Résumé: Questions Forest fragmentation affects biodiversity locally (alpha diversity) and beyond – at relatively larger scales (gamma diversity) – by increasing dispersal and recruitment limitations. Yet, does an increase in fragmentation affect the relationship between alpha and gamma diversity and what can we learn from it? Location Northern France. Methods We surveyed 116 forest patches across three fragmentation levels: none (continuous forest); intermediate (forest patches connected by hedgerows); and high (isolated forest patches). Plant species richness of both forest specialists and generalists was surveyed at five nested spatial resolutions across each forest patch: 1 m(2); 10 m(2); 100 m(2); 1,000 m(2); and total forest patch area. First, we ran log-ratio models to quantify the alpha-gamma relationship. We did that separately for all possible combinations of fragmentation level (none vs intermediate vs high) x spatial scale (e.g., alpha-1 m(2) vs gamma-10 m(2)) x species type (e.g., alpha-specialists vs gamma-specialists). We then used linear mixed-effects models to analyze the effect of fragmentation level, spatial scale, species type and all two-way interaction terms on the slope coefficient extracted from all log-ratio models. Results We found an interaction effect between fragmentation level and species type, such that forest specialists shifted from a linear (i.e., proportional sampling) to a curvilinear plateau (i.e., community saturation) relationship at low and high fragmentation, respectively, while generalists shifted from a curvilinear to a linear pattern. Conclusions The impact of forest fragmentation on the alpha-gamma relationship supports generalist species persistence over forest specialists, with contrasting mechanisms for these two guilds. As fragmentation increases, forest specialists shift from proportional sampling towards community saturation, thus reducing alpha diversity likely due to dispersal limitation. Contrariwise, generalists shift from community saturation towards proportional sampling, thus increasing alpha diversity likely due to an increase in the edge:core ratio. To ensure long-term conservation of forest specialists, one single large forest patch should be preferred over several small ones.

Résumé: Planktonic ciliates constitute a fundamental component among microzooplankton and play a prominent role in carbon transport at the base of marine food webs. How these organisms respond to shifting environmental regimes is unclear and constitutes a current challenge under global ocean changes. Here we examine a multi-annual field survey covering 25 years in the Bahfa Blanca Estuary (Argentina), a shallow, flood-plain system dominated by wind and tidal energy. We found that the estuary experienced marked changes in wind dominant regimes and an increase in water turbidity driven from the joint effect of persistent long-fetch winds and the indirect effect of the Southern Annular Mode. Along with these changes, we found that zooplankton components, i.e. ciliates and the dominant estuarine copepod Acartia tonsa, showed a negative trend during the period 1986-2011. We showed that the combined effects of wind and turbidity with other environmental variables (chlorophyll, salinity and nutrients) consistently explained the variability of observed shifts. Tintinnids were more vulnerable to wind patterns and turbidity while showed a loss of synchrony with primary productivity. Water turbidity produced a dome-like pattern on tintinnids, oligotrichs and A. tonsa, implying that the highest abundance of organisms occurred under moderate values (similar to 50 NTU) of turbidity. In contrast, the response to wind patterns was not generalizable probably owing to species-specific traits. Observed trends denote that wind induced processes in shallow ecosystems with internal sources of suspended sediments, are essential on ciliate dynamics and that such effects can propagate trough the interannual variability of copepods.

Résumé: This study provides an analysis of vesicomyid bivalve-symbiont community distribution across cold seep and hydrothermal vent areas in the Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California, Mexico). Using a combination of morphological and molecular approaches including fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and electronic microscopy observations, vesicomyid clam species and their associated symbionts were characterized and results were analyzed in light of geochemical conditions and other on-site observations. A greater diversity of vesicomyids was found at cold seep areas, where three different species were present (Phreagena soyoae [syn. kilmeri], Archivesica gigas, and Calyptogena pacifica). In contrast, A. gigas was the only species sampled across the hydrothermal vent area. The same haplotype of A. gigas was found in both hydrothermal vent and cold seep areas, highlighting possible contemporary exchanges among neighboring vents and seeps. In either ecosystem, molecular characterization of the symbionts confirmed the specificity between symbionts and hosts and supported the hypothesis of a predominantly vertical transmission. In addition, patterns of clams could reflect potential niche preferences for each species. The occurrence of numerous traces of vesicomyid movements on sediments in the sites colonized by A. gigas seemed to indicate that this species might have a better ability to move. Furthermore, variation in gill sulfur content could reveal a higher plasticity and sulfur storage capacity in A. gigas. Thus, the distribution of vesicomyid species across the chemosynthetic areas of the Guaymas Basin could be explained by differences in biological traits of the vesicomyid species that would allow A. gigas to more easily exploit transient and punctual sources of available sulfide than P. soyoae.

Résumé: The relative contribution of ecological processes in shaping metacommunity dynamics in heavily managed landscapes is still unclear. Here we used two complementary approaches to disentangle the role of environment and spatial effect in farmland bird community assembly in an intensive agro-ecosystem. We hypothesized that the interaction between habitat patches and dispersal should play a major role in such unstable and unpredictable environments. First, we used a metacommunity patterns analysis to characterize species co-occurrences and identify the main drivers of community assembly; secondly, variation partitioning was used to disentangle environmental and geographical factors (such as dispersal limitation) on community structure and composition. We used high spatial resolution data on bird community structure and composition distributed among 260 plots in an agricultural landscape. Species were partitioned into functional classes, and point count stations were classified according to landscape characteristics before applying metacommunity and partitioning analyses within each. Overall we could explain around 20% of the variance in species composition in our system, revealing that stochasticity remains very important at this scale. However, this proportion varies depending on the scale of analysis, and reveals potentially important contributions of environmental filtering and dispersal. These conclusions are further reinforced when the analysis was deconstructed by bird functional classes or by landscape habitat classes, underlining trait-related filters, thus reinforcing the idea that wooded areas in these agroecosystems may represent important sources for a specific group of bird species. Our analysis shows that deconstructing the species assemblages into separate functional groups and types of landscapes, along with a combination of analysis strategies, can help in understanding the mechanisms driving community assembly.

Résumé: Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems are a promising solution for sustainable aquaculture combining nutrient recycling with increased biomass production. An innovative land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) was studied in France for a 60-day experiment. It combined a European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) RAS with two other production systems: high rate algal ponds (HRAP) with natural marine polyspecific algal assemblages, and oysters in separate open tanks. The objective was the assessment of: 1) the efficiency and the stability of the microalgae bioremediation of the effluent from a fish RAS in spring and summer, 2) the abundance and the diversity patterns of the microalgae biomass for consumption in the oyster compartment of the IMTA. Silicate was added every week after the beginning of the experiment for maintaining a Si:N:P molar ratio of 10:5:1 in the HRAP to encourage the growth of diatoms. The HRAP have an overall removal efficiency of 98.6 ± 0.2% for NO3-N, 98.0 ± 0.4% for NO2-N, 97.3 ± 0.7% for NH4-N and 96.1 ± 0.6% for PO4-P, with removal rates of 335.8 ± 0.8, 23.6 ± 0.2, 30.9 ± 0.2, and 22.3 ± 0.2 mg m−2 d−1, respectively. The concentration of total suspended solid (TSS) and chlorophyll a (chl a) increased during the experiment and reached maximum values on day 46 (135.3 ± 34.7 mg TSS l−1 and 0.42 ± 0.03 mg chl a l−1) after which the microalgae collapsed due to a CO2 limitation (pH ca. 10). Sequencing analysis revealed that the microalgae community was dominated by Tetraselmis sp. from day 1 to day 16 (45.7% to 73.8% relative abundance). From day 30 to day 43 the culture was dominated by diatoms, Phaeodactylum sp. (83.4% to 98.1% relative abundance). Although the stable carbon isotope signatures confirmed that the microalgae were consumed, oysters' growth was limited in the RAS-IMTA, suggesting that oysters were under stress or not fed enough.

Résumé: Describing the spatial and temporal dynamics of communities is essential for understanding the impacts of global environmental change on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Trait-based approaches can provide better insight than species-based (i.e. taxonomic) approaches into community assembly and ecosystem functioning, but comparing species and trait dynamics may reveal important patterns for understanding community responses to environmental change. Here, we used a 33-year database of fish monitoring to compare the spatio-temporal dynamics of taxonomic and trait structure in North Sea fish communities. We found that the majority of variation in both taxonomic and trait structure was explained by a pronounced spatial gradient, with distinct communities in the southern and northern North Sea related to depth, sea surface temperature, salinity and bed shear stress. Both taxonomic and trait structure changed significantly over time; however taxonomically, communities in the south and north diverged towards different species, becoming more dissimilar over time, yet they converged towards the same traits regardless of species differences. In particular, communities shifted towards smaller, faster growing species with higher thermal preferences and pelagic water column position. Although taxonomic structure changed over time, its spatial distribution remained relatively stable, whereas in trait structure, the southern zone of the North Sea shifted northward and expanded, leading to homogenization. Our findings suggest that global environmental change, notably climate warming, will lead to convergence towards traits more adapted for novel environments regardless of species composition.

Résumé: While climate change is rapidly impacting marine species and ecosystems worldwide, the effects of climate warming on coastal fish nurseries have received little attention despite nurseries' fundamental roles in recruitment and population replenishment. Here, we used a 26-year time series (1987-2012) of fish monitoring in the Bay of Somme, a nursery in the Eastern English Channel (EEC), to examine the impacts of environmental and human drivers on the spatial and temporal dynamics of fish functional structure during a warming phase of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). We found that the nursery was initially dominated by fishes with r-selected life-history traits such as low trophic level, low age and size at maturity, and small offspring, which are highly sensitive to warming. The AMO, likely superimposed on climate change, induced rapid warming in the late 1990s (over 1 degrees C from 1998 to 2003), leading to functional reorganization of fish communities, with a roughly 80% decline in overall fish abundance and increased dominance by K-selected fishes. Additionally, historical overfishing likely rendered the bay more vulnerable to climatic changes due to increased dominance by fishing-tolerant, yet climatically sensitive species. The drop in fish abundance not only altered fish functional structure within the Bay of Somme, but the EEC was likely impacted, as the EEC has been unable to recover from a regime shift in the late 1990s potentially, in part, due to failed replenishment from the bay. Given the collapse of r-selected fishes, we discuss how the combination of climate cycles and global warming could threaten marine fish nurseries worldwide, as nurseries are often dominated by r-selected species.

Résumé: Bioturbating benthic organisms have typically been characterised by how they modify the vertical sediment erosion thresholds. By means of several annular flume experiments, we aimed to understand how benthic organisms may affect grain-size sediment properties over time, and how this depends on the sediment type and the sediment loading of the water column. We compared the effect of two bioturbating macroinvertebrate species: a local dominant species, the cockle Cerastoderma edule and a spreading non-indigeneous species, the clam Ruditapes philippinarum. Our results indicate that the effect of benthic organisms on sediment dynamics is strongly dependent on both the prevailing environmental conditions and the benthic species present. If sediment is sandy, the benthos can gradually enhance the silt content of the sediment by mixing in part of the daily tidal sediment deposition. In contrast, if sediment is muddy, benthos can gradually decrease the silt content of the sediment by specifically suspending the fine fraction. Moreover, we observed that the native cockles had a stronger impact than invasive clams. Therefore, bioturbating benthos can have an important effect in determining the local sediment properties, with the outcome depending both on the species in question and the environmental conditions the bioturbator lives in. Our findings show that sediment bioturbation may have strong implications for tidal flat stability undergoing major changes from natural or anthropogenic sources.

Résumé: Quantifying changes in functional diversity, the facet of biodiversity accounting for the biological features of organisms, has been advocated as one of the most integrative ways to unravel how communities are affected by human-induced perturbations. The present study assessed how functional diversity patterns varied among communities that differed in the degree to which non-native species dominated the community in temperate lake fish communities and whether accounting for intraspecific functional variability could provide a better understanding of the variation of functional diversity across communities. Four functional diversity indices were computed for 18 temperate lake fish communities along a gradient of non-native fish dominance using morphological functional traits assessed for each life-stage within each species. First, we showed that intraspecific variability in functional traits was high and comparable to interspecific variability. Second, we found that non-native fish were functionally distinct from native fish. Finally, we demonstrated that there was a significant relationship between functional diversity and the degree to which non-native fish currently dominated the community and that this association could be better detected when accounting for intraspecific functional variability. These findings highlighted the importance of incorporating intraspecific variability to better quantify the variation of functional diversity patterns in communities facing human-induced perturbations.

Résumé: Functional richness, currently defined as the amount of niche space occupied by the species within a community, is one of the three major components of functional diversity. Different indices have been developed in order to quantify this component. However, the range of indices available for assessing functional richness, often mathematically complex and based on different rationales, can cause confusion for field ecologists and lead to misinterpretation of the results obtained. In this context, we have provided the first study exclusively focused on the comparison of the definitions, advantages and drawbacks of a large set of functional richness indices. The first part of this work is focused on four indices (FDP&G, FRic, TOP and N-hypervolumes indices) that are currently the most commonly used for assessing functional richness. We have completed our study by including recently developed indices that enable us to take into account the intraspecific trait variability (i.e. FRim index and TDP framework), because there is currently a growing scientific consensus regarding the necessity of including this aspect in the assessment of the functional diversity of communities. We demonstrate that although authors have argued that their index describes the functional richness, each of them describes only part of it, and this part may strongly differ from one index to another. Rather than advocating the general use of a single index and/or systematically avoiding others, our study highlights the need for selecting indices in close relation with the context, the available data and the aims of each study. Such a strategy is an essential preliminary step for preventing misunderstanding and artefactual controversies. Along these lines, we propose some guidelines to help users in selecting the most appropriate indices according both to the facet of functional richness on which they wish to focus and to the characteristics of the available data.

Résumé: Determining whether many functionally complementary species or only a subset of key species are necessary to maintain ecosystem functioning and services is a critical question in community ecology and biodiversity conservation. Identifying such key species remains challenging, especially in the tropics where many species co-occur and can potentially support the same or different processes. Here, we developed a new community-wide scan CWS) approach, analogous to the genome-wide scan, to identify fish species that significantly contribute, beyond the socio-environmental and species richness effects, to the biomass and coral cover on Indo-Pacific reefs. We found that only a limited set of species (51 out of approx. 400, = approx. 13%), belonging to various functional groups and evolutionary lineages, are strongly and positively associated with fish biomass and live coral cover. Many of these species have not previously been identified as functionally important, and thus may be involved in unknown, yet important, biological mechanisms that help sustain healthy and productive coral reefs. CWS has the potential to reveal species that are key to ecosystem functioning and services and to guide management strategies as well as new experiments to decipher underlying causal ecological processes.

Résumé: The effects of environmental change on biodiversity are still poorly understood. In particular, the consequences of shifts in species composition for marine ecosystem function are largely unknown. Here we assess the loss of functional diversity, i.e. the range of species biological traits, in benthic marine communities exposed to ocean acidification (OA) by using natural CO2 vent systems. We found that functional richness is greatly reduced with acidification, and that functional loss is more pronounced than the corresponding decrease in taxonomic diversity. In acidified conditions, most organisms accounted for a few functional entities (i.e. unique combination of functional traits), resulting in low functional redundancy. These results suggest that functional richness is not buffered by functional redundancy under OA, even in highly diverse assemblages, such as rocky benthic communities.

Résumé: 1. Trait-based approaches have the potential to reveal general and predictive relationships between organisms and ecosystem functioning. However, the mechanisms underlying the functional structure of communities are still unclear. Within terrestrial ecosystems, several studies have shown that many ecological processes are controlled by the interacting above-and belowground compartments. However, few studies have used traits to reveal the functional relationships between plants and soil fauna. Mostly, research combining plants and soil fauna solely used the traits of one assemblage in predictive studies. 2. Above-ground (plants) and below-ground (Collembola) compartments were sampled over a flooding gradient in northern France along the Seine River. First, we measured the effect of flooding on functional and taxonomic assembly within both communities. We then considered the linkages between plant and Collembolan species richness, community traits and assessed whether traits of both compartments converged at high flooding intensity (abiotic filtering) and diverged when this constraint is released (biotic filtering). 3. Species richness of both taxa followed the same bell-shaped pattern along the gradient, while a similar significant pattern of functional richness was only observed for plants. Further analyses revealed a progressive shift from trait convergence to divergence for plants, but not for Collembola, as constraints intensity decreased. Instead, our results highlighted that Collembola traits were mainly linked to the variations in plant traits. This leads, within Collembola assemblages, to convergence of a subset of perception and habitat-related traits for which the relationship with plant traits was assessed. 4. Synthesis. Using a trait-based approach, our study highlighted that functional relationships occur between above-and below-ground compartments. We underlined that functional composition of plant communities plays a key role in structuring Collembola assemblages in addition to the role of abiotic variables. Our study clearly shows that functional diversity provides a new approach to link the above-and below-ground compartments and might, therefore, be further considered when studying ecological processes at the interface between both compartments.

Résumé: AimTo assess contemporary and historical determinants of taxonomic and ecological trait turnover in birds worldwide. We tested whether taxonomic and trait turnover (1) are structured by regional bioclimatic conditions, (2) increase in relationship with topographic heterogeneity and environmental turnover and change according to current and historical environmental conditions, and (3) decrease with human impact. Major TaxaBirds. LocationGlobal. MethodsWe used computationally efficient algorithms to map the taxonomic and trait turnover of 8,040 terrestrial bird assemblages worldwide, based on a grid with 110km x 110 km resolution overlaid on the extent-of-occurrence maps of 7,964 bird species, and nine ecological traits reflecting six key aspects of bird ecology (diet, habitat use, thermal preference, migration, dispersal and body size). We used quantile regression and model selection to quantify the influence of biomes, environment (temperature, precipitation, altitudinal range, net primary productivity, Quaternary temperature and precipitation change) and human impact (human influence index) on bird turnover. ResultsBird taxonomic and trait turnover were highest in the north African deserts and boreal biomes. In the tropics, taxonomic turnover tended to be higher, but trait turnover was lower than in other biomes. Taxonomic and trait turnover exhibited markedly different or even opposing relationships with climatic and topographic gradients, but at their upper quantiles both types of turnover decreased with increasing human influence. Main conclusionsThe influence of regional, environmental and anthropogenic factors differ between bird taxonomic and trait turnover, consistent with an imprint of niche conservatism, environmental filtering and topographic barriers on bird regional assemblages. Human influence on these patterns is pervasive and demonstrates global biotic homogenization at a macroecological scale.

Résumé: Heterotrophic bacterial communities in marine environments are exposed to a heterogeneous mixture of dissolved organic compounds with different bioreactivity that may control both their activity and composition. The coastal environment is an example of a mixing area where recalcitrant allochthonous organic matter from rivers can encounter labile organic matter from marine phytoplanktonic blooms. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of mixed qualities of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on bacterial community activity (BCA) and bacterial community composition (BCC) and to test for a priming effect when DOM sources are added in combination. Coastal marine bacterial communities were incubated separately with a mixture of amino acids and with natural riverine DOM or with both sources together for 42 days. Addition of amino acids alone or in combination with riverine DOM led to a similar stimulation of BCA compared to control condition, whereas addition of riverine DOM alone did not modify BCA compared to the control. On the contrary, BCC analyzed by 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing was not affected by the addition of amino acids alone, but changed dramatically with riverine DOM alone or in combination with amino acids. Our results show that changes in BCA and BCC can be driven by different types of DOM, but that these changes are not necessarily coupled. Moreover, the addition of labile DOM did not modify the microbial decomposition of riverine DOM, nor the BCC, suggesting that a priming effect did not occur under these experimental conditions.

Résumé: With the ongoing loss of coral cover and the associated flattening of reef architecture, understanding the links between coral habitat and reef fishes is of critical importance. Here, we investigate whether considering coral traits and functional diversity provides new insights into the relationship between structural complexity and reef fish communities, and whether coral traits and community composition can predict structural complexity. Across 157 sites in Seychelles, Maldives, the Chagos Archipelago, and Australia's Great Barrier Reef, we find that structural complexity and reef zone are the strongest and most consistent predictors of reef fish abundance, biomass, species richness, and trophic structure. However, coral traits, diversity, and life histories provided additional predictive power for models of reef fish assemblages, and were key drivers of structural complexity. Our findings highlight that reef complexity relies on living corals-with different traits and life histories-continuing to build carbonate skeletons, and that these nuanced relationships between coral assemblages and habitat complexity can affect the structure of reef fish assemblages. Seascape-level estimates of structural complexity are rapid and cost effective with important implications for the structure and function of fish assemblages, and should be incorporated into monitoring programs.

Résumé: Increases in the intensity of disturbances in coastal lagoons can lead to shifts in vegetation from aquatic angiosperms to macroalgal or phytoplankton communities. Such abrupt and discontinuous responses are facilitated by instability in the equilibrium controlling the trajectory of the community response. We hypothesized that the shift in macrophyte populations is reversible, and that this reversibility is dependent on changes in the pressures exerted on the watershed and lagoon functioning. Biguglia lagoon (Mediterranean Sea, Corsica) is an interesting case study for the evaluation of long-term coastal lagoon ecosystem functioning and the trajectory of submerged macrophyte responses to disturbances, to facilitate the appropriate restoration of ecosystems. We used historical data for a two hundred-year period to assess changes in human activities on the watershed of the Biguglia lagoon. Macrophyte mapping (from 1970) and monitoring data for dynamics (from 1999) were used to investigate the trajectory of the community response. The changes observed in this watershed included a large number of hydrological developments affecting salinity and resulting in changes in macrophyte distribution. Nutrient inputs over the last 40 years have led to a shift in the aquatic vegetation from predominantly aquatic angiosperm community to macroalgae and phytoplankton in 2007 (dystrophic crisis). Changes in hydrological management and improvements in sewage treatment after 2007 led to a significant increase of aquatic angiosperms over a relatively short period of time (4–5 years), particularly for Ruppia cirrhosa and Stuckenia pectinata. There has been a significant resurgence of Najas marina, due to changes in salinity. The observed community shift suggests that Biguglia lagoon is resilient and that the transition may be reversible. The restored communities closely resemble those present before disturbance. These findings demonstrate the need to understand watershed exploitation and ecosystem variability in lagoon restoration.

Résumé: Ecological knowledge of food web interactions within pelagic marine communities is often limited, impairing our capabilities to manage these ecologically and economically important marine fish species. Here we used stable isotope analyses to investigate trophic interactions in the pelagic ecosystem of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea during 2012 and 2013. Our results suggest that European sardine, Sardina pilchardus, and anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, are consumers located at relatively low levels of the pelagic food web. Unexpectedly, the round sardinella, Sardinella aurita, appeared to be located at a higher trophic level than the other small pelagic fish species, although previous studies found similarity in their diets. Isotope data suggested that trophic niches of species within the genera Trachurus spp. and Scomber spp., were distinct. Atlantic bonito Sarda sarda, European hake Merluccius merluccius and European squid Loligo vulgaris, appeared to feed at higher trophic levels than other species. Despite some intraspecific seasonal variability for some species, community trophic structure appeared relatively stable through the year. These data provide an important step for developing models of food web dynamics in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Résumé: Multi-facet diversity indices have been increasingly widely used in conservation ecology but congruence analyses both on horizontal and vertical axes have not yet been explored. We investigated the vertical and horizontal distributions of α and β taxonomic (TD), functional (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD) in a three-dimensional structured ecosystem. We focused on the Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages which form complex structures both vertically and horizontally, and are considered as the most diverse and threatened communities of the Mediterranean Sea. Although comparable to tropical reef assemblages in terms of richness, biomass and production, coralligenous assemblages are less known and more rarely studied, in particular because of their location in deep waters. Our study covers the entire range of distribution of coralligenous habitats along the French Mediterranean coasts, representing the most complete database so far developed for this important ecosystem. To our knowledge, this is the first analysis of spatial diversity patterns of marine biodiversity on both horizontal and vertical scales. Our study revealed that taxonomic diversity differed from functional and phylogenetic diversity patterns at the station level, the latter two being strongly structured by depth, with shallower stations generally richer than deeper ones. Considering all stations, phylogenetic diversity was less congruent to taxonomic diversity (Pearson's correlation of r = 0.48) but more congruent to functional diversity (r = 0.69) than randomly expected. Similar congruence patterns were revealed for stations deeper than 50 m (r = 0.44 and r = 0.84, respectively) but no significantly different congruence level than randomly expected was revealed among diversity facets for more shallow stations. Mean functional α- and β-diversity were lower than phylogenetic diversity and even lower than taxonomic α- and β-diversity for both vertical and horizontal scales. Low FD and PD values at both α- and β-diversity indicated functional and phylogenetic clustering. Community dissimilarities (β-diversity) increased over depth especially in central and eastern part of the French Mediterranean littoral and in northern Corsica, indicating coralligenous vertical structure within these regions. Overall horizontal β-diversity was higher within the 50–70 m depth belts. We conclude that taxonomic diversity alone is inadequate as a basis for setting conservation goals for this ecosystem and additional information, at least on phylogenetic diversity, is needed to preserve the ecosystem functioning and coralligenous evolutionary history. Our results highlight the necessity of considering different depth belts as a basis for regional scale conservation efforts. Current conservation approaches, such as the existing marine protected areas, are insufficient in preserving coralligenous habitats. The use of multi-facet indices should be considered, focusing on preserving local diversity patterns and compositional dissimilarities, both vertically and horizontally.

Résumé: Adaptation to local resource availability depends on responses in growth rate and nutrient acquisition. The growth rate hypothesis (GRH) suggests that growing fast should impair competitive abilities for phosphorus and nitrogen due to high demand for biosynthesis. However, in microorganisms, size influences both growth and uptake rates, which may mask trade-offs and instead generate a positive relationship between these traits (size hypothesis, SH). Here, we evolved a gradient of maximum growth rate (mu(max)) from a single bacterium ancestor to test the relationship among mu(max), competitive ability for nutrients and cell size, while controlling for evolutionary history. We found a strong positive correlation between mu(max) and competitive ability for phosphorus, associated with a trade-off between mu(max) and cell size: strains selected for high mu(max) were smaller and better competitors for phosphorus. Our results strongly support the SH, while the trade-offs expected under GRH were not apparent. Beyond plasticity, unicellular populations can respond rapidly to selection pressure through joint evolution of their size and maximum growth rate. Our study stresses that physiological links between these traits tightly shape the evolution of competitive strategies.

Résumé: Traditionally, microbial surveys investigating the effect of chronic anthropogenic pressure such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminations consider just the alpha and beta diversity and ignore the interactions among the different taxa forming the microbial community. Here, we investigated the ecological relationships between the three domains of life (i.e., Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya) using 454 pyrosequencing on the 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA genes from chronically impacted and pristine sediments, along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lion, Vermillion coast, Corsica, Bizerte lagoon and Lebanon) and the French Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay and English Channel). Our approach provided a robust ecological framework for the partition of the taxa abundance distribution into 859 core Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and 6629 satellite OTUs. OTUs forming the core microbial community showed the highest sensitivity to changes in environmental and contaminant variations, with salinity, latitude, temperature, particle size distribution, total organic carbon (TOC) and PAH concentrations as main drivers of community assembly. The core communities were dominated by Gammaproteobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria for Bacteria, by Thaumarchaeota, Bathyarchaeota and Thermoplasmata for Archaea and Metazoa and Dinoflagellata for Eukarya. In order to find associations among microorganisms, we generated a co-occurrence network in which PAHs were found to impact significantly the potential predator – prey relationship in one microbial consortium composed of ciliates and Actinobacteria. Comparison of network topological properties between contaminated and non-contaminated samples showed substantial differences in the network structure and indicated a higher vulnerability to environmental perturbations in the contaminated sediments.

Résumé: Identifying the main determinants of tropical marine biodiversity is essential for devising appropriate conservation measures mitigating the ongoing degradation of coral reef habitats. Based on a gridded distribution database and phylogenetic information, we compared the phylogenetic structure of assemblages for three tropical reef fish families (Labridae: wrasses, Pomacentridae: damselfishes and Chaetodontidae: butterflyfishes) using the net relatedness (NRI) and nearest taxon (NTI) indices. We then related these indices to contemporary and historical environmental conditions of coral reefs using spatial regression analyses. Higher levels of phylogenetic clustering were found for fish assemblages in the Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA), and more particularly when considering the NTI index. The phylogenetic structure of the Pomacentridae, and to a lower extent of the Chaeotodontidae and Labridae, was primarily associated with the location of refugia during the Quaternary period. Phylogenetic clustering in the IAA may partly result from vicariance events associated with coral reef fragmentation during the glacial periods of the Quaternary. Variation in the patterns among fish families further suggest that dispersal abilities may have interacted with past habitat availability in shaping the phylogenetic structure of tropical reef fish assemblages.

Résumé: Contamination of coastal environments is often due to a complex mixture of pollutants, sometimes in trace levels, that may have significant effects on diversity and function of organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term dynamics of bacterioplankton exposed to natural and artificial mixtures of contaminants. Bacterial communities from a southwestern Mediterranean ecosystem, lagoon and the bay (offshore) of Bizerte were exposed to i) elutriate from resuspension of contaminated sediment, and ii) an artificial mixture of metals and herbicides mimicking the contamination observed during sediment resuspension. Elutriate incubation as well as artificial spiking induced strong enrichments in nutrients (up to 18 times), metals (up to six times) and herbicides (up to 20 times) relative to the in situ concentrations in the offshore station, whereas the increases in contaminants were less marked in the lagoon station. In the offshore waters, the artificial mixture of pollutants provoked a strong inhibition of bacterial abundance, production and respiration and significant modifications of the potential functional diversity of bacterioplankton with a strong decrease of the carbohydrate utilization. In contrast, incubation with elutriate resulted in a stimulation of bacterial activities and abundances, suggesting that the toxic effects of pollutants were modified by the increase in nutrient and DOM concentrations due to the sediment resuspension. The effects of elutriate and the artificial mixture of pollutants on bacterial dynamics and the functional diversity were less marked in the lagoon waters, than in offshore waters, suggesting a relative tolerance of lagoon bacteria against contaminants. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Résumé: * Two alternative frameworks have been proposed to partition compositional dissimilarity into replacement and nestedness-resultant component or into replacement and richness-difference components. These are, respectively, the BAS (Baselga 2010, Global Ecology and Biogeography, 19, 134–143) and POD (Podani & Schmera . Oikos, 120, 1625–1638) frameworks. * We conduct a systematic comparison of parallel components in alternative approaches. We test whether the replacement components derived from the BAS and POD frameworks are independent of richness difference. We also evaluate whether previously reported tests of monotonicity between indices and ecological processes are informative to assess the performance of indices. Finally, we illustrate the consequences of differences between the BAS and POD frameworks using the North American freshwater fish fauna as an empirical example. * In the BAS framework, the nestedness-resultant component (βjne or βsne) accounts only for richness differences derived from nested patterns while, in the POD framework, richness-difference dissimilarity (βrich or βrich.s) accounts for all kind of richness differences. Likewise, the replacement components of both alternative methods account for different concepts. Only the replacement component of the BAS framework (βjtu or βsim) is independent of richness difference, while the parallel component in the POD framework (β−3 or β−3.s) is not (i.e. it is mathematically constrained by richness difference). * Therefore, only the BAS framework allows separating (i) the variation in species composition derived from species replacement which is independent of richness difference (i.e. not mathematically constrained by it) and (ii) the variation in species composition derived from nested patterns.

Résumé: The objectives of this study were (1) to assess the responses of benthic nematodes to a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination and (2) to test bioremediation techniques for their efficiency in PAH degradation and their effects on nematodes. Sediments with their natural nematofauna communities from Bizerte lagoon (Tunisia) were subjected to a PAH mixture (100 ppm) of phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene during 30 days. Nematode abundance and diversity significantly decreased, and the taxonomic structure was altered. Results from multivariate analyses of the species abundance data revealed that PAH treatments were significantly different from the control. Spirinia parasitifera became the dominant species (70 % relative abundance) and appeared to be an “opportunistic” species to PAH contamination while Oncholaimus campylocercoides and Neochromadora peocilosoma were strongly inhibited. Biostimulation (addition of mineral salt medium) and bioaugmentation (inoculation of a hydrocarbonoclastic bacterium) were used as bioremediation techniques. Bioremediation treatments enhanced degradation of all three PAHs, with up to 96 % degradation for phenanthrene resulting in a significant stimulation of nematode abundance relative to control microcosms. Nevertheless, these treatments, especially the biostimulation provoked a weak impact on the community structure and diversity index relative to the control microcosms suggesting their feasibility in biorestoration of contaminated sediments.

Résumé: Sediments from Bizerta lagoon were used in an experimental microcosm setup involving three scenarios for the bioremediation of anthracene-polluted sediments, namely bioaugmentation, biostimulation, and a combination of both bioaugmentation and biostimulation. In order to investigate the effect of the biotreatments on the benthic biosphere, 16S rRNA gene-based T-RFLP bacterial community structure and the abundance and diversity of the meiofauna were determined throughout the experiment period. Addition of fresh anthracene drastically reduced the benthic bacterial and meiofaunal abundances. The treatment combining biostimulation and bioaugmentation was most efficient in eliminating anthracene, resulting in a less toxic sedimentary environment, which restored meiofaunal abundance and diversity. Furthermore, canonical correspondence analysis showed that the biostimulation treatment promoted a bacterial community favorable to the development of nematodes while the treatment combining biostimulation and bioaugmentation resulted in a bacterial community that advantaged the development of the other meiofauna taxa (copepods, oligochaetes, polychaetes, and other) restoring thus the meiofaunal structure. The results highlight the importance to take into account the bacteria/meiofauna interactions during the implementation of bioremediation treatment.

Résumé: A microcosm experiment was used to examine (1) the effects of different bioremediation schemes on degradation of anthracene and the structure of free-living marine nematodes in a lightly contaminated (4.5 mu g g(-1)) sediment from Bizerte lagoon and (2) the responses of the nematode community upon an artificial spiking of a low dose anthracene (1 mu g g(-1)). For that purpose sediment microcosms were incubated in laboratory for 40 days. Bioremediation techniques decreased the anthracene contamination, and interestingly, biodegradation were more efficient when anthracene was artificial supplied into the sediment suggesting that the addition of bioavailable anthracene stimulated the bacterial community to adjust towards a PAH-degrading community. Spiking with this low dose of anthracene provoked significant changes in the nematode community structure and abundance, with the elimination of specific species such as Mesacanthion diplechma, the decrease of the dominant species Oncholaimus campylocercoides and the increase in abundance of opportunistic species such as Spirinia parasitifera. This would suggest a low tolerance of the nematode community despite the presence of a weak anthracene contamination in the sediment that could have allow dominance of an anthracene tolerant nematode species. Anthracene toxicity was alleviated in biostimulation treatments, leading to a strong increase in nematode abundance, concomitantly with changes in the nematode community structure; Prochromadorella neapolitana became the most abundant species.

Résumé: Ecosystem engineers change abiotic conditions, community assembly and ecosystem functioning. Consequently, their loss may modify thresholds of ecosystem response to disturbance and undermine ecosystem stability. This study investigates how loss of the bioturbating lugworm Arenicola marina modifies the response to macroalgal detrital enrichment of sediment biogeochemical properties, microphytobenthos and macrofauna assemblages. A field manipulative experiment was done on an intertidal sandflat (Oosterschelde estuary, The Netherlands). Lugworms were deliberately excluded from 1x m sediment plots and different amounts of detrital Ulva (0, 200 or 600 g Wet Weight) were added twice. Sediment biogeochemistry changes were evaluated through benthic respiration, sediment organic carbon content and porewater inorganic carbon as well as detrital macroalgae remaining in the sediment one month after enrichment. Microalgal biomass and macrofauna composition were measured at the same time. Macroalgal carbon mineralization and transfer to the benthic consumers were also investigated during decomposition at low enrichment level (200 g WW). The interaction between lugworm exclusion and detrital enrichment did not modify sediment organic carbon or benthic respiration. Weak but significant changes were instead found for porewater inorganic carbon and microalgal biomass. Lugworm exclusion caused an increase of porewater carbon and a decrease of microalgal biomass, while detrital enrichment drove these values back to values typical of lugworm-dominated sediments. Lugworm exclusion also decreased the amount of macroalgae remaining into the sediment and accelerated detrital carbon mineralization and CO2 release to the water column. Eventually, the interaction between lugworm exclusion and detrital enrichment affected macrofauna abundance and diversity, which collapsed at high level of enrichment only when the lugworms were present. This study reveals that in nature the role of this ecosystem engineer may be variable and sometimes have no or even negative effects on stability, conversely to what it should be expected based on current research knowledge.

Résumé: Purpose The main goals of this study were (1) to examine the effects of zinc on the microbial community structure of anthropogenically impacted sediments in a tropical coastal ecosystem and (2) to determine whether these microbial benthic communities may enhance the adsorption of zinc. Methods The interactions between zinc and bacteria in tropical sediments were studied in sediment microcosms amended with 2.5 mg L-1 of Zn in the water phase and incubated for 8 days under different environmental conditions, oxic/anoxic and glucose addition. At the end of incubation, microbial structure was assessed by molecular fingerprints (T-RFLP) analysis and Zn speciation in the sediment was determined by sequential extraction. Results In the three studied sediments, Zn spiking resulted in only slight changes in bacterial community structure. In contrast, the addition of low concentrations of glucose (5mM) strongly modified the bacterial community structure: <20% of similarity with the initial structure concomitant with a strong diminution of the specific richness. Overall, these results suggest that highly labile organic matter has a larger impact on microbial structure than heavy metal. These weak impacts of Zn on bacteria diversity might be partly explained by (1) the strong adsorption of Zn in the presence of bacteria and/or (2) the incorporation of Zn into a nonbioavailable fraction. Nevertheless, Zn spiking resulted in significant changes in nutrient cycles, suggesting that bacterial metabolisms were impacted by the heavy metal. This led to an increase in nutrient supplies to the water column, potentially enhancing eutrophication in a nutrient-limited, oligotrophic ecosystem.

Résumé: Aquaculture is the fastest growing sector of the food industry, raising concerns about the influence of this activity on the environment. We take a holistic approach to review off-bottom and suspended mussel culture effects on the benthic environment and benthic communities. Both longline and “bouchot” mussel culture add much physical structure (infrastructure and mussels) to the environment, altering hydrosedimentary processes by modifying currents and increasing sedimentation locally, and providing habitat for many benthic organisms. Biodeposition from mussels and these organisms increases benthic organic loading and linked biogeochemical processes to influence O(2), pH, redox potentials, dissolved sulphides, and other sediment parameters, benthic respiration and nutrient fluxes, and benthic infaunal communities. Mussel culture may also influence seagrasses and algae, although this has not been well-studied. Far-field effects on the benthos may occur through a number of mechanisms, including aggregation of epibenthic macrofauna in culture sites, alteration of plankton communities, and the enhancement of exotic and indigenous pest species owing to the addition of physical structure to the environment. Quantitative relationships between farming level and benthic influences are lacking, making predictions of effects difficult.

Résumé: The basin-scale distribution of ultraphytoplankton (< 10 mu m) was determined in the upper 200 m of the eastern Mediterranean Sea during the winter season. Four clusters were resolved by flow cytometry on the basis of their optical properties and identified as Synechococcus, Prochlorococcus, pico- (< 3 mu m) and nanoeukaryotes (3-10 mu m). Synechococcus was the most abundant population (maximum abundance of about 37 000 cells cm(-3)) and contributed up to 67.7% to the overall ultraphytoplanktonic carbon biomass, whereas the contribution of Prochlorococcus never exceeded 6.5%. The maximum integrated carbon biomass was 1763, 453, 58 and 571 mg C m(-2) for nanoeukaryotes, picoeukaryotes, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus respectively. Water mass properties were analyzed on the basis of temperature and salinity distributions in order to account for the general circulation and locate the main hydrodynamic structures (fronts, gyres, transition between western and eastern basins). The effect of the main hydrodynamic structures and nutrients on the ultraphytoplankton distribution was investigated. No positive correlation between nutrients and phytoplankton could be established when considering large scales. However, below 50 m depth, nutrient ratios between particular stations were correlated to corresponding density ratios. In contrast, significant relationships were found between Synechococcus abundance and density, resulting from the impact of a gyre in southern Adriatic basin and a thermohaline front in the Ionian basin. A significant relationship was also found between picoeukaryotes and salinity in the comparison of western and eastern Mediterranean Sea.