• Energy Research

SummaryKelps are dominant primary producers in temperate coastal ecosystems. Large amounts of kelp biomass can be exported to the seafloor during the algal growth cycle or following storms, creating new ecological niches for the associated microbiota. Here, we investigated the bacterial community associated with the kelp Laminaria hyperborea during its accumulation and degradation on the seafloor. Kelp tissue, seawater and sediment were sampled during a 6‐month in situ experiment simulating kelp detritus accumulation. Evaluation of the epiphytic bacterial community abundance, structure, taxonomic composition and predicted functional profiles evidenced a biphasic succession. Initially, dominant genera (Hellea, Litorimonas, Granulosicoccus) showed a rapid and drastic decrease in sequence abundance, probably outcompeted by algal polysaccharide‐degraders such as Bacteroidia members which responded within 4 weeks. Acidimicrobiia, especially members of the Sva0996 marine group, colonized the degrading kelp biomass after 11 weeks. These secondary colonizers could act as opportunistic scavenger bacteria assimilating substrates exposed by early degraders. In parallel, kelp accumulation modified bacterial communities in the underlying sediment, notably favouring anaerobic taxa potentially involved in the sulfur and nitrogen cycles. Overall, this study provides insights into the bacterial degradation of algal biomass in situ, an important link in coastal trophic chains.

Bivalves are regulators of coastal lagoons and provide a wide range of ecosystem services. However, coastal lagoons are sensitive to climate change. Our objective was to describe the drivers of the cascade of ecological events that occurred during a summer heatwave and which resulted in recruitment failure of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Results show that elevated temperatures and salinity caused a shift in planktonic food availability toward smaller taxa. These trophic changes did not affect food accumulation by oyster larvae or their fatty acid composition but did affect post-metamorphosis success, with up to 24% fewer young metamorphosed postlarvae at some sites and no development of juveniles at all sites. This resulted in the failure of oyster recruitment and in the development of tubeworms, a trophic and spatial competitor that can better ingest small particles. This knowledge suggests that, in the context of marine heatwaves, the ecological limits of oyster larvae are narrower than their physiological limits.

A high proportion of the kelp Laminaria hyperborea production is exported from kelp forests following seasonal storms or natural annual old blade loss. Transport of drifting kelp fragments can lead to temporary accumulations in benthic subtidal habitats. We investigated the degradation processes of L. hyperborea in a low subtidal sandy bottom ecosystem by setting up a 6‐month cage experiment to simulate accumulations of kelp fragments on the seafloor. We monitored temporal changes in biomass, nutritional quality (C:N ratio), respiration, quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), bacterial colonization, and chemical defense concentrations. Biomass decomposition started after 2 weeks and followed a classic negative exponential pattern, leading to 50% degradation after 8 weeks. The degradation process seemed to reach a critical step after 11 weeks, with an increase in respiration rate and phlorotannin concentration in the tissues. These results likely reflect an increase in bacterial activity and a weakening of the kelp cell wall. After 25 weeks of degradation, only 16% of the initial biomass persisted, but the remaining large fragments looked intact. Furthermore, photosystems were still responding to light stimuli, indicating that photosynthesis persisted over time. Reproductive tissues appeared on some fragments after 20 weeks of degradation, showing a capacity to maintain the reproductive function. Our results indicate that L. hyperborea fragments degrade slowly. As they maintain major physiological functions (photosynthesis, reproduction, etc.) and accumulate on adjacent ecosystems, they may play a long‐term ecological role in coastal ecosystem dynamics.

Après avoir été eutrophisée jusque dans les années 2000, la lagune de Thau est depuis sur une trajectoire de restauration écologique selon le processus d’oligotrophisation. Cependant, l’année 2018 est apparue comme une année de bascule dans son fonctionnement écologique par son contexte hydroclimatique perturbé avec l’apparition d’un phénomène inédit d’eaux vertes impactant significativement la filière ostréicole dans sa productivité et sa socio-économie. Déjà décrit dans les années 1980 dans la lagune de Leucate, ce phénomène n’avait jamais été observé dans Thau et le besoin d’observer pour comprendre a abouti à la réalisation d’un suivi environnemental de janvier 2019 à janvier 2020 sur 3 stations. La description de la dynamique spatio-temporelle du phytoplancton et de l’espèce à l’origine d’eaux vertes a été associée à la biogéochimie des eaux lagunaires (nutriments azotés, phosphorés et silicatés) et à la dynamique des communautés eucaryotes autotrophes et hétérotrophes. Ce suivi a été complété par un diagnostic des macrophytes (incluant les macroalgues et les herbiers) réalisé en 2019 afin de mesurer l’impact des perturbations sur ce compartiment. L’hypothèse du lien entre le contexte hydroclimatique remarquable de l’année 2018 et ce phénomène d’eaux vertes a été posée. Nos résultats ont montré que le contexte hydroclimatique du bassin de Thau a évolué avec une tendance à l’augmentation des moyennes annuelles de températures de l’eau (+1.6°C sur 20 ans entre 2000 et 2019), avec l’augmentation des moyennes annuelles de salinités (+2 PSU entre 2000 et 2019) et des périodes de sursalinités plus intenses (jusqu’à 110 jours en 2012 et des maximums à 42,9 en 2016). Les tempêtes hivernales, les orages printaniers, la canicule estivale, la malaïgue et les épisodes méditerranéens automnaux de précipitations intenses font de l’année 2018, une année atypique. Cette succession d’évènements extrêmes a eu pour conséquence le phénomène d’eaux vertes. Ce projet a permis d’en trouver l’origine : une efflorescence de Picochlorum, picophytoplancton connu pour être thermotolérant et halotolérant. Picochlorum a dominé le phytoplancton de décembre 2018 à avril 2019 suivi de développements mineurs jusqu’en aout 2019. Le retour à des communautés phytoplanctoniques plus typiques s’est fait en septembre 2019 jusqu’à la fin du suivi en février 2020. Cette efflorescence a pu être reliée à des apports massifs en nutriments azotés et phosphatés liés successivement à des précipitations fortes au printemps, à la malaïgue estivale et aux précipitations automnales des épisodes méditerranéens. La dynamique de population du Picochlorum a été contrôlée par les nutriments mais probablement aussi par un prédateur parasitoïde de type Aphelidium identifié de façon préliminaire. L’identification précise de ce parasitoïde reste une perspective. Les impacts des phénomènes de malaïgue et d’eaux vertes sur les macrophytes ont induit une diminution du recouvrement total en macrophytes. Le recouvrement relatif en espèce de référence, comme les zostères, a également diminué avec un impact plus important sur la partie ouest du bassin. Les évènements extrêmes hydroclimatiques de 2018 ont induit une cascade d’effets écologiques avec changement de communautés phytoplanctoniques. Il aura fallu une année après la malaïgue de 2018 pour voir le retour à l’état antérieur, comme dans le cas des eaux vertes de la lagune de Leucate dans les années 1980. Les systèmes lagunaires méditerranéens représentent des zones à forts enjeux avec des problématiques écologiques, environnementales, sociétales et économiques. La restauration écologique des lagunes méditerranéennes et des biens et services associés nécessite de comprendre la dynamique des différents compartiments physiques, chimiques, biologiques et sociétaux, pour accompagner les filières des cultures marines et d’anticiper leurs trajectoires futures, en particulier dans un contexte d’anthropisation et de changement global. After having been eutrophied until the 2000s, the Thau lagoon has been now on an ecological restoration trajectory according to the oligotrophisation process. However, 2018 appeared to be a turning point in its ecological functioning due to its disturbed hydroclimatic context with the appearance of an unprecedented phenomenon of green water significantly impacting the oyster farming sector in its productivity and socio-economy. Already described in the 1980s in the Leucate lagoon, this phenomenon had never been observed in Thau and the need to observe in order to understand led to the carrying out of environmental monitoring from January 2019 to January 2020 on 3 stations. The description of the spatio-temporal dynamics of phytoplankton and of the species causing green water was associated with the biogeochemistry of lagoon waters (nitrogen, phosphorus and silicate nutrients) and the dynamics of autotrophic and heterotrophic eukaryotic communities. This monitoring was completed by a diagnosis of macrophytes (including macroalgae and seagrass beds) carried out in 2019 in order to measure the impact of disturbances on this compartment. The hypothesis of a link between the remarkable hydroclimatic context of 2018 and this green water phenomenon was put forward. Our results showed that the hydroclimatic context of the Thau Basin has evolved with a trend towards an increase in annual average water temperatures (+1.6°C over 20 years between 2000 and 2019), with an increase in annual average salinities (+2 PSU between 2000 and 2019) and more intense periods of oversalinity (up to 110 days in 2012 and maximums of 42.9 in 2016). Winter storms, spring thunderstorms, summer heatwave, anoxy and autumn Mediterranean episodes of intense precipitation make 2018 an atypical year. This succession of extreme events resulted in the phenomenon of green water. This project helped to find the origin: a bloom of Picochlorum, a picophytoplankton known to be thermotolerant and halotolerant. Picochlorum dominated the phytoplankton from December 2018 to April 2019 followed by minor developments until August 2019. The return to more typical phytoplankton communities occurred in September 2019 until the end of monitoring in February 2020. This bloom could be linked to massive inputs of nitrogen and phosphate nutrients linked successively to heavy rainfall in spring, to the summer anoxy and to the autumn rainfall of the Mediterranean episodes. The population dynamics of Picochlorum was controlled by nutrients but probably also by a parasitoid predator of the Aphelidium type that was identified in a preliminary way. The precise identification of this parasitoid remains a prospect. The impacts of the malaigue and green water phenomena on the macrophytes have led to a decrease in the total macrophyte cover. The relative cover of reference species, such as eelgrass, has also decreased, with a greater impact on the western part of the basin. The extreme hydroclimatic events of 2018 induced a cascade of ecological effects with changes in phytoplankton communities. It took one year after the 2018 anoxy to return to the previous state, as in the case of the green waters of the Leucate lagoon in the 1980s. Mediterranean lagoon systems represent high-stakes areas with ecological, environmental, societal and economic issues. The ecological restoration of Mediterranean lagoons and the associated goods and services requires an understanding of the dynamics of the various physical, chemical, biological and societal compartments, in order to support the marine culture sectors and anticipate their future trajectories, particularly in a context of anthropisation and global change.

Despite a surge of RNA virome sequencing in recent years, there are still many RNA viruses to uncover—as indicated by the relevance of viral dark matter to RNA virome studies (i.e., putative viruses that do not match to taxonomically identified viruses). This study explores a unique site, a high-rate algal pond (HRAP), for culturing industrially microalgae, to elucidate new RNA viruses. The importance of viral-host interactions in aquatic systems are well documented, and the ever-expanding microalgae industry is no exception. As the industry becomes a more important source of sustainable plastic manufacturing, a producer of cosmetic pigments and alternative protein sources, and a means of CO2 remediation in the face of climate change, studying microalgal viruses becomes a vital practice for proactive management of microalgae cultures at the industrial level. This study provides evidence of RNA microalgal viruses persisting in a CO2 remediation pilot project HRAP and uncovers the diversity of the RNA virosphere contained within it. Evidence shows that family Marnaviridae is cultured in the basin, alongside other potential microalgal infecting viruses (e.g., family Narnaviridae, family Totitiviridae, and family Yueviridae). Finally, we demonstrate that the RNA viral diversity of the HRAP is temporally dynamic across two successive culturing seasons.