@article {5366, title = {Regional and latitudinal patterns of soft-bottom macrobenthic invertebrates along French coasts: Results from the RESOMAR database}, journal = {Journal of Sea Research}, volume = {130}, year = {2017}, pages = {96 - 106}, abstract = {

This study aims to describe the patterns of soft bottom macrozoobenthic richness along French coasts. It is based on a collaborative database developed by the {\textquotedblleft}R{\'e}seau des Stations et Observatoires Marins{\textquotedblright} (RESOMAR). We investigated patterns of species richness in sublittoral soft bottom habitats (EUNIS level 3) at two different spatial scales: 1) seaboards: English Channel, Bay of Biscay and Mediterranean Sea and 2) 0.5{\textdegree} latitudinal and longitudinal grid. Total observed richness, rarefaction curves and three incidence-based richness estimators (Chao2, ICE and Jacknife1) were used to compare soft bottom habitats species richness in each seaboard. Overall, the Mediterranean Sea has the highest richness and despite higher sampling effort, the English Channel hosts the lowest number of species. The distribution of species occurrence within and between seaboards was assessed for each major phylum using constrained rarefaction curves. The Mediterranean Sea hosts the highest number of exclusive species. In pairwise comparisons, it also shares a lower proportion of taxa with the Bay of Biscay (34.1\%) or the English Channel (27.6\%) than that shared between these two seaboards (49.7\%). Latitudinal species richness patterns along the Atlantic and English Channel coasts were investigated for each major phylum using partial LOESS regression controlling for sampling effort. This showed the existence of a bell-shaped latitudinal pattern, highlighting Brittany as a hotspot for macrobenthic richness at the confluence of two biogeographic provinces.

}, keywords = {France, Latitudinal pattern, Regional pattern, Soft-bottom, Species richness, Zoobenthos}, issn = {1385-1101}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2017.03.011}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385110116302660}, author = {R{\'e}gis K. Gallon and Nicolas Lavesque and Jacques Grall and C{\'e}line Labrune and Antoine Gr{\'e}mare and Guy Bachelet and Hugues Blanchet and Paulo Bonif{\'a}cio and Vincent M.P. Bouchet and Jean-Claude Dauvin and Nicolas Desroy and Franck Gentil and Laurent Guerin and C{\'e}line Houbin and J{\'e}r{\^o}me Jourde and Sandrine Laurand and Michel Le Duff and Vincent Le Garrec and Xavier de Montaudouin and Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric Olivier and Francis Orvain and Pierre-Guy Sauriau and Eric Thi{\'e}baut and Olivier Gauthier} } @article {3487, title = {Multiscale patterns in the diversity and organization of benthic intertidal fauna among French Atlantic estuaries}, journal = {Journal of Sea Research}, volume = {90}, year = {2014}, month = {07/2014}, pages = {95 - 110}, abstract = {

Based on a parallel sampling conducted during autumn 2008, a comparative study of the intertidal benthic macrofauna among 10 estuarine systems located along the Channel and Atlantic coasts of France was performed in order to assess the level of fauna similarity among these sites and to identify possible environmental factors involved in the observed pattern at both large (among sites) and smaller (benthic assemblages) scales. More precisely this study focused on unraveling the observed pattern of intertidal benthic fauna composition and diversity observed at among-site scale by exploring both biotic and abiotic factors acting at the among- and within-site scales. Results showed a limited level of similarity at the among-site level in terms of intertidal benthic fauna composition and diversity. The observed pattern did not fit with existing transitional water classification methods based on fish or benthic assemblages developed in the frame of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). More particularly, the coastal plain estuaries displayed higher among-site similarity compared to ria systems. These coastal plain estuaries were characterized by higher influence of river discharge, lower communication with the ocean and high suspended particulate matter levels. On the other hand, the ria-type systems were more dissimilar and different from the coastal plain estuaries. The level of similarity among estuaries was mainly linked to the relative extent of the intertidal {\textquotedblleft}Scrobicularia plana{\textendash}Cerastoderma edule{\textquotedblright} and {\textquotedblleft}Tellina tenuis{\textquotedblright} or {\textquotedblleft}Venus{\textquotedblright} communities as a possible consequence of salinity regime, suspended matter concentrations and fine particles supply with consequences on the trophic functioning, structure and organization of benthic fauna. Despite biogeographical patterns, the results also suggest that, in the context of the WFD, these estuaries should only be compared on the basis of the most common intertidal habitat occurring throughout all estuarine systems and that the \{EUNIS\} biotope classification might be used for this purpose. In addition, an original inverse relation between γ-diversity and area was shown; however, its relevance might be questioned.

}, keywords = {Diversity, Estuaries, Macrozoobenthos, Structuring Factors, WFD}, issn = {1385-1101}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2014.02.014}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385110114000495}, author = {Hugues Blanchet and Beno{\^\i}t Gouillieux and Sandrine Alizier and Jean-Michel Amouroux and Guy Bachelet and Anne-Laure Barill{\'e} and Jean-Claude Dauvin and Xavier de Montaudouin and Val{\'e}rie Derolez and Nicolas Desroy and Jacques Grall and Antoine Gr{\'e}mare and Pascal Hacquebart and J{\'e}r{\^o}me Jourde and C{\'e}line Labrune and Nicolas Lavesque and Antoine Meirland and Thiebaut Nebout and Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric Olivier and Corine Pelaprat and Thierry Ruellet and Pierre-Guy Sauriau and S{\'e}bastien Thorin} }