A set of web-based public decision support tools for integrated planning and management in aquaculture.

We developed a set of web-based tools to meet the demand for spatial planning and help to determine the available space suitable for marine aquaculture activity. These tools were derived from AkvaVis concept, which was initially designed for the management of Norwegian aquaculture. The AkvaVis concept was adapted to different national aquaculture contexts and two other tools were developed in France and China. Besides using GIS maps and thematic layers, interactive functions were added to enable the user to select spatial parameters, build indicators for aquaculture siting and instantly display the requested information. For each tool, we describe the main technical features, input data, data geoprocessing, output products, tool strengths and limits, and applicability to other case studies. The three tools we present share common concepts and features:•use of standardized protocols for data (Web Feature Services, Web Map Services)•reusability of the modules developed for applications to other case studies•web-based interface for spatial data viewing and processingThey also show some differences, e.g., the Chinese tool exists as a desktop or a web-based support system. Differences and demonstrations for different aquaculture contexts in Europe and China offer some flexibility in future applications.

Towards the determination of Mytilus edulis food preferences using the dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory.

The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, is a commercially important species, with production based on both fisheries and aquaculture. Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) models have been extensively applied to study its energetics but such applications require a deep understanding of its nutrition, from filtration to assimilation. Being filter feeders, mussels show multiple responses to temporal fluctuations in their food and environment, raising questions that can be investigated by modeling. To provide a better insight into mussel-environment interactions, an experiment was conducted in one of the main French growing zones (Utah Beach, Normandy). Mussel growth was monitored monthly for 18 months, with a large number of environmental descriptors measured in parallel. Food proxies such as chlorophyll a, particulate organic carbon and phytoplankton were also sampled, in addition to non-nutritious particles. High-frequency physical data recording (e.g., water temperature, immersion duration) completed the habitat description. Measures revealed an increase in dry flesh mass during the first year, followed by a high mass loss, which could not be completely explained by the DEB model using raw external signals. We propose two methods that reconstruct food from shell length and dry flesh mass variations. The former depends on the inversion of the growth equation while the latter is based on iterative simulations. Assemblages of food proxies are then related to reconstructed food input, with a special focus on plankton species. A characteristic contribution is attributed to these sources to estimate nutritional values for mussels. M. edulis shows no preference between most plankton life history traits. Selection is based on the size of the ingested particles, which is modified by the volume and social behavior of plankton species. This finding reveals the importance of diet diversity and both passive and active selections, and confirms the need to adjust DEB models to different populations and sites.

Spatial variability of benthic-pelagic coupling in an estuary ecosystem: consequences for microphytobenthos resuspension phenomenon.

The high degree of physical factors in intertidal estuarine ecosystem increases material processing between benthic and pelagic compartments. In these ecosystems, microphytobenthos resuspension is a major phenomenon since its contribution to higher trophic levels can be highly significant. Understanding the sediment and associated microphytobenthos resuspension and its fate in the water column is indispensable for measuring the food available to benthic and pelagic food webs. To identify and hierarchize the physical/biological factors potentially involved in MPB resuspension, the entire intertidal area and surrounding water column of an estuarine ecosystem, the Bay des Veys, was sampled during ebb tide. A wide range of physical parameters (hydrodynamic regime, grain size of the sediment, and suspended matter) and biological parameters (flora and fauna assemblages, chlorophyll) were analyzed to characterize benthic-pelagic coupling at the bay scale. Samples were collected in two contrasted periods, spring and late summer, to assess the impact of forcing variables on benthic-pelagic coupling. A mapping approach using kriging interpolation enabled us to overlay benthic and pelagic maps of physical and biological variables, for both hydrological conditions and trophic indicators. Pelagic Chl a concentration was the best predictor explaining the suspension-feeders spatial distribution. Our results also suggest a perennial spatio-temporal structure of both benthic and pelagic compartments in the ecosystem, at least when the system is not imposed to intense wind, with MPB distribution controlled by both grain size and bathymetry. The benthic component appeared to control the pelagic one via resuspension phenomena at the scale of the bay. Co-inertia analysis showed closer benthic-pelagic coupling between the variables in spring. The higher MPB biomass observed in summer suggests a higher contribution to filter-feeders diets, indicating a higher resuspension effect in summer than in spring, in turn suggesting an important role of macrofauna bioturbation and filter feeding (Cerastoderma edule).