Meroplankton distribution and its relationship to coastal mesoscale hydrological structure in the northern Bay of Biscay (NE Atlantic)

• Published in: Journal of Plankton Research
• Main Authors: Ayata, Sakina-Dorothée, Stolba, Robin, Comtet, Thierry, Thiébaut, Éric
• Other Authors: DIVersité et COnnectivité dans le paysage marin côtier (DIVCO), Adaptation et diversité en milieu marin (AD2M), Station biologique de Roscoff Roscoff (SBR), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Station biologique de Roscoff Roscoff (SBR), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), French EC2CO program
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2011
• Subjects: Bay of Biscay; Sabellaria alveolata; fronts; Owenia fusiformis; Pectinaria koreni; meroplankton; larval transport; mesoscale structures; river plume; envir; geo; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbr030; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00854762/file/Ayata-JPR-submitted_revised_final_version_ok.pdf; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00854762

International audience The relationship between meroplankton distribution and spatio-temporal variabil- ity of coastal mesoscale hydrological structure was investigated in the northern Bay of Biscay, North-East Atlantic. For the three coastal polychaetes studied, i.e. Pectinaria koreni, Owenia fusiformis and Sabellaria alveolata, the highest larval abun- dances were sampled in low-salinity, low-density and high-temperature river plume waters. For two species (P. koreni and O. fusiformis), maximal abundances were observed in the surface and thermocline layers due to ontogenic migrations. Variance partitioning based on multiple regression and redundancy analyses was used to assess the relative roles played by the hydrological environment alone, the geographical space alone and their interactions, i.e. the spatial structure of the hydrological environment. These analyses demonstrate the key role played by the hydrological spatial structure in the distribution of larval abundances. The hydrological environment alone was insignificant, whereas geographical space alone explained a significant part of the variability in meroplankton distribution, probably in conjunction with ecological processes. For species whose benthic populations are spatially structured, the distribution and the size of adult popu- lations and the timing of spawning events can significantly affect larval distribution and dispersal.