ALBERT

Description: An early assessment of biological invasions is important for initiating conservation strategies. Instrumental progress in high spatial resolution (HSR) multispectral satellite sensors greatly facilitates ecosystems’ monitoring capability at an increasingly smaller scale. However, species detection is still challenging in environments characterized by a high variability of vegetation mixing along with other elements, such as water, sediment, and biofilm. In this study, we explore the potential of Pléiades HSR multispectral images to detect and monitor changes in the salt marshes of the Bay of Arcachon (SW France), after the invasion of Spartina anglica. Due to the small size of Spartina patches, the spatial and temporal monitoring of Spartina species focuses on the analysis of five multispectral images at a spatial resolution of 2 m, acquired at the study site between 2013 and 2017. To distinguish between the different types of vegetation, various techniques for land use classification were evaluated. A description and interpretation of the results are based on a set of ground truth data, including field reflectance, a drone flight, historical aerial photographs, GNSS and photographic surveys. A preliminary qualitative analysis of NDVI maps showed that a multi-temporal approach, taking into account a delayed development of species, could be successfully used to discriminate Spartina species (sp.). Then, supervised and unsupervised classifications, used for the identification of Spartina sp., were evaluated. The performance of the species identification was highly dependent on the degree of environmental noise present in the image, which is season-dependent. The accurate identification of the native Spartina was higher than 75%, a result strongly affected by intra-patch variability and, specifically, by the presence of areas with a low vegetation density. Further, for the invasive Spartina anglica, when using a supervised classifier, rather than an unsupervised one, the accuracy of the classification increases from 10% to 90%. However, both algorithms highly overestimate the areas assigned to this species. Finally, the results highlight that the identification of the invasive species is highly dependent both on the seasonal presence of itinerant biological features and the size of vegetation patches. Further, we believe that the results could be strongly improved by a coupled approach, which combines spectral and spatial information, i.e., pattern-recognition techniques.

Description: Innovative flume experiments were conducted in a recirculating straight flume. Zostera noltei meadows were sampled in their natural bed sediments in the field at contrasting stages of their seasonal growth. The aims of this study were: (i) to quantify the combined effects of leaf flexibility and development characteristics of Zostera noltei canopies on their interaction with hydrodynamics; and (ii) to quantify the role of Zostera noltei meadows in suspended sediment trapping and bed sediment resuspension related with changes in hydrodynamic forcing caused by the seasonal development of seagrasses. Velocity within the canopy was significantly damped. The attenuation in velocity ranged from 34 to 87% compared with bare sediments and was associated with a density threshold resulting from the flow-induced canopy reconfiguration. The reduction in flow was higher in dense canopies at higher velocities than in less dense canopies, in which the reduction in flow was greater at low velocities. These contrasted results can be explained by competition between a rough-wall boundary layer caused by the bed and a shear layer caused by the canopy. The velocity attenuation was associated with a two to three-fold increase in bottom shear stress compared with unvegetated sediment. Despite the increase in near-bed turbulence, protection of the sediment against erosion increased under a fully developed meadow, while sediment properties were found to be the main factor controlling erosion in a less developed meadow. Deposition fluxes were higher on the vegetated bed than on bare sediments, and these fluxes increased with leaf density. Fewer freshly deposited sediments were resuspended in vegetated beds, resulting in an increase in net sediment deposition with meadow growth. However, in the case of a very high leaf area index, sediment was mostly deposited on leaves, which facilitated subsequent resuspension and resulted in less efficient sediment trapping than in the less developed meadow. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: A combination of observations and analytical solutions were used to determine the modifications caused by wind forcing on the residual or non-tidal circulation in an ebb-tidal delta. Observations were obtained in the lower Arcachon Lagoon, southwestern France. The basic non-tidal circulation was established with acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) that were i) moored in the delta's two deepest channels, and ii) towed along a cross-lagoon transect. The bathymetry of the lower lagoon, or ebb-tidal delta, featured two channels: North Pass (〉9 m) and South Pass (〉20 m). The basic non-tidal circulation consisted of mostly inflow with weak surface outflow in the South Pass, and laterally sheared bidirectional flow, dominated by outflow, in the North Pass. Analytical solutions and comparison of observed dynamical terms suggested that, in addition to the conventionally accepted influence of tidal nonlinearities, density gradients contributed to the basic non-tidal circulation in the lagoon. Observations also indicated that wind forcing altered the basic circulation by driving simultaneous upwind flows in both passes. This response was supported by an analytical solution to wind-driven flows over the bathymetry of the transect sampled. The response to seaward winds was to enhance inflow in South Pass and reduce outflow in North Pass. Landward winds caused diminished inflow in South Pass and increased outflow in North Pass. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: Abstract Questions Invasiveness depends in part on the ability of exotic species to either exclude native dominants or to fill an empty niche. Comparisons of niches and effects of closely related native and invasive species enable the investigation of this topic. Does Spartina anglica invade European salt marshes through competitive exclusion of the native Spartina maritima or due to the occurrence of an empty ecological niche in highly anoxic conditions? Location The Arcachon Bay (France). Methods At three intertidal levels, we quantified competitive response and effect abilities of the two species through a cross‐transplantation removal experiment. We also compared at three intertidal levels the biomass, root/shoot ratio, productivity and environmental conditions (elevation, salinity, potential redox and soil moisture) of salt marsh communities dominated by the exotic Spartina anglica or the native Spartina maritima. Results Both established species showed similar biotic resistance to the invasion of the other species, but the exotic showed important intraspecific facilitation for growth. Species had similar niches and total biomass along a gradient of anoxic conditions, but the exotic had a much higher root/shoot ratio and productivity than the native. Owing to its rhizome density, the exotic showed a high ability to increase sediment oxygenation, likely to explain its important intraspecific facilitation. Conclusions Our results showed that the invasion success of S. anglica cannot be explained by the competitive exclusion of the native or by its ability to fill an empty niche along a gradient of anoxia. Its behaviour as a self‐facilitator invasive engineer is very likely to explain its rapid spread in the Bay and biotic resistance to the colonization of other congeneric species when established in dense patches. Additionally, we suggest that physical disturbance in the marsh communities dominated by the native S. maritima may disrupt its biotic resistance against the invasion of S. anglica. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: High-frequency monitoring is currently a major component in the management and research of the coastal system responses to ongoing global changes. This monitoring is essential in tidal systems to address the multiscale variability of physico-chemical parameters. The analysis of the resulting multiscale, nonlinear, non-stationary and noisy time series requires adequate techniques; however, to date, there are no standardized methods. Spectral methods might be useful tools to reveal the main variability time scales, and thus their associated forcings. The most widely used methods in coastal systems are Lomb-Scargle Periodogram (LSP), Singular Spectral Analysis (SSA), Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT), and Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), but their relevance for high-frequency, long-term records is still largely unexplored. In this article, these spectral methods are tested and compared using a high-frequency 10-yr turbidity dataset in the Gironde estuary. Advantages and limitations of each method are evaluated on the basis of five criteria: (1) efficiency for incomplete time series, (2) appropriateness for time-varying analysis, (3) ability to recognize processes without complementary environmental variables, (4) capacity to calculate the relative importance of forcings, and (5) capacity to identify long-term trends. SSA is the only analysis method to satisfy all the criteria, even with 70% missing data. Combining methods is also a promising strategy; i.e., SSA + LSP for better recognition of processes; CWT + SSA and EMD + CWT for short-term (seasonal) and long-term (〉1 yr) analysis, respectively. The purpose of this methodological framework is to serve as a reference for future post-processing of data from monitoring programs in coastal waters.

Description: The precise environmental conditions under which broadcast spawners spawn in the field remain largely unknown. We investigated this issue in the oyster Crassostrea gigas using three different methods at different time scales in two traditional oyster farming areas of the French Atlantic Coast, the Bay of Arcachon and Marennes-Oléron. We directly recorded spawning at high temporal resolution using high-frequency non-invasive (HFNI) valvometry from 2007–2014 and measured the dry mass and oyster larvae abundance in 2008 and 2009. We analyzed a 29-yr series of oyster D-larvae numbers in the Bay of Arcachon (1982–2010). By combining these three approaches, we demonstrated that during the summer months at both sites, spawning in C. gigas occurs in the morning or during the evening, essentially at high tide of perigean spring tides, independent of the positions of these oysters, above or below the lowest water level. We characterized the associated water currents at the spawning location in the Bay of Arcachon and observed that spawning systematically occurs during the early phase of a water current peak, at the beginning of ebbing. We propose that this water current peak acts as a final trigger for spawning. These results have ecological consequences associated with gamete encounters and the dispersal of fertilized eggs (zygotes).

Description: Transverse variations of tidal and subtidal ow were investi-gated in a macrotidal and convergent estuary. This was accomplished by combining data analysis of current velocities and water density with numericalmodeling at the mid-reaches of the Gironde Estuary (France). Nonlinear mech-anisms responsible for overtide generation and hence subtidal ows were foundto vary across the estuary and from neap to spring tides. Subtidal ows weredriven by a combination of internal asymmetry, tidal advective accelerations, nonlinear effects of water level variations, quadratic friction and river discharge. The quarter-diurnal overtide band (D4) in ow was generated by in-ternal asymmetry and tidal advective accelerations during neap tide. Theratio of quarter-diurnal to squared semidiurnal bands (D4/D2 2 ) was largest(〉0.3) in sections of the channel showing subtidal outow. River dischargeincreased from neap to spring tides causing a subsequent increase of sea-ward subtidal currents. During spring tide D4 was generated by tidal advec-tive accelerations and quadratic friction combined with river discharge, ratherthan by internal asymmetry. The sixth-diurnal overtide (D6) in the ow wascomparable to D4 for both neap and spring tides. Largest D6/D2 3 ratios werefound in the shallowest cross-channel locations during both neap and springtides.

Description: Abstract Spatial variability of surface suspended particulate matter concentration (SPM) in the Gironde estuary and their relationships with environmental forcing are investigated through high spatial resolution multispectral data collected from July 2013 to August 2018 by the Operational Land Imager (Landsat‐8/OLI) and MultiSpectral Instrument (Sentinel‐2/MSI). A principal component analysis using the T‐mode orientation is applied to the discontinuous multiannual time series composed of 41 remotely sensed images. The three first principal components (PC1, PC2, PC3) explain 65.7% of the total variance. The SPM distribution associated with PC1 and PC2 exhibits a privileged along‐estuary direction of the oscillation modes, while the spatial patterns of PC3 are clearly dominated by lateral oscillations opposing channels and shoals. The main environmental factors affecting the SPM distribution are identified by the analysis of their temporal patterns. The tidal range and the daily river discharge control the spatial patterns of PC1 and PC2, while the tidal cycles and the wind speed are significantly correlated with PC3. Furthermore, the analysis in the along‐estuary and lateral directions shows marked longitudinal and transverse SPM gradients and a strong control of bathymetry on the SPM spatial distribution. For the first time, we highlight that the maxima of surface residual turbidity are located on the shoals regardless of the environmental (tidal and hydrological) conditions. Compared to previous studies, usually based on single‐point in‐water column measurements, these results provide a novel and complementary description of the spatial variability of SPM. They are useful to validate sediment transport numerical models, but also may improve our understanding of suspended sediment dynamics in estuarine systems governed by an estuarine turbidity maximum.

Description: Observations of water level, current velocity, river discharge, wind and salinity were collected in the Maroni estuary, on the border of French Guiana and Suriname during the wet season of 2018 to explore subtidal circulation patterns. Measurements are complimented by the application of analytical models with an aim to diagnose forcing mechanisms responsible for producing subtidal flows during the day of data collection and to extrapolate these findings to other time periods with variable wind and river forcing. Subtidal along-channel flows were found to be dominated by river discharge, with seaward directed velocities found throughout the channel section reaching 40 cm s - 1 . This pattern was altered with strong southwesterly winds, which produced and inverse gravitational circulation pattern despite the elevated river discharge. Secondary, or cross-channel flows, displayed a three-layer vertical structure in the main channel due to a combination of channel curvature and tidal asymmetry in the lateral baroclinic pressure gradient. The pressure gradient was produced by a salinity intrusion front that only manifested in the channel during flood tide. This is the first comprehensive study of tidal and subtidal flow dynamics in the Maroni estuary.