Unexpected response of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica to a warm-water episode in the North Western Mediterranean Sea

Nicolas Mayot (1) , Charles F. Boudouresque (1) , Agathe Leriche (2, 1)

1 DIMAR - Diversité, évolution et écologie fonctionnelle marine
2 IMBE - Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale

The response of Posidonia oceanica (Linnaeus) Delile to the warm-water episode of summer 1999 was studied by means of the technique of lepidochronology. Study sites include three sites affected by the mass mortality event of benthic invertebrates and one not affected. The results showed a significant decline in some parameters (number of leaves and/or rhizome growth) for the three sites affected by the mass mortality event for the year following the warm-water episode (1999-2000). A similar decline was not observed for the unaffected site. The fact that high temperatures could have a negative impact on deep Posidonia oceanica near its cold limit of distribution is an unexpected result. To cite this article: N.

Mots clés: Posidonia oceanica; Temperature; Lepidochronolog; Mediterranean Sea; Seagrass

Mots clés: Température; Lépidochronologie; Mer Méditerranée; Magnoliophyte marine; Posidonia oceanica

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement; Biodiversité et Ecologie

Nicolas Mayot, Charles F. Boudouresque, Agathe Leriche. Unexpected response of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica to a warm-water episode in the North Western Mediterranean Sea. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 2005, 328 (3), pp.291 - 296. ⟨10.1016/j.crvi.2005.01.005⟩. ⟨hal-03105935⟩