origin of juvenile groupers in the neighbouring island of Mauritius should encourage Reunionese managers to look beyond their own jurisdictions to adopt a collaborative approach to conservation of the entire connected network.
Environmental Biology of Fishes

hal-01306707
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01306707
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01306707/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01306707/file/Mass-settlement%20of%20the%20Indian%20ocean%20black-tip%20grouper_hal.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s10641-014-0303-2

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Résumé : International audience
This study provides a baseline describing natural small scale variability of Symbiodinium density in the sentinel coral Acropora globiceps during the summer, under non-bleaching conditions. Spatial scales investigated range from the colony scale (1-10 cm, i.e. among branches of the same colony) to the reef scale (1-10 km, i.e. among stations distributed over several locations and depths), at Moorea Island, French Polynesia. The coral-Symbiodinium symbiosis is a key process in scleractinian coral physiology, and Symbiodinium density provides an easy-to-measure and inexpensive biomarker of this symbiosis health. Spatial variability of three major environmental factors: light intensity, sedimentation and water motion was also assessed to evaluate their potential link with Symbiodinium density. Density of Symbiodinium did not significantly differ within colonies or among colonies within a station. However, a marked depth gradient was observed, showing increasing density with increasing depth and decreasing light intensity. These observations provide an interesting reference for forthcoming comparisons with disturbed conditions, such as bleaching events.
ISSN: 0025-3154

hal-00905942
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00905942
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00905942/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00905942/file/Ladriereetal2014.pdf
DOI : 10.1017/S0025315413001252

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
We studied the diversity within the former genus Gymnangium in the South West IndianOcean by using an integrative approach of both traditional (morphology-based) and modernmolecular taxonomy. Nine species were recorded in the material collected. A total of 97 16Smitochondrial DNA sequences and 54 Calmodulin nuclear sequences from eight Gymnangium/Taxella species were analyzed. We found both morphological and molecular differencesin the studied Gymnangium species that make it necessary to split the genus. It isproposed to revalidate the genus Taxella which is currently regarded as a synonym ofGymnangium. Two species of the genus Taxella (T. eximia and T. gracilicaulis), until nowregarded as distinct species based on morphological characteristics, cluster together in onephylogenetic clade. Possible explanations are discussed. Two species from Madagascarnew to science are herein described and rare species from the Indian Ocean islands are redescribed.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01564043
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01564043
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0174244

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 Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
The Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) is a striking marine biodiversity hotspot. Coral reefs in this region host a high proportion of endemics compared to total species richness and they are particularly threatened by human activities. The island archipelagos with their diverse marine habitats constitute a natural laboratory for studying diversification processes. Rocky shores in the SWIO region have remained understudied. This habitat presents a high diversity of molluscs, in particular gastropods. To explore the role of climatic and geological factors in lineage diversification within the genus Nerita, we constructed a new phylogeny with an associated chronogram from two mitochondrial genes [cytochrome oxidase sub-unit 1 and 16S rRNA], combining previously published and new data from eight species sampled throughout the region. All species from the SWIO originated less than 20 Ma ago, their closest extant relatives living in the Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA). Furthermore, the SWIO clades within species with Indo-Pacific distribution ranges are quite recent, less than 5 Ma. These results suggest that the regional diversification of Nerita is closely linked to tectonic events in the SWIO region. The Reunion mantle plume head reached Earth's surface 67 Ma and has been stable and active since then, generating island archipelagos, some of which are partly below sea level today. Since the Miocene, sea-level fluctuations have intermittently created new rocky shore habitats. These represent ephemeral stepping-stones, which have likely facilitated repeated colonization by intertidal gastropods, like Nerita populations from the IAA, leading to allopatric speciation. This highlights the importance of taking into account past climatic and geological factors when studying diversification of highly dispersive tropical marine species. It also underlines the unique history of the marine biodiversity of the SWIO region.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01185713
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01185713
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01185713/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01185713/file/PLoS%20ONE%202014%20Postaire.pdf
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0095040

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
This study constitutes one of the few works conducted on the colonization of recent lava flows by fish communities in coral reef environment. It attempted to describe the mechanisms of colonization and environmental variables infuencing the structure of communities on the lava flows of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano at Reunion Island. It also proposed some hypotheses on the mechanisms of selection and speciation of endemic species of thesouthwestern Indian Ocean region, particularly diversified on the most recent lava flows of the Piton de la Fournaise, and provided a model of distribution of environmental and fish assemblage variables in four homogeneous patterns of colonization (landscapes) retained within the study area. The results showed fish community structure strongly related to measured environmental variables, of which depth, width of the island shelf, age of the lava flow and distance to the most recent lava flow were the most influential. It also appeared that the maximum endemic species richness was measured on the shallower stations, with narrow insular shelf, located on recent lava flows, near the lava flow from the eruption of 2007 (latest volcanic event). These characteristics define a harsh environment, to which endemic species seem well-adapted due in particular to their strong demographic and dietary flexibility. Finally, the patterns of colonization were characterized by significantly different environmental variables. The four homogeneous areas, defined by two geomorphological features, basalt blocks and drop-offs, nested within two locations, inside and outside the volcanic enclosure (current caldera), hosted fish communities whose dominant diets mainly depend on the nature, the abundance and the accessibility of available food resources. Overall, the study highlights that during early stages of ecological succession, site selection by fish communities is highly dependent on environmental constraints, specially of volcanic origin, but the physical habitat selection (geomorphology, substrate rugosity, percentage of soft substrate) seems to have littleimportance, while at least on the trophic structure and the distribution of endemic species.
ISSN: 0022-0981

hal-01253768
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01253768
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01253768/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01253768/file/Pinault%20et%20al.%20-%202014%20-%20Fish%20community%20structure%20in%20relation%20to%20environmen_hal.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.jembe.2014.06.005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer
Résumé : International audience
We isolated and characterized 16 polymorphic microsatellite loci for Lytocarpia brevirostris (Aglaophe- niidae), a hydrozoan common in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Four to 34 alleles per locus were detected at the Indo-Pacific scale. At the population level, observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosities ranged across 0.100–0.625 and 0.097–0.597, respectively. Three markers showed significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equi- librium, all of them presenting null alleles. Linkage dis- equilibrium was detected in three pairs of loci among 120. These primers provide powerful tools for studying popu- lation genetic diversity and the implication of life cycle strategies on population differentiation in tropical hydro- zoans. This will be valuable for the conservation of coral reefs biodiversity and the design of marine protected areas.
ISSN: 1877-7252

hal-01185722
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01185722
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01185722/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01185722/file/Postaire%20et%20al.%20-%202015%20-%20Isolation%20and%20characterisation%20of%2016%20microsatellit_hal.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s12686-014-0407-1