title: Man-induced hydrological changes, metazooplankton communities and invasive species in the Berre Lagoon (Mediterranean Sea, France).
abstract: The Berre Lagoon has been under strong anthropogenic pressure since the early 1950s. The opening of the hydroelectric EDF power plant in 1966 led to large salinity drops. The zooplankton community was mainly composed of two common brackish species: Acartia tonsa and Brachionus plicatilis. Since 2006, European litigation has strongly constrained the input of freshwater, maintaining the salinity above 15. A study was performed between 2008 and 2010 to evaluate how these modifications have impacted the zooplankton community. Our results show that the community is more diverse and contains several coastal marine species (i.e., Centropages typicus, Paracalanus parvus and Acartia clausi). A. tonsa is still present but is less abundant, whereas B. plicatilis has completely disappeared. Strong predatory marine species, such as chaetognaths, the large conspicuous autochtonous jellyfish Aurelia aurita and the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, are now very common as either seasonal or permanent features of the lagoon.
authors: Aix-Marseille University, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO), CNRS/INSU, MIO UMR 7294, IRD, MIO UMR 235, Campus de Luminy, Case 901, 13288 Marseille, Cedex 09, France. floriane.delpy@univ-amu.fr
authors: Floriane
authors: F
authors: Delpy
authors: Marc
authors: M
authors: Pagano
authors: Jean
authors: J
authors: Blanchot
authors: François
authors: F
authors: Carlotti
authors: Delphine
authors: D
authors: Thibault-Botha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D058865:Introduced Species / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D002734:Chlorophyll; D000077194:Chlorophyll A