Rhythms during the polar night: evidence of clock-gene oscillations in the Arctic scallop Chlamys islandica
Arctic regions are highly impacted by climate change and are characterized by drastic seasonal changes in light intensity and duration with extended periods of permanent light or darkness. Organisms use cyclic variations in light to synchronize daily and seasonal biological rhythms to anticipate cyclic variations in the environment, to control phenology and to maintain fitness. In this study, we investigated the diel biological rhythms of the Arctic scallop, Chlamys islandica, during the autumnal equinox and polar night. Putative circadian clock genes and putative light perception genes were identified in the Arctic scallop. Clock gene expression oscillated in the three tissues studied (gills, muscle, mantle edge). The oscillation of some genes in some tissues shifted from daily to tidal periodicity between the equinox and polar night periods and was associated with valve behaviour. These results are the first evidence of the persistence of clock gene expression oscillations during the polar night and might suggest that functional clockwork could entrain rhythmic behaviours in polar environments.
(Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. vol. 287, n° 0962-8452, pp. 20201001, 02/09/2026)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
Parasitism in ecosystem engineer species: A key factor controlling marine ecosystem functioning
Although parasites represent a substantial part of marine communities’ biomass and diversity, their influence on ecosystem functioning, especially via the modification of host behaviour, remains largely unknown. Here, we explored the effects of the bopyrid ectoparasite Gyge branchialis on the engineering activities of the thalassinid crustacean Upogebia pusilla and the cascading effects on intertidal ecosystem processes (e.g. sediment bioturbation) and functions (e.g. nutrient regeneration). Laboratory experiments revealed that the overall activity level of parasitized mud shrimp is reduced by a factor 3.3 due to a decrease in time allocated to burrowing and ventilating activities (by factors 1.9 and 2.9, respectively). Decrease in activity level led to strong reductions of bioturbation rates and biogeochemical fluxes at the sediment–water interface. Given the world-wide distribution of mud shrimp and their key role in biogeochemical processes, parasite-mediated alteration of their engineering behaviour has undoubtedly broad ecological impacts on marine coastal systems functioning. Our results illustrate further the need to consider host–parasite interactions (including trait-mediated indirect effects) when assessing the contribution of species to ecosystem properties, functions and services.
(Journal of Animal Ecology. vol. 89, n° 0021-8790, pp. 2192-2205, 02/09/2026)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
On the natural and anthropogenic drivers of the Senegalese (West Africa) low coast evolution: Saint Louis Beach 2016 COASTVAR experiment and 3D modeling of short term coastal protection measures
West Africa's low and densely populated coasts crystallize most of the environmental and societal problems and resulting vulnerability. It is becoming urgent to document this coast and the natural and anthropogenic forces to understand its evolution. Saint Louis is a historic (World Heritage) city located on the Langue de Barbarie, a 10 km sandspit at the mouth of the Senegal River. Because of its location, it is vulnerable (erosion, flooding) to river and ocean variability. This intermediate barred microtidal beach is located in a storm-free intertropical environment, but is exposed to distant oblique energetic waves from high latitudes, causing one of the highest coastal drifts in the world (∼800,000 m3/year). As part of the COASTVAR project, an intensive international field experiment was conducted in Saint Louis from 4 to 13 December 2016 to quantify the natural protective role played by the sandbar, coastal currents and transient exchanges with the inner shelf. Many instruments have been deployed to measure waves, currents, bathymetry and topography. This article provides an overview on the objectives of the experiment, the deployment and the first results of the modeling of coastal protection strategy
(Journal of Coastal Research. vol. 95, n° 0749-0208, pp. 583-587, 02/09/2026)
UCAD, LEGOS, IRD, UT3, Comue de Toulouse, INSU - CNRS, CNES, CNRS, Comue de Toulouse, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, DAMCP, LGO, UBS, IFREMER, UBO EPE, CNRS, LGL-TPE, ENS de Lyon, UCBL, INSU - CNRS, UJM, UJM EPE, CNRS, SHOM, UAC, LOCEAN-PROTEO, LOCEAN, MNHN, IRD, INSU - CNRS, SU, CNRS, IPSL (FR_636), ENS-PSL, UVSQ, CEA, INSU - CNRS, X, CNES, SU, CNRS, UPCité, ECOLA, LEGOS, IRD, UT3, Comue de Toulouse, INSU - CNRS, CNES, CNRS, CNES, IRD, M2C, UNICAEN, NU, INSU - CNRS, UNIROUEN, NU, CNRS, UGB
Sea surface temperature in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean over the Late Glacial and Holocene
Centennial-and millennial-scale variability of Southern Ocean temperature over the Holocene is poorly known, due to both short instrumental records and sparsely distributed high-resolution temperature reconstructions, with evidence for past temperature variations in the region coming mainly from ice core records. Here we present a high-resolution (∼ 60 year), diatom-based sea surface temperature (SST) reconstruction from the western Indian sector of the Southern Ocean that spans the interval 14.2 to 1.0 ka (cal-ibrated kiloyears before present). During the late deglacia-tion, the new SST record shows cool temperatures at 14.2-12.9 ka and gradual warming between 12.9 and 11.6 ka in phase with atmospheric temperature evolution. This supports the evolution of the Southern Ocean SST during the deglacia-tion being linked with a complex combination of processes and drivers associated with reorganisations of atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. Specifically, we suggest that Southern Ocean surface warming coincided, within the dating uncertainties, with the reconstructed slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), rising atmospheric CO 2 levels, changes in the southern westerly winds and enhanced upwelling. During the Holocene the record shows warm and stable temperatures from 11.6 to 8.7 ka followed by a slight cooling and greater variability from 8.7 to 1 ka, with a quasi-periodic variability of 200-260 years identified by spectral analysis. We suggest that the increased variability during the mid-to late Holocene reflects the establishment of centennial variability in SST connected with changes in the high-latitude atmospheric circulation and Southern Ocean convection.
(Climate of the Past. vol. 16, n° 1814-9324, pp. 1451-1467, 02/09/2026)
Maynooth University, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, ETH Zürich
A Simple and Efficient Image Stabilization Method for Coastal Monitoring Video Systems
Fixed video camera systems are consistently prone to importune motions over time due to either thermal effects or mechanical factors. Even subtle displacements are mostly overlooked or ignored, although they can lead to large geo-rectification errors. This paper describes a simple and efficient method to stabilize an either continuous or sub-sampled image sequence based on feature matching and sub-pixel cross-correlation techniques. The method requires the presence and identification of different land-sub-image regions containing static recognizable features, such as corners or salient points, referred to as keypoints. A Canny edge detector (CED) is used to locate and extract the boundaries of the features. Keypoints are matched against themselves after computing their two-dimensional displacement with respect to a reference frame. Pairs of keypoints are subsequently used as control points to fit a geometric transformation in order to align the whole frame with the reference image. The stabilization method is applied to five years of daily images collected from a three-camera permanent video system located at Anglet Beach in southwestern France. Azimuth, tilt, and roll deviations are computed for each camera. The three cameras showed motions on a wide range of time scales, with a prominent annual signal in azimuth and tilt deviation. Camera movement amplitude reached up to 10 pixels in azimuth, 30 pixels in tilt, and 0.4°in roll, together with a quasi-steady counterclockwise trend over the five-year time series. Moreover, camera viewing angle deviations were found to induce large rectification errors of up to 400 m at a distance of 2.5 km from the camera. The mean shoreline apparent position was also affected by an approximately 10-20 m bias during the 2013/2014 outstanding winter period. The stabilization semi-automatic method successfully corrects camera geometry for fixed video monitoring systems and is able to process at least 90% of the frames without user assistance. The use of the CED greatly improves the performance of the cross-correlation algorithm by making it more robust against contrast and brightness variations between frames. The method appears as a promising tool for other coastal imaging applications such as removal of undesired high-frequency movements of cameras equipped in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
(Remote Sensing. vol. 12, n° 2072-4292, 24/12/2019)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, SIAME, UPPA
Reconstruction des changements océanographiques et atmosphériques dans l’Océan Indien Oriental (NO-Australie, IODP Exp 356) pendant le quaternaire
Les sédiments marins des sites de forage U1460 et U1461 recueillis pendant l’expédition IODP 356 constituent l’un des rares enregistrements au niveau du plateau australien Nord-Ouest. Ils fournissent des informations sur l’intensité de l’aridité en Australie pendant les principaux cycles glaciaires-interglaciaires du Quaternaire, en raison de leur proximité avec le continent. Outre la reconstitution du climat continental, ces sériés sédimentaires permettent de reconstruire le fonctionnement des courants océaniques passés au large de la côte Ouest australienne.Sur le site U1461, la chronostratigraphie a permis d’identifier deux glaciations majeures du Pléistocène (MIS 2 et MIS 12). Les assemblages de la microfaune benthique (principalement les foraminifères benthiques, les coraux et les bryozoaires) ont été analysés afin de reconstruire les paléo-environnements et les paléo-profondeurs du milieu sédimentaire. Malgré la présence d’un hiatus dans l’enregistrement (incluant une partie du MIS 2 et l’ensemble du MIS 3-MIS 7), l’excellente conservation du contenu de la microfaune benthique suggère que les sédiments préservés peuvent être considérés comme in situ.Sur ce même site, les isotopes du Nd et du Sr ainsi que d’autres traceurs (à citer) déterminés dans les sédiments indiquent d’une part que les apports fluviaux ont probablement été réduits en raison de l'aridité accrue au cours du MIS 12, et d’autre part que la source des sédiments (principalement transportés par voie atmosphérique) pourrait se trouver au centre (Lake Eyre) ou à l’Est du continent (Murray-Darling Basin) australien. Le MIS 2 s’avère être l’une des périodes les plus sèches enregistrées en Australie avec des sources de poussière mixtes provenant de l’Est et de l’Ouest du continent. Des conditions plus humides pouvant correspondre au maximum de la Mousson d’été Indo-Australienne ont suivi après le maximum glaciaire.Sur le site U1460, une étude approfondie des assemblages de la méiofaune benthique et de l'abondance d’une espèce de foraminifère planctonique (Globorotalia mernardii ) donne de bons indices prouvant un changement majeur et soudain de la circulation océanique au cours de l'événement de Bruhnes Moyen (Mid-Bruhnes Event, MIS 11). L'une des hypothèses privilégiées pour ce changement pendant cette période serait liée à la mise en place du courant de Leeuwin moderne.
(19/12/2019)
CEFREM, UPVD, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
Clouds damp the impacts of Polar sea ice loss
Abstract. Clouds plays an important role on the climate system through two main contrasting effects: (1) cooling the Earth by reflecting to space part of incoming solar radiation; (2) warming the surface by reducing the Earth’s loss of thermal energy to space. Recently, scientists have paid more attention to the warming role of clouds because of the acceleration of Arctic sea ice melting and because of recent studies that did not find any response of cloud cover fraction to reduced sea ice in summer. On the contrary, with this work based on satellite CERES data and 32 CMIP5 climate models, we reveal that the cooling role of clouds is dominant. Indeed, cloud dynamic occurring in combination with sea-ice melting plays an important cooling effect by altering the surface energy budget in an apparently contradicting way: years with less sea ice are also those that show an increase of the radiative energy reflected back to space by clouds. An increase in absorbed solar radiation when sea ice retreats (surface albedo change) explains 66 ± 2 % of the observed signal. The remaining 34 ± 1 % are due to the increase in cloud cover/thickness when sea ice retreat and associated reflection to space. This interplay between clouds and sea ice reduces by half the increase of net radiation at the surface that follows the sea-ice retreat, therefore damping the impact of polar sea ice loss. We further highlight how this process is mis-represented in some climate models.
(The Cryosphere, n° 1994-0424, 19/12/2019)
CNRM, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, Comue de Toulouse, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
Ecology and behaviour of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in a coastal area subject to shellfish farming
Studying the ecology of cetaceans living under the pressure of anthropogenic activities is essential for their conservation. Yet, there is a paucity of information on cetaceans and shellfish farming. Using a long-term and year-round dataset, this study investigates the ecology and the behaviour of a coastal cetacean, the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), in an important area for shellfish farming (Ría de Arousa, North-West Spain). A resident population of bottlenose dolphins was present year-round in this area. Their seasonal abundance varied from 56 to 144 individuals and their apparent survival was high. Of the investigated environmental factors, depth and shellfish farms were influencing dolphins habitat use, and chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen were influencing their spatio-temporal aggregation patterns. Foraging behaviour was mainly determined by the sea surface temperature, time of the day, and whether the dolphins were foraging within shellfish farm areas. Dolphins were predicted to be more likely found foraging inside these areas than outside (57% vs. 43%). Findings of this study also revealed variation in foraging behaviour among dolphins, with some individuals foraging more frequently than others within the shellfish farms. In turn, individuals that frequently foraged within shellfish farms had weaker associations compared to others. This study generates key insights into the ecology and the behaviour of a coastal cetacean living under the pressure of the shellfish farming industry. It further provides valuable information on conservation priorities for coastal cetaceans living under such pressures as well as regulations for the shellfish farming industry.
(17/12/2019)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
Caractérisation physico-chimique et réactivité d'espèces biogéniques sur un site de mesure en forêt des Landes : impacts sur la qualité de l'air
A l’échelle globale, les forêts sont parmi les écosystèmes les plus émetteurs de composés organiques volatils (COV). Une fois émis dans l’atmosphère, ces COV vont rapidement être oxydés en composés oxygénés. Selon leur volatilité et leur réactivité, ces produits d’oxydation pourront eux-mêmes être oxydés et rester soit en phase gazeuse et/ou être transférés dans la phase particulaire pour former des aérosols organiques secondaires (AOS). Cette thèse a eu pour objet principal de mieux caractériser les COV biogéniques (COVBs) en forêt des Landes, leurs concentrations et plus particulièrement leur réactivité avec les différents oxydants atmosphériques (i.e. le radical hydroxyle (OH), l’ozone (O3) et le radical nitrate (NO3)), afin d’identifier les principaux précurseurs de la formation des AOS biogéniques, au sein d’une forêt de pins maritimes. Le développement d'une nouvelle méthodologie chromatographique en phase gazeuse a permis la mesure spéciée et en ligne de 20 COVB comprenant l’isoprène, l’α- et le β-pinène, le 2 et le Δ3- carène, l’α- et le γ-terpinène, le linalool, le camphène, etc. Cette analyseur ainsi que d’autres instruments permettant la mesure de gaz traces et d’aérosols ont été utilisés au cours de l’été 2017 dans le cadre de la campagne intensive LANDEX, dans l’une des plus grandes forêts monospécifique d’Europe (>95% Pinus pinaster). Une analyse en composante principale des données météorologiques et des mesures en COVB, obtenues pendant la campagne a permis de montrer que les concentrations en COVB étaient principalement dépendantes de leurs émissions, de la température, de l'irradiation solaire et de la stabilité atmosphérique. L’analyse de la réactivité des COVB avec les principaux oxydants atmosphériques a permis de montrer le contraste entre le jour, où elle est principalement liée au radical OH et la nuit, où les processus d'ozonolyse dominent. Enfin, il a été mis en évidence que l’ozonolyse du β-caryophyllène, de l’α-pinène, du myrcène, et du linalol et l’oxydation de l’isoprène par le radical OH, étaient les principales sources de composés oxygénés, précurseurs d'AOS, en forêt des Landes.
(17/12/2019)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
Influence de la variabilité climatique sur les communautés zooplanctoniques des zones côtières : importance des suivis à long terme
Les systèmes côtiers, parmi les plus importants écologiquement et économiquement, sont fortement menacés par l’influence combinée du réchauffement climatique et des forçages anthropiques directs. Pendant les deux dernières décennies, des changements concomitants dans l’environnement, le climat régional et les conditions hydro-climatiques à grande échelle ont été détectés. Ces changements affectent les compartiments biologiques, du phytoplancton aux consommateurs supérieurs, altérant la structure et le fonctionnement des écosystèmes. Les modifications de biodiversité peuvent s'opérer sur de longues périodes, ou résulter de l’accumulation des changements subtils pouvant entraîner des perturbations à l’échelle de l’écosystème. Un des défis actuels est l'identification d'une part d'outils numériques permettant de mesurer les changements de biodiversité et d'autre part les facteurs et mécanismes à l’origine de ces modifications. Dans ce contexte, l’objectif général de cette thèse est la caractérisation de l’influence de la variabilité climatique sur les communautés zooplanctoniques des zones côtières en liaison avec les facteurs environnementaux. L’application d'analyses multivariés sur des données issues de suivis environnementaux récurrents pour la période 2001-2014, a permis de caractériser les liens entre le forçage climatique à différentes échelles spatiales, la variabilité environnementale et une modification abrupte dans la communauté zooplanctonique du Bassin d’Arcachon au milieu des années 2000. Une approche comparative à l’échelle régionale à cette même échelle temporelle, associant variabilité des indices de biodiversité et analyses multivariées, a permis d’identifier des changements simultanés mais non convergents de la diversité zooplanctonique du Bassin d’Arcachon et de l’Estuaire de la Gironde au milieu des années 2000. L'approche prospective réalisée sur le littoral mexicain (Sud du Golfe de Californie) a amené à caractériser le contexte climatique, l’environnement pélagique et la communauté zooplanctonique pendant une période marquée par un événement ENSO intense. Les éléments de connaissance qui en sont issus permettront d'établir les bases du développement d’un suivi environnemental récurent en milieu littoral, dans cette zone prioritaire en termes de biodiversité.
(13/12/2019)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS