Sediment grain size and benthic community structure in the eastern English Channel: Species-dependent responses and environmental influence.

This study addresses the scarcity of evidence on the relationship between benthic communities and coarse-grained sediments in the eastern English Channel. The region's geological history contributes to its predominantly coarse sediment composition. The study employs ternary plots to visualize benthic species' preferences and tolerance for sediment types, revealing their effectiveness. Redundancy Analyses (RDA) and species-level quantile regressions explore the influence of grain size on benthic species distribution. The results indicate a moderate impact of grain size, influenced by hydrodynamics. Estuaries, particularly the Seine Estuary, significantly shape benthic species distribution. Quantile regressions underscore the varied responses of benthic communities along the grain size gradient. The study underscores the importance of considering coarse sediments, offering insights into the complex relationship between benthic communities and sediment characteristics.

The Alderney Race: general hydrodynamic and particular features.

This study presents an overview of the main hydrodynamic features of the Alderney Race strait based on in situ measurements and two-dimensional hydrodynamic model simulations. The strait encompasses a large amplitude of tidal properties (tidal range and tidal wave propagation) and particularly strong currents exceeding 5 m s-1 with associated counter currents and gyres. Variations in depth, sea bottom roughness, coastal topography and current orientation around the La Hague Cape provide access to a large variety of original hydrodynamic regimes. Some are revealed as locations with a 0.4 m drop in the mean sea level associated with strong average currents. A resonance effect associated with the offshore currents can also be observed close to the coasts. The 'St Martin whistle' occurs in a bay whose gyre centre oscillates with a reversal of the measured current every 5-7 min. The Alderney Race represents a particular area of interest for coastal hydrodynamic studies. The available in situ measurement datasets are rich with recordings of: sea levels; acoustic Doppler current profiler current profiles; surface radar currents; waves; dye experiments; surface and in-depth dissolved tracer surveys. Combined with hydrodynamic models, the complexity of this area can be further understood and knowledge of the hydrodynamic process and forcing parameters can be refined, which can be applied to other coastal areas. This article is part of the theme issue 'New insights on tidal dynamics and tidal energy harvesting in the Alderney Race'.

Marine aggregates in North Atlantic coast: Microbial characteristics and potential interactions with farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

Microbial contamination of aggregates collected near an Atlantic salmon farm, in the Cherbourg roadstead, was followed monthly over one year to study the dynamics of Vibrio spp. and explore their impact on farmed fish. Salmon state of health was followed through blood and histopathological analyses. Vibrio were systematically found in aggregates with particularly high concentration in August. The Splendidus clade was strongly dominant in aggregates as well as in gills, and an increase in Vibrio diversity was observed in summer and autumn. Results did not demonstrate that aggregates directly impact the bacterial community of gills, but they suggested an aggregates-gills interaction. Gill contamination was correlated with water temperature and probably impacted by amoebae. Vibrio renipiscarius and Vibrio toranzoniae were isolated in North Atlantic for the first time. A better understanding of the interaction between marine aggregates, Vibrio spp. and fish is essential to improve salmon cage farming.

Improving the monitoring of a dumping site in a dynamic environment. Example of the Octeville site (Bay of Seine, English Channel).

Dredged sediments have different physical and chemical characteristics compared with the sediments in place, which generates multiple effects on the environment. In this study, we show that the sampling strategy used to monitor the effects of dredge spoil deposition on the surrounding environment can lead to different interpretations. It appears that sediment sample replicates may or may not be necessary, depending on the studied area, the prevailing environmental forcings before sediment sampling and the combination of these two factors. The proposed modus operandi allows us to optimize both the confidence on the obtained results and the cost of the sediment studies (sampling and laboratory analyses). The results are based on the sediment fine fraction, which is considered as a key environmental component due, for example, to its strong association with the structure of benthic faunal communities as well as its role in the build-up of pollutants.

Sampling epifauna, a necessity for a better assessment of benthic ecosystem functioning: an example of the epibenthic aggregated species Ophiothrix fragilis from the Bay of Seine.

Sampling the sea bottom surface remains difficult because of the surface hydraulic shock due to water flowing through the gear (i.e., the bow wave effect) and the loss of epifauna organisms due to the gear's closing mechanism. Slow-moving mobile epifauna, such as the ophiuroid Ophiothrix fragilis, form high-density patches in the English Channel, not only on pebbles like in the Dover Strait or offshore Brittany but also on gravel in the Bay of Seine (>5000 ind m(-2)). Such populations form high biomasses and control the water transfer from the water column to the sediment. Estimating their real density and biomass is essential for the assessment of benthic ecosystem functioning using trophic web modelling. In this paper, we present and discuss the patch patterns and sampling efficiency of the different methods for collecting in the dense beds of O. fragilis in the Bay of Seine. The large Hamon grab (0.25 m(-2)) highly under-estimated the ophiuroid density, while the Smith McIntyre appeared adequate among the tested sampling grabs. Nowadays, diving sampling, underwater photography and videos with remote operated vehicle appear to be the recommended alternatives to estimate the real density of such dense slow-moving mobile epifauna.