Évolution à long terme des peuplements de sédiments fins sablo-vaseux de la Manche et de la mer du Nord
Dauvin, J.-C. (1997). Évolution à long terme des peuplements de sédiments fins sablo-vaseux de la Manche et de la mer du Nord. Océanis (Paris) 23(1): 113-144
In: Océanis (Paris). Institut Océanographique: Paris. ISSN 0182-0745, more
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| Abstract |
During the last twenty years, the macrobenthic fauna of the muddy fine-sand Abra alba community has been studied at four sites from the English Channel and the North Sea: at Pierre Noire and rivière de Morlaix in the Bay of Morlaix, the Bay of Seine and Gravelines (North Sea). These chronological data series have allowed intra-site and inter-site changes to be investigated along a climate gradient from the temperate Atlantic waters to the Continental climate further east. The macrobenthic fauna is a good candidate to evaluate the environmental changes of the marine coastal ecosystems. Chronological analyses on the communities and on the dominant Abra alba species show that the overall changes are different among the sites in spite of similar climatic environments all with a 7-year cycle and a similar type of community. Two main lessons appear: 1. it is absolutely necessary to have reference sites to measure the effect of a perturbation, 2. the responses are specific. Now, it is important to continue long-term surveys on these communities for several decades, in order to have any chance of discerning long-term changes in the English Channel and North Sea coastal ecosystem. |
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