This very interesting article describes the changes taking place on artificial substrates placed in an intertidal zone. The study presents an ambitious data set and demonstrates the importance of long-term monitoring to identify community dynamics. In summary, in the short term, the authors observe a phase of complexification of the communities and a peak in productivity, but after a few years, the macro-algae disappear in favour of limpets, a situation that persists after 10 years of monitoring. Monitoring over the short term would lead to an erroneous analysis of the succession patterns and dynamics of the communities, which has important consequences in terms of the recolonisation of artificial substrates in the marine environment.

References

Aline Migné, François Bordeyne, Dominique Davoult (2023) Long-term survey of intertidal rocky shore macrobenthic community metabolism and structure after primary succession. HAL, ver.2 peer-reviewed and recommended by PCI Ecology https://hal.science/hal-04347756

Seagrass beds are in a poor state of conservation and the ecological function of these plant communities is poorly assessed.

Four zones of eelgrass beds (Zostera marina and Zostera noltei) were described in terms of the morphology of the plant populations and the associated fauna. At the same time, parameters related to the functioning of these ecosystems were quantified (benthic fluxes of oxygen, carbon and nutrients) over a two-year cycle.

The article provides the databases collected and provides the main characteristics of these habitats for the measured parameters.

The work provides a reference database on the Zoostera beds of french coastal areas, outlining the ecological contrasts between both ecosystems. This database can on the one hand contribute to help management and restoration of these habitats, and on the other hand provide a reference state of their ecology, with a view to long-term monitoring.

References

Élise Lacoste, Vincent Ouisse, Nicolas Desroy, Lionel Allano, Isabelle Auby, Touria Bajjouk, Constance Bourdier, Xavier Caisey, Marie-Noelle de Casamajor, Nicolas Cimiterra, Céline Cordier, Amélia Curd, Lauriane Derrien, Gabin Droual, Stanislas F. Dubois, Élodie Foucault, Aurélie Foveau, Jean-Dominique Gaffet, Florian Ganthy, Camille Gianaroli, Rachel Ignacio-Cifré, Pierre-Olivier Liabot, Gregory Messiaen, Claire Meteigner, Benjamin Monnier, Robin Van Paemelen, Marine Pasquier, Loic Rigouin, Claire Rollet, Aurélien Royer, Laura Soissons, Aurélien Tancray, Aline Blanchet-Aurigny (2023) A dataset of Zostera marina and Zostera noltei structure and functioning in four sites along the French coast over a period of 18 months.. Zenodo, ver.3 peer-reviewed and recommended by PCI Ecology https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10425140