Skip to main content
Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Does the Phaeocystis bloom affect the diel migration of the suprabenthos community?
Dauvin, J.-C.; Desroy, N.; Denis, L.; Ruellet, T. (2008). Does the Phaeocystis bloom affect the diel migration of the suprabenthos community? Mar. Pollut. Bull. 56(1): 77-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2007.09.041
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. Macmillan: London. ISSN 0025-326X; e-ISSN 1879-3363, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Abundance
    Algal blooms
    Aquatic communities > Benthos
    Aquatic communities > Plankton > Phytoplankton
    Behaviour > Migrations > Vertical migrations
    Biodiversity
    Coastal zone
    Eutrophication
    Fauna > Aquatic organisms > Aquatic animals > Fish
    Interspecific relationships > Predation
    Layers > Boundary layers
    Layers > Boundary layers > Benthic boundary layer
    Layers > Water column
    Light intensity
    Locomotion > Swimming
    Physics > Mechanics > Fluid mechanics > Hydrodynamics
    Population characteristics > Population density
    Seawater
    Species diversity
    Animalia [WoRMS]; Crustacea [WoRMS]; Cumacea [WoRMS]; Mysida [WoRMS]; Peracarida [WoRMS]; Phaeocystis Lagerheim, 1893 [WoRMS]
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    suprabenthos; English channel; Phaeocystis bloom; diel migration

Authors  Top 
  • Dauvin, J.-C., more
  • Desroy, N.
  • Denis, L., more
  • Ruellet, T.

Abstract
    The suprabenthos comprises all bottom-dependent animals, mainly crustaceans (including decapods and peracarids), which perform - with varying amplitude, intensity and regularity - seasonal or daily vertical migrations above the sea floor. The presence of organisms in the Benthic Boundary Layer is determined by two general factors: (1) organism behaviour, which depends on the light penetration in the water column and (2) boundary-layer hydrodynamics. In the coastal zone of the eastern English Channel, during the spring Phaeocystis bloom, the presence of gelatinous colonies modifies the penetration of light in the water column, which may seriously affect the abundance and/or the behaviour of the suprabenthos community. To clarify this point, 19 suprabenthic hauls were taken with a modified Macer-GIROQ sledge both during the day and during the night, from March to June 2002 (i.e., before, during and after the bloom). Two sites, located in the coastal and offshore areas of the Ophelia medium sand macrobenthic community were investigated. The bloom had no effect on species richness and abundance in either site. However, the diel migrations of some dominant species - such as the cumaceans Pseudocuma longicornis and Pseudocuma similis, the mysid Gastrosaccus spinifer and the amphipod Stenothoe marina - were modified. During the bloom, diurnal and nocturnal suprabenthic abundances were similar, and in the absence of bloom, species remained benthic during the day. The permanent presence of suprabenthic species in the Benthic Boundary Layer could have a consequence on their predation by fish (mainly juveniles which preferentially consume small crustaceans in their diet), unless fish behaviour and predation efficiency - especially for visual predators - are also disturbed by changes in light intensity.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors