Éditeur(s) : Montpellier SupAgro
Résumé : One of the main challenges in ecology is to understand how global changes affect biodiversity and what are the consequences on ecosystem functioning. In this perspective, the functional diversity of communities is a cornerstone since it allows linking environment, community structure and ecosystem properties. The aim of this thesis is thus to improve the understanding of functional diversity dynamic (i) in relation to natural variability of environmental conditions and (ii) under anthropogenic disturbances. As a first step we have developed a new methodological framework allowing to (1) describe fish functional niches based on functional traits, and (2) to quantify functional diversity within (α) and among (β) sites thanks to new indices. In a second step we have studied the spatiotemporal dynamic of the functional structure of fish and nektonic communities from the Terminos lagoon (Mexico). This tropical estuarine ecosystem is an appropriate ecological model for our problematic as it is characterized by a strong environmental variability, a high biological diversity and is under a strong human pressure. We have put in light the stability of the functional and trophic structures of communities along environmental gradients, despite a very strong species turnover. This stability is determined by the dominance of a couple of functional groups inside which species are replacing each others according to their environmental preferences. However, at a long-term scale, we have demonstrated a functional diversity loss in a part of the lagoon despite an increase of species richness. This paradox has to be related to the decrease of species associated to seagrass and the increase of more estuarine species.
Un des enjeux majeurs de l'écologie est de comprendre comment les changements globaux affectent la biodiversité et quelles en sont les conséquences sur le fonctionnement des écosystèmes. Dans cette perspective, la diversité fonctionnelle des communautés est un outil clé permettant de lier l'environnement, la structure des communautés et les propriétés écosystémiques. L'objectif de cette thèse est donc d'améliorer la compréhension de la dynamique de la diversité fonctionnelle (i) face à des conditions environnementales naturellement variables et (ii) face à des perturbations d'origine anthropique. Dans un premier temps nous avons mis en place un socle méthodologie nous permettant de (1) définir la niche fonctionnelle des poissons à partir de traits fonctionnels et (2) de quantifier les diversités fonctionnelles intra (α) et inter (β) échantillons avec de nouveaux indices. Dans un second temps nous avons étudié la dynamique spatio-temporelle de la structure fonctionnelle des communautés ichtyologiques et nectoniques peuplant la lagune de Terminos (Mexique). Cet écosystème estuarien tropical est un modèle d'étude adapté à notre problématique car il présente une forte variabilité environnementale, une forte diversité biologique et est sous forte pression anthropique. Nous avons mis en évidence une stabilité de la structure fonctionnelle et trophique des communautés face aux gradients environnementaux très marqués, et donc malgré un fort taux de remplacement des espèces entre les communautés. Cette stabilité est due à la dominance de quelques groupes fonctionnels à l'intérieur desquels les espèces se remplacent suivant leurs preferendums environnementaux. Néanmoins, à plus long terme, nous avons démontré qu'une portion de la lagune avait subi une perte de diversité fonctionnelle et ce malgré une augmentation de la richesse spécifique. Ce paradoxe est à relier au remplacement des espèces inféodées aux herbiers de phanérogames par des espèces plus estuariennes.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2008/these-6178.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6178/

Éditeur(s) : Inter-research
Résumé : Ecosystem-based management (EBM) requires more extensive information than single-species management. Active underwater acoustic methods provide a means of collecting a wealth of ecosystem information with high space-time resolution. Worldwide fisheries institutes and agencies are carrying out regular acoustic surveys covering many marine shelf ecosystems, but these data are underutilized. In addition, more and more acoustic data collected by vessels of opportunity are becoming available. To encourage their use for EBM, we provide a brief introduction to acoustic and complementary data collection methods in the water column, and review current and potential contributions to monitoring population abundance and biomass, spatial distributions, and predator-prey relationships. Further development of acoustics-derived indicators is needed. We review and propose indicators for assessing and monitoring zooplankton, population dynamics of fish and other nekton, and changes in diversity and food-web functioning. Acoustic methods have the potential to make a strong contribution to EBM. Evaluation of new indicators and suitable reference points in different ecosystems are the current challenges.
Marine Ecology-progress Series (0171-8630) (Inter-research), 2011 , Vol. 442 , P. 285-301

Droits : 2011 Inter-research
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00073/18445/15972.pdf
DOI:10.3354/meps09425
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00073/18445/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Royal Society, The
Résumé : There is broad consensus that the diversity of functional traits within species assemblages drives several ecological processes. It is also widely recognized that rare species are the first to become extinct following human-induced disturbances. Surprisingly, however, the functional importance of rare species is still poorly understood, particularly in tropical species-rich assemblages where the majority of species are rare, and the rate of species extinction can be high. Here, we investigated the consequences of local and regional extinctions on the functional structure of species assemblages. We used three extensive datasets (stream fish from the Brazilian Amazon, rainforest trees from French Guiana, and birds from the Australian Wet Tropics) and built an integrative measure of species rarity versus commonness, combining local abundance, geographical range, and habitat breadth. Using different scenarios of species loss, we found a disproportionate impact of rare species extinction for the three groups, with significant reductions in levels of functional richness, specialization, and originality of assemblages, which may severely undermine the integrity of ecological processes. The whole breadth of functional abilities within species assemblages, which is disproportionately supported by rare species, is certainly critical in maintaining ecosystems particularly under the ongoing rapid environmental transitions.
ISSN: 0962-8452

hal-01532639
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01532639
DOI : 10.1098/rspb.2016.0084
PRODINRA : 384617

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/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : Genetic variation was surveyed at 11 microsatellite loci and at 517 bp of the mitochondrial control region to investigate the presence of genetic stock structure in swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in four proximal localities of the southwest Indian Ocean. One aim of this study was to serve as a preliminary examination for congruency of structure detected by these two genetic markers, prior to conducting a more comprehensive basin-wide survey of the Indian Ocean and nearby surrounding areas. Analyses of multilocus microsatellite genotypes and mitochondrial control region sequences both revealed a great homogeneity between samples. Genetic diversity detected at the regional scale was not significantly higher than detected at the local scale. Results suggest that the southwest Indian Ocean globally functions as a unique panmictic population. However, some discrete genetic differences appeared that could possibly indicate influence from a second genetic pool in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. This structure appeared to be sex-dependent with genetic differences higher among female than among male samples. This result may indicate a higher level of spawning area fidelity for females with a subsequent sampling bias tending to homogenise male genotypic distributions. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Fisheries Research (0165-7836) (Elsevier), 2009-05 , Vol. 97 , N. 3 , P. 263-269

Droits : 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6455.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.fishres.2009.03.004
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6455/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Analyses of tree diversity and community composition in tropical rain forests are usually based either on general herbarium data or on a restricted number of botanical plots. Despite their high taxonomic accuracy, both types of data are difficult to extrapolate to landscape scales. Meanwhile, forestry surveys provide quantitative occurrence data on large areas, and are thus increasingly used for landscape-scale analyses of tree diversity. However, the reliability of these approaches has been challenged because of the ambiguity of the common (vernacular) names used by foresters and the complexity of tree taxonomy in those hyper-diverse communities.We developed and tested a novel approach to evaluate taxonomic reliability of forestry surveys and to propagate the resulting uncertainty in the estimates of several diversity indicators (alpha and beta entropy, Fisher-alpha and Sørensen similarity). Our approach is based on Monte-Carlo processes that simulate communities by taking into account the expected accuracy and reliability of common names. We tested this method in French Guiana, on 9 one-hectare plots (4279 trees – DBH ⩾ 10 cm) for which both common names and standardized taxonomic determinations were available. We then applied our method of community simulation on large forestry inventories (560 ha) at the landscape scale and compared the diversity indices obtained for 10 sites with those computed from precise botanical determination situated at the same localities.We found that taxonomic reliability of forestry inventories varied from 22% (species level) to 83% (family level) in this Amazonian region. Indices computed directly with raw forestry data resulted in incorrect values, except for Gini–Simpson beta-diversity. On the contrary, our correction method provides more accurate diversity estimates, highly correlated with botanical measurements, for almost all diversity indices at both regional and local scales. We obtained a robust ranking of sites consistent with those shown by botanical inventories.These results show that (i) forestry inventories represent a significant part of taxonomic information, (ii) the relative diversity of regional sites can be successfully ranked using forestry inventory data using our method and (iii) forestry inventories can valuably contribute to the detection of large-scale diversity patterns when biases are well-controlled and corrected.The tools we developed as R-functions are available in supplementary material and can be adapted with local parameters to be used for forest management and conservation issues in other regional contexts
ISSN: 0378-1127

hal-01204219
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204219
DOI : 10.1016/j.foreco.2014.05.045
PRODINRA : 286554

Éditeur(s) : Université d'Angers
Résumé : In oyster farming areas, organic matter fluxes toward sediment is increased. Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) reject organic-rich faeces and pseudofaeces as a result of filtration process. Organic matter can be consumed by benthic fauna, but in excess it can entails the reduction of benthic faunal species richness, abundance and biomass. Organic matter degradation also induces hypoxic (or anoxic) conditions in the sediment, and production of ammonia and sulfides in toxic concentrations. The main objective of this study is to assess the effects of oyster farming on benthic intertidal ecosystems in the Pertuis Charentais. Benthic macrofauna, living (stained) foraminifera, and physicochemical characteristics of the water column and sediment were used as indicators to evaluate these effects. A multidisciplinary approach was conducted across the Pertuis Charentais at 3 different spatial scales: an oyster trestle (micro-scale), an oyster culture area (meso-scale) and various sites across the Pertuis Charentais (macro-scale). The study was also realised at 4 different temporal scales: some months for the spatial micro-scale, every two weeks for 2 years at meso-scale and once per season during one year at macro-scale. In this study, I found that oyster farming enriches sediment in fine particles, organic matter (up to 12 %), particulate organic carbon (15-20 µg mg 1) and leads to high microphytobenthic biomass. Moreover, the association of seasonnal warming (during spring and summer), remineralisation of accumulated organic matter and short-term hypoxic conditions leads to sulfides and ammonium production. Consequently, the benthic biodiversity decreases and the population dynamic is disturbed. The population dynamic disturbance is characterised by fast abundance rises followed by high mortality rates. In these conditions, tolerant benthic macrofaunal (Cirratulidae, Spionidae and Capitellidae) and foraminiferal (Ammonia tepida and Cribroelphidium gunteri) species are promoted. AMBI index confirms "medium" ecological quality of oyster farming areas. On the contrary, across the control sites, sensible species are maintained (Amphipods, Rosalina cf. vilardeboana). Comparison of oyster farming techniques shows that on-bottom culture is less disturbing for benthic ecosystem than off-bottom culture. Axial tomodensitometry, an innovative method, was used to describe in 3D the sedimentary column organisation. I show that oyster farming modifies the sedimentary column functioning. Indeed, the macrofaunal diversity decrease leads to the modification of the functional diversity of assemblages. Thus, the vertical distribution of living foraminifera is limited in oyster farming areas, because their distribution is tightly related to macrofaunal bioturbating modes.
Dans les zones ostréicoles, les flux de matière organique sont importants, l'huître Crasssotrea gigas rejetant sous forme de pseudo-fécès et de fécès de grandes quantités de matière organique. De ce fait, bien que cette matière organique puisse être consommée par la faune benthique, sa surabondance peut provoquer une réduction de la richesse spécifique, de l'abondance et de la biomasse et provoquer sur le plan des processus biogéochimiques des déplétions en oxygène et l'apparition de substances comme l'ammonium et les sulfures dont les concentrations peuvent devenir toxiques. L'objectif principal de cette étude était donc de déterminer l'impact de l'ostréiculture, grâce à plusieurs indicateurs, sur le compartiment benthique d'un écosystème littoral comme les pertuis charentais. Pour évaluer ces effets, la macrofaune benthique et les foraminifères vivants benthiques ont été utilisés en association avec des mesures des paramètres physico-chimiques de la colonne d'eau et du sédiment. Une approche pluridisciplinaire a ainsi été menée dans les pertuis charentais à trois échelles spatiales différentes : à l'échelle d'une table ostréicole (micro-échelle), à l'échelle d'un site ostréicole (méso-échelle) et à l'échelle des pertuis charentais (macro-échelle). Dans les trois cas, un suivi dans le temps a été associé à une étude de distribution spatiale, quelques mois à micro-échelle, tous les quinze jours pendant deux années à méso-échelle et une fois par saison pendant une année à macro-échelle. Ces différentes approches ont permis d'avoir une vision pertinente de la dynamique et de la réponse fonctionnelle de la faune benthique aux changements induits par la présence de l'ostréiculture. La présence des cultures ostréicoles dans les pertuis charentais enrichit les sédiments en particules fines, en matière organique (12 %), en carbone organique particulaire (15-20 µg mg-1) et favorise une production microphytobenthique élevée. Pendant la période chaude de l'année printemps-été, la reminéralisation de la matière organique accumulée associée à des hypoxies temporaires a favorisé la production de sulfures et d'ammonium. Dans les stations soumises à l'ostréiculture, la diversité des assemblages diminue. La dynamique des espèces est caractérisée par des augmentations rapides des abondances suivies d'épisodes de mortalité. Les espèces tolérantes de la macrofaune benthique (Cirratulidae, Spionidae et Capitellidae) et des foraminifères vivants benthiques (Ammonia tepida et Cribroelphidium gunteri) sont favorisées. Le calcul de l'indice AMBI confirme la qualité écologique moyenne de ces sites. Au contraire, dans la station témoin, les espèces sensibles sont favorisées (Amphipodes, Rosalina cf. vilardeboana). La comparaison de la technique de culture sur table et de culture à plat a montré que la culture des huîtres à plat est moins perturbante pour le milieu. L'étude de la bioturbation a montré l'influence qui existe entre le mode de bioturbation des différents groupes de la macrofaune et la répartition verticale des foraminifères vivants dans la colonne sédimentaire. La diminution de la diversité des assemblages de la macrofaune dans les zones soumises à l'ostréiculture modifient la diversité fonctionnelle de ces assemblages et affectent le fonctionnement de la colonne sédimentaire, limitant la répartition verticale des foraminifères dans ces zones.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2007/these-2582.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2582/

Éditeur(s) : John Wiley & Sons
Résumé : 1. Transitional waters, described as critical transition zones because of their position at terrestrial, freshwater and marine interfaces, provide essential goods and services to the biosphere including human populations. These ecotones face increasing human influence mainly due to population density increase in coastal areas. 2. Transitional water bodies have, to date, received little attention in the development of ecological status indicators, this is a critical deficiency when trying to meet the Water Framework Directive objective of all significant water bodies achieving good ecological status by the year 2015. 3. In order to assess changes in transitional water communities many taxonomic-based indicators have already been proposed but there are a number of concerns for their use such as taxonomic classification difficulties, their unsuitability for multi-site comparisons and their inconsistent relationships with disturbance or stress. 4. Alternative methods based on body size, abundance distribution among functional groups, functional diversity and productivity descriptors are proposed. These methods offer the opportunity to compare sites with different taxonomic compositions and allow derivation of indicators related to ecological status of communities under scrutiny. 5. Finally, the suitability of these taxonomic-free descriptors to provide relevant information for each of the four main biotic compartments in coastal lagoons is discussed. The use of biomass distribution among functional groups for fish, benthos and macrophyte and to use body-size distribution for benthos and plankton is proposed. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (1052-7613) (John Wiley & Sons), 2006-07 , Vol. 16 , N. 5 , P. 469-482

Droits : 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-1849.pdf
DOI:10.1002/aqc.769
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/1849/

Éditeur(s) : Université de Bretagne Occidentale
Résumé : The major objectives of this thesis were to study the structure, functioning and dynamics of different faunal assemblages associated with cold seep ecosystems in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. We focused our study on three main sites: the Marmara Sea, the Mediterranean ridge and the Nile deep sea fan. This thesis aims at determining the environmental signature of Mediterranean sites and the characteristics of the associated fauna at European and global scales. The specific objectives were to (1) determine the composition, diversity, density, biomass of invertebrate assemblages, (2) characterize biogeochemical conditions within different microhabitats in the vicinity of organisms, (3) to define the trophic relationships amongst seep fauna using stable isotope analyses (collaboration) and lastly, (4) to compare the spatial distribution and assemblage characteristics at different spatial scales (local, structure-scale, regional). The results show that (1) the Napoli mud volcano is the richest structure in terms of numbers of taxa while the Nile deep-sea fan sites need additional sampling, (2) a high variability is observed both between the different microhabitats but also within a single microhabitat, (3) the methane and oxygen gradients as well as substratum type are the main structuring factors explaining the distribution of the fauna and (4) the characteristics of the microhabitats, rather than the study area, influence the structure of benthic communities associated with Mediterranean cold seeps.
Les objectifs principaux de cette thèse sont d’étudier la structure, le fonctionnement et la dynamique de différents assemblages de faune associée aux émissions de fluides froids de Méditerranée orientale. Trois principaux sites ont été étudiés : la mer de Marmara, la ride méditerranéenne et le delta profond du Nil. Cette thèse tente de déterminer la « signature environnementale » des sites méditerranéens et les caractéristiques de la faune qui y est associée dans un contexte de marges européennes et mondiale. Les objectifs spécifiques sont (1) de déterminer la composition, la diversité, la densité et la biomasse des assemblages d'invertébrés ; (2) de caractériser les conditions biogéochimiques au sein des différents microhabitats à proximité des organismes; (3) de caractériser les relations trophiques sur les différents assemblages de faune par une approche isotopique (en collaboration) et finalement, (4) de comparer la distribution spatiale et les caractéristiques des assemblages à différentes échelles spatiales (locale, à l’échelle d’une structure géologique, régionale). Les résultats montrent que : (1) le volcan de boue Napoli est le site le plus riche en taxons alors que les sites du delta du Nil nécessiteraient un échantillonnage plus approfondi ; (2) il existe une grande variabilité entre les microhabitats ainsi qu’au sein d’un même microhabitat ; (3) les gradients en méthane, en oxygène ainsi que la nature du substrat sont les principaux facteurs abiotiques expliquant la distribution de la faune, (4) les caractéristiques des microhabitats, plutôt que la zone d’étude, influencent la structure des communautés benthiques associées aux écosystèmes de fluides froids méditerranéens.

Droits : 2010 The Author, UBO
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00020/13138/10178.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00020/13138/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
Different marine habitats are characterised by different soundscapes. How or which differences may be representative of the habitat characteristics and/or community structure remains however to be explored. A growing project in passive acoustics is to find a way to use soundscapes to have information on the habitat and on its changes. In this study we have successfully tested the potential of two acoustic indices, i.e. the average sound pressure level and the acoustic complexity index based on the frequency spectrum. Inside and outside marine protected areas of Moorea Island (French Polynesia), sound pressure level was positively correlated with the characteristics of the substratum and acoustic complexity was positively correlated with fish diversity. It clearly shows soundscape can be used to evaluate the acoustic features of marine protected areas, which presented a significantly higher ambient sound pressure level and were more acoustically complex than non-protected areas. This study further emphasizes the importance of acoustics as a tool in the monitoring of marine environments and in the elaboration and management of future conservation plans. Coral reef ecosystems are among the most biologically diverse and complex marine ecosystems worldwide. In addition to their biological and ecological importance, coral reefs support major economic and physical functions (e.g. food production, tourism, biotechnology development and coastal protection) that are essential for many countries 1. Unfortunately, coral reefs are severely threatened: 20% of coral reefs can no longer be defined as such, another 25% are currently endangered and another 25% will be endangered by 2050 2. The frequency and severity of natural perturbations (e.g. cyclone, outbreaks of predators, particularly the crown-of-thorns starfish [COTS] Acanthaster planci) and anthropogenic perturbations (e.g. ocean acidification, pesticides, rising seawater temperatures) on coral reefs have greatly increased worldwide in the last three decades, and, as a consequence, reef communities (fish, coral and benthic invertebrates) have suffered unprecedented levels of decline 3,4
ISSN: 2045-2322

hal-01370610
https://hal-uvsq.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01370610
https://hal-uvsq.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01370610/document
https://hal-uvsq.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01370610/file/2016%20Sci.Rep.pdf
DOI : 10.1038/srep33326

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD CSIRO Publishing
Résumé :  
Leaf traits of tropical tree species display an important inter-specific diversity, as detected for instance in the large range of values of leaf mass : area ratio (LMA). They also demonstrate a large irradiance-elicited plasticity, but there is still debate whether this plasticity differs among species. To address this question, leaf traits were recorded on saplings from 12 rainforest tree species in French Guiana, grown under approximately 5, 10 and 20% relative irradiance. Fifteen structural and physiological leaf traits related to photosynthesis were measured. The irradiance-elicited plasticity was quantified using a relative distance plasticity index. A large inter-specific diversity was detected for all leaf traits. A principal component analysis opposed species with a large mass-based photosynthesis, respiration, N content and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency, to species with a large leaf mass : area ratio, LMA. The two pioneer species used in this study displayed the largest photosynthetic capacity (and lowest LMA) and ranked at one end of the species continuum. Relative irradiance affected almost all traits with the exception of mass-based photosynthesis.Aweak interaction was found between species and relative irradiance and the species ranking was maintained among relative irradiance treatments for the majority of the traits. A principal component analysis of the values of relative-distance plasticity index failed to reveal any consistent patterns of traits or species.Weconcluded that irradiance-elicited plasticity of leaf traits was similar among species irrespective ofLMA and successional status, despite the occurrence of a large inter-specific diversity for the investigated traits
ISSN: 1445-4408

hal-01032129
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032129
DOI : 10.1071/FP09119

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences
Résumé : International audience
The elucidation of relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem processes has been limited by the definition of metrics of biodiversity and their integration into experimental design. Functional trait screening can strengthen the performance of these designs.* We suggest the use of Rao's quadratic entropy to measure both functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity of species mixtures proposed for an experimental design, and demonstrate how they can provide complementary information.* We also present an index assessing the statistical performance of these independent variables in different experimental designs. Measurement of independent variables as continuous vs. discrete variables reduces statistical performance, but improves the model by quantifying species differences masked by group assignments.* To illustrate these advances, we present an example from a tropical forest tree community in which we screened 38 species for nine functional traits. The proposed TropiDEP design is based on the relative orthogonality of two multivariate trait axes defined using principal component analysis.* We propose that independent variables describing functional diversity might be grouped to calculate independent variables describing suites of different traits with potentially different effects on particular ecosystem processes. In other systems these axes may differ from those reported here, yet the methods of analysis integrating functional and phylogenetic diversity into experimental design could be universal.
La compréhension des relations pouvant exister entre biodiversité et fonctionnement des écosystèmes a été longtemps limitée par la définition de méthodes de quantification de la diversité biologique et la mise en œuvre de dispositifs expérimentaux permettant sa mesure. L'identification de syndromes de traits fonctionnels clefs influençant des fonctions écosystémiques particulières peut renforcer la performance de ces dispositifs.* Nous suggérons l'utilisation de l'entropie quadratique de Rao pour mesurer la diversité fonctionnelle et phylogénétique dans des assemblages synthétiques d'espèces, et montrons comment ces mesures de diversité sont complémentaires.* Nous présentons également un indice permettant de tester la performance statistique de ces variables indépendantes dans différents modèles expérimentaux. L'utilisation de variables indépendantes continues plutôt que discrètes réduit la performance statistique mais améliore le modèle en quantifiant les différences fonctionnelles entre espèces; différences généralement masquées lors de leur assignation en groupes fonctionnels.* Pour illustrer ces avancées, nous présentons un exemple d'assemblages synthétiques à partir de 38 espèces d'arbres de forêt tropicale sélectionnées pour 9 traits fonctionnels (TropiDEP). Le plan d'expérience de TropiDEP est basé sur l'orthogonalité relative de deux axes multivariés de traits fonctionnels définis par analyse en composantes principales.* Nous proposons que les variables décrivant la diversité fonctionnelle soient groupées pour calculer des variables indépendantes, divisées en plusieurs axes décrivant des combinaisons de différents traits pouvant influencer des processus différents de l'écosystème (e.g. processus du N et du C). Dans d'autres systèmes, ces axes peuvent différer de ceux présentés ici, mais les méthodes d'analyse peuvent être universelles.
ISSN: 1286-4560

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
hal-00883621
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00883621
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00883621/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00883621/file/hal-00883621.pdf
DOI : 10.1051/forest/2009110

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé :   Diplôme : DEA
il s'agit d'un type de produit dont les métadonnées ne correspondent pas aux métadonnées attendues dans les autres types de produit : DISSERTATION
As part of a programme of degraded soils rehabilitation, and in order to follow the biological processes connected with the soils reconstitution, it is a requisite to determine indicators able to account for the evolution of the soil. These indicators can he found on structural and/or functional characteristics of the bacterial communities, such as soil respiration, denitrification or genetic diversity. Theses descriptors are able to characterize the global community or targeted communities chosen for their importance in the ecosystem functioning. In this work, we tried to know whether soil bacteria genetic diversity was able to be a relevant indicator of the soil evolution in a rehabilitated sequence. This diversity is apprehended via a molecular technique: ARISA. A chronosequence situated on a gold mine, already experimented as part of a programme of degraded zones rehabilitation, was at our disposal. Results show that ARISA is a very sensitive technique, able to account for the bacterial community heterogeneity in a soil but unable, at the parcel scale, to discriminate the treatments nor to account for the evolution in lime of planted treatments. Lastly, the advantage of this indicator of genetic diversity may arise from its confrontation to other indicators (functional, for example).
Dans le cadre de la revégétalisation d'un sol dégradé et afin de pouvoir suivre les processus biologiques liés à la reconstitution des sols, il est nécessaire de déterminer des indicateurs pouvant rendre compte de l'évolution de l'état du sol. Ces indicateurs peuvent être fondés sur des caractéristiques fonctionnelles et/ou structurales des communautés bactériennes telles que la respiration, la dénitrification ou la diversité génétique. Ces descripteurs peuvent analyser la communauté globale ou des communautés cibles choisies pour leur importance dans le fonctionnement de l'écosystème. L'objectif de ce stage était de savoir si la diversité génétique des bactéries du sol pouvait être un indicateur de l'évolution des sols au sein d'une séquence de revégétalisation. Cette diversité est appréhendée par une technique de biologie moléculaire : l'ARISA. On dispose d'une chronoséquence située sur une mine d'or étudiée dans le cadre d'un programme de réhabilitation des zones dégradées. Les résultats montrent que l'ARISA est une technique très sensible, qui rend bien compte de l’hétérogénéité des communautés bactériennes présentes dans un sol mais est incapable, à l’échelle de la parcelle, de discriminer ni les traitements ni de rendre compte de l'évolution dans le temps de ces parcelles. Enfin, l'intérêt de cet indicateur de diversité génétique pourra résulter de sa confrontation avec d'autres indicateurs (fonctionnels par exemple).
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01189155

hal-01189155
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01189155
PRODINRA : 9464

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Royal Society, The
Résumé : Plant leaf litter generally decomposes faster as a group of different species than when individual species decompose alone, but underlyingmechanisms of these diversity effects remain poorly understood. Because resource C : N: P stoichiometry (i.e. the ratios of these key elements) exhibits strong control on consumers, we supposed that stoichiometric dissimilarity of litter mixtures (i.e. the divergence in C : N: P ratios among species) improves resource complementarity to decomposers leading to faster mixture decomposition. We tested this hypothesis with: (i) a wide range of leaf litter mixtures of neotropical tree species varying in C : N: P dissimilarity, and (ii) a nutrient addition experiment (C, N and P) to create stoichiometric similarity. Litter mixtures decomposed in the field using two different types of litterbags allowing or preventing access to soil fauna. Litter mixture mass loss was higher than expected from species decomposing singly, especially in presence of soil fauna. With fauna, synergistic litter mixture effects increased with increasing stoichiometric dissimilarity of litter mixtures and this positive relationship disappeared with fertilizer addition. Our results indicate that litter stoichiometric dissimilarity drives mixture effects via the nutritional requirements of soil fauna. Incorporating ecological stoichiometry in biodiversity research allows refinement of the underlying mechanisms of how changing biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning.
ISSN: 0962-8452

hal-01204222
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204222
DOI : 10.1098/rspb.2014.1682
PRODINRA : 289918

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag (Germany) Springer Verlag
Résumé : Direct numerical simulations of flow through two millimeter-scale rock samples of limestone and sandstone are performed using three diverse fluid dynamic simulators. The resulting steady-state velocity fields are compared in terms of the associated empirical probability density functions (PDFs) and key statistics of the velocity fields. The pore space geometry of each sample is imaged at 5.06−μm voxel size resolution using X-ray microtomography. The samples offer contrasting characteristics in terms of total connected porosity (about 0.31 for the limestone and 0.07 for the sandstone) and are typical of several applications in hydrogeology and petroleum engineering. The three-dimensional fluid velocity fields within the explicit pore spaces are simulated using ANSYS® FLUENT® ANSYS Inc. (2009), EULAG Prusa et al. (Comput. Fluids 37, 1193–1207 2008), and SSTOKES Sarkar et al. (2002). These computational approaches are highly disperse in terms of algorithmic complexity, differ in terms of their governing equations, the adopted numerical methodologies, the enforcement of internal no-slip boundary conditions at the fluid-solid interface, and the computational mesh structure. As metrics of comparison to probe in a statistical sense the internal similarities/differences across sample populations of velocities obtained through the computational systems, we consider (i) integral quantities, such as the Darcy flux and (ii) main statistical moments of local velocity distributions including local correlations between velocity fields. Comparison of simulation results indicates that mutually consistent estimates of the state of flow are obtained in the analyzed samples of natural pore spaces despite the considerable differences associated with the three computational approaches. We note that in the higher porosity limestone sample, the structures of the velocity fields obtained using ANSYS FLUENT and EULAG are more alike than either compared against the results obtained using SSTOKES. In the low-porosity sample, the structures of the velocity fields obtained by EULAG and SSTOKES are more similar than either is to the fields obtained using ANSYS FLUENT. With respect to macroscopic quantities, ANSYS FLUENT and SSTOKES provide similar results in terms of the average vertical velocity for both of the complex microscale geometries considered, while EULAG tends to render the largest velocity values. The influence of the pore space structure on fluid velocity field characteristics is also discussed.
ISSN: 1420-0597

hal-01174152
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174152
DOI : 10.1007/s10596-015-9486-7

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : In habitat mosaics, plant populations face environmental heterogeneity over short geographical distances. Such steep environmental gradients can induce ecological divergence. Lowland rainforests of the Guiana Shield are characterized by sharp, short-distance environmental variations related to topography and soil characteristics (from waterlogged bottomlands on hydromorphic soils to well-drained terra firme on ferralitic soils). Continuous plant populations distributed along such gradients are an interesting system to study intrapopulation divergence at highly local scales. This study tested (1) whether conspecific populations growing in different habitats diverge at functional traits, and (2) whether they diverge in the same way as congeneric species having different habitat preferences. Phenotypic differentiation was studied within continuous populations occupying different habitats for two congeneric, sympatric, and ecologically divergent tree species (Eperua falcata and E. grandiflora, Fabaceae). Over 3000 seeds collected from three habitats were germinated and grown in a common garden experiment, and 23 morphological, biomass, resource allocation and physiological traits were measured. In both species, seedling populations native of different habitats displayed phenotypic divergence for several traits (including seedling growth, biomass allocation, leaf chemistry, photosynthesis and carbon isotope composition). This may occur through heritable genetic variation or other maternally inherited effects. For a sub-set of traits, the intraspecific divergence associated with environmental variation coincided with interspecific divergence. The results indicate that mother trees from different habitats transmit divergent trait values to their progeny, and suggest that local environmental variation selects for different trait optima even at a very local spatial scale. Traits for which differentiation within species follows the same pattern as differentiation between species indicate that the same ecological processes underlie intra- and interspecific variation.
ISSN: 0305-7364

hal-01032430
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032430
DOI : 10.1093/aob/mct176

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : 1. Resource control over abundance, structure and functional diversity of soil microbial communities is a key determinant of soil processes and related ecosystem functioning. Copiotrophic organisms tend to be found in environments which are rich in nutrients, particularly carbon, in contrast to oligotrophs, which survive in much lower carbon concentrations. We hypothesized that microbial biomass, activity and community structure in nutrient-poor soils of an Amazonian rain forest are limited by multiple elements in interaction. We tested this hypothesis with a fertilization experiment by adding C (as cellulose), N (as urea) and P (as phosphate) in all possible combinations to a total of 40 plots of an undisturbed tropical forest in French Guiana. After 2years of fertilization, we measured a 47% higher biomass, a 21% increase in substrate-induced respiration rate and a 5-fold higher rate of decomposition of cellulose paper discs of soil microbial communities that grew in P-fertilized plots compared to plots without P fertilization. These responses were amplified with a simultaneous C fertilization suggesting P and C colimitation of soil micro-organisms at our study site. Moreover, P fertilization modified microbial community structure (PLFAs) to a more copiotrophic bacterial community indicated by a significant decrease in the Gram-positive:Gram-negative ratio. The Fungi:Bacteria ratio increased in N fertilized plots, suggesting that fungi are relatively more limited by N than bacteria. Changes in microbial community structure did not affect rates of general processes such as glucose mineralization and cellulose paper decomposition. In contrast, community level physiological profiles under P fertilization combined with either C or N fertilization or both differed strongly from all other treatments, indicating functionally different microbial communities. While P appears to be the most critical from the three major elements we manipulated, the strongest effects were observed in combination with either supplementary C or N addition in support of multiple element control on soil microbial functioning and community structure. We conclude that the soil microbial community in the studied tropical rain forest and the processes it drives is finely tuned by the relative availability in C, N and P. Any shifts in the relative abundance of these key elements may affect spatial and temporal heterogeneity in microbial community structure, their associated functions and the dynamics of C and nutrients in tropical ecosystems.
ISSN: 0269-8463

hal-01204229
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204229
DOI : 10.1111/1365-2435.12329
PRODINRA : 311389

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : One of the major challenges in forest ecology is to understand the ecology, physiology and potential responses of the> 250000 species of vascular plants of the planet through the categorization of this diversity into functional groups. This approach is essentially based on functional traits analysis, but few investigations were made in tropical areas. The aim of this study was to determine functional groups in two contrasted tropical ecosystems, dry (DF) and mountain rain (MRF) forest (respectively rainfall of 1 200 mm/year and 10 000 mm/year). Guadeloupe Island in FWI presents both these ecosystems spread over less 100 km. In a first time, we developed an original species typology based on 7 "soft" traits, easy to measure (stomatal density, leaf trichom density, chlorophyll content, leaf nitrogen content, specific leaf area, wood density, leaf area, plant height). The method was based on principal component analysis (PCA) and agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) applied to these traits measured at the individual level (Blazy et al., 2009). In a second time, we evaluated the relevance of these soft trait-based groups compared to a typology based on 5 "hard" ecophysiological traits, more costly to quantify but with higher functional significance (difference between predawn and minimum leaf water potential, stomatal conductance, maximal carbon assimilation rate, leaf water potential at 90% of loss of stem hydraulic conductivity). When performed on the dominant canopy species in DF and MRF (a total of 13 species and 60 mature individuals), the typological approach based on soft traits seems relevant to discriminate groups with a distinct functional reality. Through both ecosystems, we obtained 4 homogenous groups. Two were exclusively composed by DF's or MRF's species, indicating that a functional strategy can be linked to specific environmental conditions. The two other groups showed a mix of DF and MRF species indicating that different functional strategies can coexist in the same environment. These mixed groups seem distinct by their ecophysiological features, particularly in term of hydraulic characteristics. One group was composed by drought tolerant species, water spender species, with a high xylem embolism resistance, whereas the second one was composed by water saver species, less resistant to embolism. Therefore, a determination of functional groups based on soft traits could be useful to model ecosystem's responses to environmental changes on a global scale.
Book of Abstracts - isem 2013 - Ecological Modelling for Ecosystem Sustainability
Toulouse, France

hal-00964668
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00964668

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
1. Despite considerable interest in the application of plant functional traits to questions of community assembly and ecosystem structure and function, there is no consensus on the appropriateness of sampling designs to obtain plot-level estimates in diverse plant communities. 2. We measured 10 plant functional traits describing leaf and stem morphology and ecophysiology for all trees in nine 1-ha plots in terra firme lowland tropical rain forests of French Guiana (N = 4709). 3.We calculated, by simulation, the mean and variance in trait values for each plot and each trait expected under seven sampling methods and a range of sampling intensities. Simulated sampling methods included a variety of spatial designs, as well as the application of existing data base values to all individuals of a given species. 4. For each trait in each plot, we defined a performance index for each sampling design as the proportion of resampling events that resulted in observed means within 5% of the true plot mean, and observed variance within 20%of the true plot variance. 5. The relative performance of sampling designs was consistent for estimations of means and variances. Data base use had consistently poor performance for most traits across all plots, whereas sampling one individual per species per plot resulted in relatively high performance. We found few differences among different spatial sampling strategies; however, for a given strategy, increased intensity of sampling resulted in markedly improved accuracy in estimates of trait mean and variance. 6. We also calculated the financial cost of each sampling design based on data from our 'every individual per plot' strategy and estimated the sampling and botanical effort required. The relative performance of designs was strongly positively correlated with relative financial cost, suggesting that sampling investment returns are relatively constant. 7. Our results suggest that trait sampling for many objectives in species-rich plant communities may require the considerable effort of sampling at least one individual of each species in each plot, and that investment in complete sampling, though great, may be worthwhile for at least some traits.
ISSN: 0269-8463

hal-00594009
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00594009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : For ecology scientists, spatial statistics are a set of tools allowing characterization of the structure of a point set, for instance a map of trees in a forest plot. This structure is defined implicitly as a departure from complete spatial randomness (CSR), the result of a Poisson point process. Inhomogeneity of the process and non-independence of points are its causes. As they cannot be disentangled by analyzing the data, so-called "spatial concentration" or "aggregation" (evenness due to repulsion also exists but is actually rare) usually concerns non-independence while intensity is assumed as known. The literature of point processes and measures of spatial structures is reviewed to clarify concepts and choices. The purpose of this thesis was to produce methodological enhancements. Its main results are: * A test for the most used statistic, Ripley's K function, against the null hypothesis of CSR. It can replace Monte-Carlo simulations used until now in the literature. * An extension of K to inhomogeneous processes, within a typology of available statistics (absolute, relative and topographic measures). When data is available as number of objects per zones (say a number of tree in each forest plot) rather than their exact position, information theory is used to define a general framework allowing to characterize spatial structure (of species) and diversity (of plots) as two aspects of a single measure of inequality. This framework is applied to Shannon's index of biodiversity to derive a self-sufficient definition of beta diversity, its calculation independently from the difference between gamma and alpha diversity, and a statistical test of significance against the null hypothesis that plots are samples of the same community. The way is paved for other applications to measures of diversity and spatial structures. As a conclusion, it appears clear that pattern characterization tools are a first step to deal with ecological questionings. Their development is still a matter of research. Yet, they are far from sufficient to address ecological processes as point processes ignore the temporal aspect of object locations.
Les statistiques spatiales sont pour les écologues un ensemble d'outils permettant de caractériser la structure d'un semis de points, par exemple une carte représentant des emplacements des arbres dans une parcelle de forêt. Cette structure est définie implicitement comme un écart à semis complètement aléatoire, résultat d'un processus de Poisson. L'hétérogénéité du processus ponctuel dont le semis de points est une réalisation et la non-indépendance des points en sont les causes indiscernables, ce qui amène généralement à supposer l'intensité du processus connu et nommer " concentration spatiale " ou " agrégation " (la régularité spatiale est possible, mais rare en pratique) la non-indépendance. Une revue de la littérature des processus ponctuels et des mesures de structures spatiales est fournie pour clarifier les concepts et les choix. L'objectif de ce travail de thèse était de produire des améliorations méthodologiques. Ses résultats principaux sont : * L'établissement d'un test pour la principale statistique utilisée, la fonction K de Ripley, permettant de s'affranchir de la méthode de Monte-Carlo utilisée dans la littérature pour rejeter l'hypothèse nulle d'un processus complètement aléatoire. * L'extension de K aux processus hétérogènes, dans le cadre d'une typologie claire des statistiques (absolues, relatives, topographiques). Lorsque la position exacte des objets n'est pas connue, mais que des effectifs par zone sont disponibles (par exemple des nombres d'arbres par parcelle), la théorie de l'information est utilisée pour définir un cadre général permettant de caractériser la structure spatiale (des espèces dans les parcelles) et la diversité (des parcelles, en termes d'espèces) comme deux aspects d'une même mesure d'inégalité. Ce cadre est appliqué à l'indice de biodiversité de Shannon pour définir clairement la mesure de diversité bêta, son calcul direct indépendamment de la différence entre diversités gamma et alpha, et fournir un test statistique de non nullité. La voie est ouverte pour l'application à d'autres mesures de diversité et de structure spatiale. En conclusion, il semble clair que ces outils de caractérisation sont un premier pas pour traiter les questions écologiques, leur développement étant toujours du domaine de la recherche. Ils sont cependant très insuffisants pour répondre à des questions liées aux processus écologiques, assez éloignés des processus ponctuels qui ignorent l'aspect temporel de l'installation des objets.
https://pastel.archives-ouvertes.fr/pastel-00540327

NNT : 2010AGPT0075
pastel-00540327
https://pastel.archives-ouvertes.fr/pastel-00540327
https://pastel.archives-ouvertes.fr/pastel-00540327/document
https://pastel.archives-ouvertes.fr/pastel-00540327/file/13_Marcon2010.pdf