Suchergebnisse

International audience ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

International audience ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

International audience ; Coralligenous outcrops represent a "hotspot" of Mediterranean marine biodiversity. Algae and sessile invertebrate taxa (mainly sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans and tunicates) structure the associated benthic assemblages and constitute remarkable seascapes. Nevertheless, this fragile habitat is submitted to a wide array of human impacts such as sewage outfalls, eutrophication, physical impacts linked to fishing and diving activities, as well as global warming effects. The current European legislative context (EU WFD, EU Habitat Directive, EU MSFD) imposes to reach or maintain a good environmental status for marine ecosystems. In this context, the MPA stakeholders need to have robust and accessible tools allowing the evaluation of the conservation state of the habitats. Concerning coralligenous bottoms, we propose a new method based on an integrated approach taking into account (i) the ratio between sensitive and tolerant species according to human impacts, (ii) the richness of macrotaxonomic descriptors assessed from direct observation (in situ or from images) and (iii) their structural complexity (basal, intermediate and upper layers present in coralligenous bottoms). These three metrics are combined into a global index called INDEX-COR. Datasets were acquired along the French coasts. In each site, 2 transects 15m long were installed on the bottom. Along each transect, 15 photo quadrats (40 cm x 60 cm) and 1 video were recorded and notes were taken by a SCUBA diver-Observer. This method was applied between 15 and 50 meters depth and can be also performed by a ROV (Remotely Operating Vehicule) or an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). INDEX-COR is intended to be applied to other Mediterranean areas using metrics and species lists adapted to the different regional contexts.

International audience ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

International audience ; Coralligenous outcrops represent a "hotspot" of Mediterranean marine biodiversity. Algae and sessile invertebrate taxa (mainly sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans and tunicates) structure the associated benthic assemblages and constitute remarkable seascapes. Nevertheless, this fragile habitat is submitted to a wide array of human impacts such as sewage outfalls, eutrophication, physical impacts linked to fishing and diving activities, as well as global warming effects. The current European legislative context (EU WFD, EU Habitat Directive, EU MSFD) imposes to reach or maintain a good environmental status for marine ecosystems. In this context, the MPA stakeholders need to have robust and accessible tools allowing the evaluation of the conservation state of the habitats. Concerning coralligenous bottoms, we propose a new method based on an integrated approach taking into account (i) the ratio between sensitive and tolerant species according to human impacts, (ii) the richness of macrotaxonomic descriptors assessed from direct observation (in situ or from images) and (iii) their structural complexity (basal, intermediate and upper layers present in coralligenous bottoms). These three metrics are combined into a global index called INDEX-COR. Datasets were acquired along the French coasts. In each site, 2 transects 15m long were installed on the bottom. Along each transect, 15 photo quadrats (40 cm x 60 cm) and 1 video were recorded and notes were taken by a SCUBA diver-Observer. This method was applied between 15 and 50 meters depth and can be also performed by a ROV (Remotely Operating Vehicule) or an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). INDEX-COR is intended to be applied to other Mediterranean areas using metrics and species lists adapted to the different regional contexts.

International audience ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

International audience ; Coralligenous outcrops represent a "hotspot" of Mediterranean marine biodiversity. Algae and sessile invertebrate taxa (mainly sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans and tunicates) structure the associated benthic assemblages and constitute remarkable seascapes. Nevertheless, this fragile habitat is submitted to a wide array of human impacts such as sewage outfalls, eutrophication, physical impacts linked to fishing and diving activities, as well as global warming effects. The current European legislative context (EU WFD, EU Habitat Directive, EU MSFD) imposes to reach or maintain a good environmental status for marine ecosystems. In this context, the MPA stakeholders need to have robust and accessible tools allowing the evaluation of the conservation state of the habitats. Concerning coralligenous bottoms, we propose a new method based on an integrated approach taking into account (i) the ratio between sensitive and tolerant species according to human impacts, (ii) the richness of macrotaxonomic descriptors assessed from direct observation (in situ or from images) and (iii) their structural complexity (basal, intermediate and upper layers present in coralligenous bottoms). These three metrics are combined into a global index called INDEX-COR. Datasets were acquired along the French coasts. In each site, 2 transects 15m long were installed on the bottom. Along each transect, 15 photo quadrats (40 cm x 60 cm) and 1 video were recorded and notes were taken by a SCUBA diver-Observer. This method was applied between 15 and 50 meters depth and can be also performed by a ROV (Remotely Operating Vehicule) or an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). INDEX-COR is intended to be applied to other Mediterranean areas using metrics and species lists adapted to the different regional contexts.

International audience ; Coralligenous outcrops represent a "hotspot" of Mediterranean marine biodiversity. Algae and sessile invertebrate taxa (mainly sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans and tunicates) structure the associated benthic assemblages and constitute remarkable seascapes. Nevertheless, this fragile habitat is submitted to a wide array of human impacts such as sewage outfalls, eutrophication, physical impacts linked to fishing and diving activities, as well as global warming effects. The current European legislative context (EU WFD, EU Habitat Directive, EU MSFD) imposes to reach or maintain a good environmental status for marine ecosystems. In this context, the MPA stakeholders need to have robust and accessible tools allowing the evaluation of the conservation state of the habitats. Concerning coralligenous bottoms, we propose a new method based on an integrated approach taking into account (i) the ratio between sensitive and tolerant species according to human impacts, (ii) the richness of macrotaxonomic descriptors assessed from direct observation (in situ or from images) and (iii) their structural complexity (basal, intermediate and upper layers present in coralligenous bottoms). These three metrics are combined into a global index called INDEX-COR. Datasets were acquired along the French coasts. In each site, 2 transects 15m long were installed on the bottom. Along each transect, 15 photo quadrats (40 cm x 60 cm) and 1 video were recorded and notes were taken by a SCUBA diver-Observer. This method was applied between 15 and 50 meters depth and can be also performed by a ROV (Remotely Operating Vehicule) or an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). INDEX-COR is intended to be applied to other Mediterranean areas using metrics and species lists adapted to the different regional contexts.

International audience ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

International audience ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

International audience ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

International audience ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

International audience ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

International audience ; Coralligenous outcrops represent a "hotspot" of Mediterranean marine biodiversity. Algae and sessile invertebrate taxa (mainly sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans and tunicates) structure the associated benthic assemblages and constitute remarkable seascapes. Nevertheless, this fragile habitat is submitted to a wide array of human impacts such as sewage outfalls, eutrophication, physical impacts linked to fishing and diving activities, as well as global warming effects. The current European legislative context (EU WFD, EU Habitat Directive, EU MSFD) imposes to reach or maintain a good environmental status for marine ecosystems. In this context, the MPA stakeholders need to have robust and accessible tools allowing the evaluation of the conservation state of the habitats. Concerning coralligenous bottoms, we propose a new method based on an integrated approach taking into account (i) the ratio between sensitive and tolerant species according to human impacts, (ii) the richness of macrotaxonomic descriptors assessed from direct observation (in situ or from images) and (iii) their structural complexity (basal, intermediate and upper layers present in coralligenous bottoms). These three metrics are combined into a global index called INDEX-COR. Datasets were acquired along the French coasts. In each site, 2 transects 15m long were installed on the bottom. Along each transect, 15 photo quadrats (40 cm x 60 cm) and 1 video were recorded and notes were taken by a SCUBA diver-Observer. This method was applied between 15 and 50 meters depth and can be also performed by a ROV (Remotely Operating Vehicule) or an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). INDEX-COR is intended to be applied to other Mediterranean areas using metrics and species lists adapted to the different regional contexts.

17 páginas, 8 tablas, 3 figuras ; Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI) is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the north-western Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands) covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition. ; Peer reviewed