Identifying the drivers of abundance and size of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in Northwestern Mediterranean lagoons.
Acknowledged as among the worst invasive marine species, Mnemiopsis leidyi has spread through European Seas since the mid-1980's. Here we report a bimonthly survey conducted in 2010-11 in three lagoons (Bages-Sigean, Thau and Berre) and at two adjacent coastal stations (Sète and SOMLIT-Marseille) along the French Mediterranean coast. M. leidyi was present only in Berre and Bages-Sigean with maximum abundances observed in late summer. M. leidyi adults were present year round in Berre with the largest organisms (∼6 cm) observed in April. In Bages-Sigean, they occurred in sufficient abundance to be recorded by fishermen between August and November. Multiple linear regressions highlighted that abundance in both lagoons was mainly influenced by direct effects of salinity and chlorophyll-a, and temperature to a lesser extent. While M. leidyi has not yet been recorded in Thau, the lagoon is continually monitored to detect the potential establishment of M. leidyi.
Aix-Marseille University, CNRS/INSU, Université de Toulon, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) UM 110, 13288 Marseille, France; PROTEE-EBMA, EA 3819, Université de Toulon, 83957 La Garde, France. Electronic address: floriane.delpy@univ-tln.fr.
Floriane
F
Delpy
Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, Pêches et Océans Canada, 850 Route de la Mer, CP 1000, Mont-Joli, QC, G5H 3Z4, Canada; Laboratoire MARBEC, Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France.
Séverine
S
Albouy-Boyer
Aix-Marseille University, CNRS/INSU, Université de Toulon, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) UM 110, 13288 Marseille, France.
Marc
M
Pagano
Aix-Marseille University, CNRS/INSU, Université de Toulon, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) UM 110, 13288 Marseille, France.
Delphine
D
Thibault
Aix-Marseille University, CNRS/INSU, Université de Toulon, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) UM 110, 13288 Marseille, France.
Jean
J
Blanchot
Laboratoire MARBEC, Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France.
François
F
Guilhaumon
GEOMAR - Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Marine Ecology/Food Webs, Duesternbrooker Weg 20, D-24105 Kiel, Germany.
Juan Carlos
JC
Molinero
Laboratoire MARBEC, Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France.
Delphine
D
Bonnet
D000818:Animals; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D037302:Ctenophora / Q000502:physiology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D058865:Introduced Species; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D054712:Salinity
D002734:Chlorophyll; D000077194:Chlorophyll A
Blooms; Driving factors; Gelatinous plankton; Invasive species; Mediterranean lagoons; Mnemiopsis leidyi