Project

NURSE

Coastal nurseries of juvenile fish of the Bay of Vilaine (southern Brittany)
  • Timeframe : 2008 -
  • Local Budget: 0 €
  • Coordinator: IFREMER, Anik Brind'Amour ; ESE research unit, Hervé Le Bris
  • Contact: Hervé LE BRIS
  • Keywords : Coastal nursery functioning, Survey, Temporal dynamics, Bentho-demersal communities, Benthic habitats

Research

Context and Issues

Some coastal and estuarine ecosystems are essential for the life and growth of young fish. The reduction or destruction of these biotopes and the decrease in their quality are amongst the principal causes of the reduction in marine species that inhabit such areas. This can affect fishery stocks through fish recruitment. The Bay of Vilaine, on the southern coast of Brittany, France, is a nursery for fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Annual surveys of its bentho-demersal invertebrates and fish communities performed by IFREMER since the 1980s increase understanding about the functional dynamics of this ecosystem. Moreover, this survey is part of the requirements of the marine strategy framework directive (MSFD) of the EU.

Objectives

  • Description and quantitative analyses of spatio-temporal dynamics of fish and mega-invertebrate communities sheltered by the bay
  • Characterisation of trophic links between benthic invertebrates and bentho-demersal fish to assess functioning of the nursery
  • Participation in the development of indicators of good environmental status of coastal areas, as requested in the MSFD

Results and perspectives