Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : During the Fanindien 2006 cruise of R/V 'Beautemps-Beaupre', high resolution multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiling and sediment coring was carried out along the East African margin, offshore Tanzania and Mozambique (Indian Ocean). The newly acquired data reveal the presence of a giant deep-sea valley (the Tanzania channel) that is more than 10 km wide at 4000 m water depth, along the continental rise. The valley remains similar to 70 m deep and 7 km wide at 800 km from the Tanzania coast. Morphological comparison with worldwide submarine channels show that the Tanzania channel is one of the largest known submarine valleys. This discovery brings new light on development of submarine valleys that drain sediments originated from the East African Rift System (EARS) highlands (i.e. the Tanzania channel and its neighbor Zambezi channel located similar to 1000 km southward). Both of the systems have a morphology markedly different to the classical sinuous, V-shaped channels located at similar latitudes (e.g. the Zaire or Amazon channels). Their submarine drainage system consists of a downslope converging tributary canyons joining a central trunk channel in the continental rise. The presence of such giant deep-sea drainage systems is probably linked to a strong structural control on the sediment pathway, associated to a massive sediment transfer towards the Indian Ocean in relation with the tectonic activity of the East African Rift System (i.e. the uplift periods trough mid-Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene times) and its interplay with the East African equatorial climate changes.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2008-12 , Vol. 255 , N. 3-4 , P. 179-185

Droits : 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00324/43491/42958.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2008.09.002
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00324/43491/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : During the Fanindien 2006 cruise of R/V 'Beautemps-Beaupre', high resolution multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiling and sediment coring was carried out along the East African margin, offshore Tanzania and Mozambique (Indian Ocean). The newly acquired data reveal the presence of a giant deep-sea valley (the Tanzania channel) that is more than 10 km wide at 4000 m water depth, along the continental rise. The valley remains similar to 70 m deep and 7 km wide at 800 km from the Tanzania coast. Morphological comparison with worldwide submarine channels show that the Tanzania channel is one of the largest known submarine valleys. This discovery brings new light on development of submarine valleys that drain sediments originated from the East African Rift System (EARS) highlands (i.e. the Tanzania channel and its neighbor Zambezi channel located similar to 1000 km southward). Both of the systems have a morphology markedly different to the classical sinuous, V-shaped channels located at similar latitudes (e.g. the Zaire or Amazon channels). Their submarine drainage system consists of a downslope converging tributary canyons joining a central trunk channel in the continental rise. The presence of such giant deep-sea drainage systems is probably linked to a strong structural control on the sediment pathway, associated to a massive sediment transfer towards the Indian Ocean in relation with the tectonic activity of the East African Rift System (i.e. the uplift periods trough mid-Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene times) and its interplay with the East African equatorial climate changes. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2008-12 , Vol. 255 , N. 3-4 , P. 179-185

Droits : 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2008/publication-6855.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2008.09.002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Integrating ecological connectivity into marine ecosystem management and planning is important, especially in a global context of severe fish stocks depletion and growing habitat degradation. Environmental tools such as Marine Protected Areas have been proposed to protect biodiversity, restore damaged ecosystems, sustain fisheries, and rebuild overexploited stocks. The effectiveness of marine protected areas depends in part on the maintenance of connectivity between marine populations, linked by ecological processes such as larval dispersal. In this thesis, we applied a biophysical model driven by ocean currents derived from satellite altimetry to evaluate connectivity between Western Indian Ocean reefs and across the current MPA system in the Mediterranean Sea. We applied different methods of analysis such as graph-theoretic and clustering. In the Western Indian Ocean, marine connectivity analyses show that the number of connections between reefs increases with fish pelagic larval duration. It also highlights a low connectivity across the region and a high interconnectivity within several regions (Mozambique Channel, Mascarene archipelago). In the Mediterranean Sea, connectance is globally low at the regional scale. This connectance is more important in Western than Eastern Mediterranean. Moreover, the marine connectivity analyses revealed high domestic connectivity rates. Depending on the study area, priority reefs or sites for MPA implementation are proposed. Finally, implications for transboundary marine policies and regional cooperation are discussed.
Intégrer les connaissances sur la connectivité écologique dans la gestion des écosystèmes marins est essentiel, surtout dans un contexte d'appauvrissement des ressources marines et de dégradation des habitats côtiers à l'échelle mondiale. Des outils environnementaux, tels que les Aires Marines Protégées ont été mises en œuvre pour protéger la biodiversité, restaurer les écosystèmes endommagés, soutenir les pêcheries et reconstituer les stocks surexploités. Leur efficacité dépend en partie du maintien de la connectivité entre les populations marines, assurée à travers divers processus écologiques dont la dispersion larvaire. Dans le cadre de ce travail de thèse, un modèle biophysique intégrant des données de courants, issues de mesures d'altimétrie par satellite, a été utilisé pour évaluer la connectivité entre les récifs de l'océan Indien d'une part, et à travers le réseau d'AMP de Méditerranée d'autre part. Différentes méthodes d'analyse ont été utilisées, telles que la théorie des graphes et le clustering. Dans l'océan Indien occidental, l'analyse des connectivités marines montre que le nombre de connexions entre les récifs augmente avec la durée de vie larvaire des poissons. Elle met également en évidence une faible connectivité à l'échelle de la région, mais une forte inter-connectivité au sein de plusieurs sous-régions (Canal du Mozambique, Mascareignes). En Méditerranée, la connectance est globalement faible à l'échelle régionale, bien que plus importante dans le bassin occidental que le bassin oriental. L'analyse des connectivités marines montre également un taux de connectivité élevé à l'échelle d'un même pays. Selon le cas d'étude, une liste de récifs ou de sites prioritaires dans la mise en œuvre des AMP a été proposée. Enfin, les implications de ces résultats en termes de politiques transfrontalières et de coopération régionale sont discutées.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01269631

NNT : 2015LARE0003
tel-01269631
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01269631
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01269631/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01269631/file/2015lare0003_ECrochelet.pdf

Éditeur(s) : Blackwell science
Résumé : Patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation were used to analyse the population genetic structure of southwestern Indian Ocean green turtle (Chelonia mydas) populations. Analysis of sequence variation over 396 bp of the mtDNA control region revealed seven haplotypes among 288 individuals from 10 nesting sites in the Southwest Indian Ocean. This is the first time that Atlantic Ocean haplotypes have been recorded among any Indo-Pacific nesting populations. Previous studies indicated that the Cape of Good Hope was a major biogeographical barrier between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans because evidence for gene flow in the last 1.5 million years has yet to emerge. This study, by sampling localities adjacent to this barrier, demonstrates that recent gene flow has occurred from the Atlantic Ocean into the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope. We also found compelling genetic evidence that green turtles nesting at the rookeries of the South Mozambique Channel (SMC) and those nesting in the North Mozambique Channel (NMC) belong to separate genetic stocks. Furthermore, the SMC could be subdivided in two different genetic stocks, one in Europa and the other one in Juan de Nova. We suggest that this particular genetic pattern along the Mozambique Channel is attributable to a recent colonization from the Atlantic Ocean and is maintained by oceanic conditions in the northern and southern Mozambique Channel that influence early stages in the green turtle life cycle.
Molecular Ecology (0962-1083) (Blackwell science), 2007 , Vol. 16 , N. 1 , P. 175-186

Droits : 2007 Blackwell
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2007/publication-2185.pdf
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03122.x
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2185/

Éditeur(s) : Wiley-blackwell
Résumé : The reef fauna connectivity of the West Indian Ocean (WIO) is one of the least studied globally. Here we use genetic analyses of the grouper Epinephelus merra (Bloch 1793) to determine patterns of connectivity and to identify barriers to dispersal in this WIO marine area. Phylogeographic and population-level analyses were conducted on cytochrome b sequences and microsatellites (13 loci) from 557 individuals sampled in 15 localities distributed across the West Indian Ocean. Additional samples from the Pacific Ocean were used to benchmark the WIO population structure. The high level of divergence revealed between Indian and Pacific localities (of about 4.5% in sequences) might be the signature of the major tectonic and climatic changes operating at the Plio-Pleistocene transition, congruently with numerous examples of Indo-Pacific speciation. In comparison, the E. merra sequences from the Indian Ocean constitute a monophyletic clade with a low average genetic distance (d < 0.5%). However both genetic markers indicated some structure within this ocean. The main structure revealed was the isolation of the Maldives from the WIO localities (a different group signature identified by clustering analysis, great values of differentiation). Both marker types reveal further significant structure within the WIO, mainly the isolation of the Mascarene Islands (significant AMOVA and isolation-by-distance patterns) and some patchy structure between the northernmost localities and within the Mozambique Channel. The WIO genetic structure of E. merra appeared congruent with main biogeographic boundaries and oceanographic currents.
Marine Ecology-an Evolutionary Perspective (0173-9565) (Wiley-blackwell), 2015-09 , Vol. 36 , N. 3 , P. 447-461

Droits : 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00189/30046/28566.pdf
DOI:10.1111/maec.12153
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00189/30046/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : As top predators of pelagic food webs, large fish naturally bioaccumulate mercury (Hg). Determining Hg burdens in commercialized fish is essential considering the concern about effects of contaminants on human health and the legal thresholds that are therefore set for local consumption and/or exportation. Total Hg levels were measured in the muscular tissue of 183 fish of five commercially important species from the tropical zone of the Western Indian Ocean. All individuals were measured and sexed in order to study the impregnation of Hg with size and sex within each species. Values of Hg found in this part of the Indian Ocean were comparable to Hg in muscular tissue of the same species studied in other areas. The highest Hg levels were noted in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) caught in waters surrounding Reunion Island (3.97 +/- 2.67 mu g g(-1) dry weight). Following the Swordfish, in decreasing order of Hg content, were the Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) and the Skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), then the Common Dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and the Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri). In the North of the Mozambique Channel, Swordfish had higher Hg levels than Yellowfin Tunas, and Dolphinfish exhibited intermediate Hg levels. The size of a fish was a determining factor of its Hg burden, as was the species. Differences in size-normalized Hg levels were observed between the two study zones for Swordfish and Common Dolphinfish. Sex, in contrast, did not influence Hg levels suggesting that females and males have similar feeding habits. The muscular Hg levels presented here suggest that consumers of fish originating from the Western Indian Ocean should limit themselves to one Swordfish based meal per week, or one fish meal a day if they choose to eat tuna or Common Dolphinfish. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The Science of The Total Environment (0048-9697) (Elsevier), 2006-08 , Vol. 366 , N. 2-3 , P. 688-700

Droits : 2006 Elsevier
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-1862.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.02.006
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/1862/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association
Résumé : International audience
Juan de Nova is one of the scattered islands known as Iles Eparses in the Mozambique Channel (Western Indian Ocean). Historically, they have been isolated from many anthropogenic influences which makes them ideal areas to study biodiversity for comparison with areas that are heavily impacted by urbanization and fishing. The programme BioReCie (Biodiversity, Resources and Conservation of Eparses Islands) undertook inventories of several marine groups, including echinoderms, which had hitherto not been assessed in Juan de Nova. A multidisciplinary team surveyed the reef slopes of the island using SCUBA to a depth of 25 m as well as the reef flats at low tide, collecting specimens and taking photos for identification. Sixty echinoderm species were found, with 51 occurring on the reef flats and in the lagoon and 22 on the reef slopes, comprising 21 species of Holothuroidea, 16 Ophiuroidea, 10 Echinoidea, 7 Asteroidea, and 6 Crinoidea. Commercial species of Holothuroidea, some of which are classified as endangered in the IUCN red list, i.e. Thelenota ananas and Holothuria nobilis, were present on the reef flats, reef slopes and in the lagoon of the island, indicating the value that protection has on biodiversity.
ISSN: 0856-860X

hal-01306709
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01306709
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01306709/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01306709/file/A%20First%20Inventory%20of%20Echinodermata%20at%20Juan%20de%20Nova_hal.pdf

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) : Pêche thonière et dispositifs de concentration de poissons, Caribbean-Martinique, 15-19 Oct 1999
Résumé : The volcanic island of Mayotte (374 km super(2)) is part of the Comoros Archipelago, which is situated on the North of Mozambic's Canal (Indian Ocean). Mayotte is composed of two islands and some thirty small islands distributed in a lagoon of more than 1,000 km super(2). Being one of the French Republic's Territorial Collectivity, this island is characterized by a very fast demographic evolution (growth rate : 5.8 %), which constitutes the foundation of the development problematic. Most of local halieutic production comes from the reef (nearly 2,000 t in 1999), the technic of "palangrotte" (deep line) is still dominating. The fishing fleet is composed of monoxyl pirogues and polyester fishing boats for the 1,200 fishermen. The first FADs (Fish Aggregating Devices) were installed in 1989. Now, 5 FADs are situated in the lagoon whereas 10 others have been installed out of it. If it is very hard to evaluate economic impact of FAD in Mayotte, their success seems to be limited because of several local constraints : fear to fish out of the lagoon, little interest in tuna, lack of formation. Nevertheless, faced to the demographic evolution and the decrease of the reef ressources, a program of fishing development on FAD has been initiated in 1998, with those following themes : realization of a new prototype of FAD, experimental fishing program with vertical drift "long line", teaching programs for the local fishermen. Today, it is too early to analyze the informations already collected, but the results are very promising, and validate the technical improvement of the new prototype.Original Abstract: L'ile volcanique de Mayotte (374 km super(2)) fait partie de l'archipel des Comores situe au Nord du canal du Mozambique (ocean Indien). Mayotte comprend deux iles et une trentaine d'ilots repartis dans un lagon de plus de 1 000 km super(2). Collectivite territoriale de la Republique francaise, l'ile se caracterise par une evolution demographique tres rapide (taux de croissance: 5,8 %), qui constitue le socle de toutes les problematiques de developpement. L'essentiel de la production halieutique provient du milieu recifal (environ 2 000 t en 1999), la peche a la ligne de fond reste la technique dominante. La flottille de peche est constituee de pirogues monoxyles et de barques polyester pour une population de 1 200 pecheurs. Les premiers DCP mahorais furent installes en 1989. A ce jour, on denombre cinq DCP dans le lagon et dix hors lagon. Il semble que leur succes soit reste limite en raison de plusieurs contraintes locales : peur de la peche hors lagon, peu d'interet pour les poissons pelagiques, manque de formation. Neanmoins, face a l'explosion demographique et a l'appauvrissement des ressources lagonaires, un nouveau programme de developpement de la peche sur DCP a ete initie en 1998. Ce programme comporte trois axes : realisation d'un nouveau prototype de DCP, lancement d'un programme de peches experimentales a la palangre verticale derivante et formation des pecheurs. A ce jour, les informations obtenues sont trop parcellaires pour etre analysees mais les donnees et observations realisees sur les nouveaux dispositifs permettent de valider leur conception technique.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00042/15290/12647.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00042/15290/

Éditeur(s) : Inter-Research
Résumé : Situated in the north of the Mozambique Channel, Mayotte is the easternmost island of the Comoros Archipelago. From 1998 to 2005, Grande Saziley beach was monitored daily for green turtle Chelonia mydas nesting activity. Track surveys were monitored daily on 5 other adjacent beaches. Although nesting occurs throughout the year, nesting seasonality begins at the end of the wet season and intensifies during the dry season to reach an average nesting peak in June. In order to estimate the number of females nesting in the Saziley site and population trends over the study period, incubation success and number of nests per female and per season were estimated at 0.77 (±0.05 SD) and 3.03 (±0.37) respectively. With an average of 1545 nesting turtles per year (±439), the change in nesting numbers over the study period was so small that the population can be regarded as stable, with an estimated annual mean growth rate of 0.912, confirmation that this population is both stable and in good health. Added support for this argument is demonstrated by the fact that the annual carapace size distribution of nesting females is stable, meaning that the nesting green turtle population of Mayotte is not ageing or rejuvenating. After due consideration of data on other nesting sites in the southwest Indian Ocean, the data from Mayotte emphasizes the fact that the green turtle is not an endangered species in this region. Even if it is still illegally exploited and alterations occur in their different habitats, the green turtle populations of this region seem to have successfully survived all threats during the past century.
Endangered Species Research (1613-4796) (Inter-Research), 2007-10-10 , Vol. 3 , P. 273-282

Droits : 2007 Inter-Research
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00018/12916/9873.pdf
DOI:10.3354/esr00053
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00018/12916/