@article {5815, title = {{Anthropogenic impact on macrobenthic communities and consequences for shorebirds in Northern France: A complex response}}, journal = {Biological Conservation}, volume = {184}, year = {2015}, abstract = {

{\textcopyright} 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Shorebird populations are declining worldwide due to the combined effect of climate change and anthropogenic forcing, the ongoing coastal urbanisation amplifying the alteration of their habitat in both rate and magnitude. By focusing on a highly anthropogenically-influenced region in Northern France, we studied the impact of a seawall construction on wintering shorebird populations through potential alterations in the abundance and availability of their food resources. We concurrently investigated changes in the spatial distribution of muddy-sand beach macrobenthic communities between two periods of contrasting anthropogenic impacts and examined year-to-year trends of wintering shorebirds. Our study reveals that the seawall construction led to a major spatial reorganisation of the macrobenthic communities with a drastic reduction of the muddy-sand community. However, no relation between macrobenthic changes and shorebird abundances was detected. Fluctuations in shorebird abundances appeared to be congruent with flyway population trends. This result suggests that the response of shorebirds to human-induced perturbations is much more complex than expected. While an assessment of potential disturbances induced by coastal engineering constructions is needed, the pathways by which alterations could propagate through an ecosystem are not linear and as such difficult to determine. Ecosystems appear as complex adaptive systems in which macroscopic dynamics emerge from non-linear interactions at entangled smaller/larger scales. Our results confirm that an in-depth knowledge of the local, regional and global factors that influence trends of shorebirds and their habitat use is essential for accurate and effective management and conservation strategies.

}, keywords = {Anthropogenic impact, Coastal conservation, Complexity, Macrobenthic communities, Shorebirds}, issn = {00063207}, doi = {10.1016/j.biocon.2015.02.016}, author = {C{\'e}line Rolet and Nicolas Spilmont and Dominique Davoult and Goberville, Eric and Christophe Luczak} } @article {3385, title = {Relationships between biodiversity and the stability of marine ecosystems: Comparisons at a European scale using meta-analysis}, journal = {Journal of Sea Research}, volume = {98}, year = {2015}, pages = {5-14}, abstract = {

Abstract The relationship between biodiversity and stability of marine benthic assemblages was investigated through meta-analyses using existing data sets (n\ =\ 28) covering various spatial (m{\textendash}km) and temporal (1973{\textendash}2006; ranging from 5 to \>\ 250\ months) scales in different benthic habitats (emergent rock, rock pools and sedimentary habitats) over different European marine systems (North Atlantic and western Mediterranean). Stability was measured by a lower variability in time, and variability was estimated as temporal variance of species richness, total abundance (density or \% cover) and community structure (using Bray{\textendash}Curtis dissimilarities on species composition and abundance). Stability generally decreased with species richness. Temporal variability in species richness increased with the number of species at both quadrat (\<\ 1\ m2) and site (\ \ 100\ m2) scales, while no relationship was observed by multivariate analyses. Positive relationships were also observed at the scale of site between temporal variability in species richness and variability in community structure with evenness estimates. This implies that the relationship between species richness or evenness and species richness variability is slightly positive and depends on the scale of observation. Thus, species richness does not stabilize temporal fluctuations in species number, rather species rich assemblages are those most likely to undergo the largest fluctuations in species numbers and abundance from time to time. Changes within community assemblages in terms of structure are, however, generally independent of biodiversity. Except for sedimentary and rock pool habitats, no relationship was observed between temporal variation of total abundances and diversity at either scale. Overall, our results emphasize that the relation between species richness and species-level measures of temporal variability depends on scale of measurements, type of habitats and the marine system (North Atlantic and Mediterranean) considered.

}, keywords = {Benthic Marine Coastal Habitats, Biodiversity Ecosystem Functioning, Community Variability, Diversity{\textendash}Stability Relationships, Temporal Variability}, issn = {1385-1101}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2014.08.004}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385110114001609}, author = {Cusson, Mathieu and Tasman P. Crowe and Rita Ara{\'u}jo and Francisco Arenas and Rebbecca Aspden and Fabio Bulleri and Dominique Davoult and Kirstie Dyson and Simonetta Fraschetti and Kristjan Herk{\"u}l and C{\'e}dric Hubas and Stuart Jenkins and Jonne Kotta and Patrik Kraufvelin and Migne, A and Markus Molis and Olwyen Mulholland and Laure M.-L.J. No{\"e}l and Paterson, David M and James Saunders and Paul J. Somerfield and Isabel Sousa-Pinto and Nicolas Spilmont and Antonio Terlizzi and Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi} } @article {5822, title = {{Decline in Kelp in West Europe and Climate}}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {8}, year = {2013}, abstract = {

Kelp ecosystems form widespread underwater forests playing a major role in structuring the biodiversity at a regional scale. Some seaweeds such as Laminaria digitata are also economically important, being exploited for their alginate and iodine content. Although some studies have shown that kelp ecosystems are regressing and that multiple causes are likely to be at the origin of the disappearance of certain populations, the extent to which global climate change may play a role remains speculative. Here we show that many populations of L. digitata along European coasts are on the verge of local extinction due to a climate-caused increase in sea temperature. By modeling the spatial distribution of the seaweed, we evaluate the possible implications of global climate change for the geographical patterns of the species using temperature data from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5). Projections of the future range of L. digitata throughout the 21st century show large shifts in the suitable habitat of the kelp and a northward retreat of the southern limit of its current geographic distribution from France to Danish coasts and the southern regions of the United Kingdom. However, these projections depend on the intensity of warming. A medium to high warming is expected to lead to the extirpation of the species as early as the first half of the 21st century and there is high confidence that regional extinction will spread northwards by the end of this century. These changes are likely to cause the decline of species whose life cycle is closely dependent upon L. digitata and lead to the establishment of new ecosystems with lower ecological and economic values.

}, issn = {19326203}, author = {Virginie Raybaud and Gr{\'e}gory Beaugrand and Goberville, Eric and Delebecq, Gaspard and Destombe, Christophe and Valero, Myriam and Dominique Davoult and Morin, Pascal and Gevaert, Francois} }