Arcachon bay. Working on three stations placed from the outside to the
innermost part of the bay, Castel & Courties (1982) clearly identifted an
outer, an intermediate, and an inner neritic community. These authors
suggest that the community structure is affected by the salinitytemperature gradient and the variability of hydrodynamical factors, especially in the inner bav.
The great change in community structures obser\ r ed in our study can be
explained to a large extent by a sporadic climatic event appearing at this
time of the survey. Two-day lasting strong north-westerly winds led to a
sharp decrease in temperature (approx. 2°C) and to a movement of vater
masses towards the south of the bay. As a consequence, the autochthonous northern community also moved towards the south and was replaced in the north by an essentiallv neritic communitv. D’Klbée & Castel
(1995) have alreadt' emphasixed the importance of environmental conditions and particularly of temperature in the temporal succession and density of zooplankters. Our results further strengthen the view that temperature, salinity and especially climatic conditions (e.g. winds) are responsible
for spatiotemporal variability of zooplanktonic populations, even at relatively short space and time scales.
Bibliographic references
Benzécri J.P. 1984. L’analyse des données. II. L’analyse des correspondances.
Dunod, Paris, 619 p.
Bouchet J.M. 1968. Étude océanographique des chenaux du bassin
d’Arcachon. Thèse de doctorat, université de Bordeaux 1.
CastelJ., Courties C., 1982. Composition and differential distribution
of zooplankton in Arcachon bay. J. Plankton Res., 4(3), 417-433.
ElbéeJ. (d’), Castel )., 1991. Zooplankton from the continental shelt ot
the southern bay of Biscay: exchange with Arcachon basin, France.
Ann. Inst. Océanogr. Paris, 67, 35-48.
ElbéeJ. (d'), CastelJ., 1995. Evolution spatio-temporelle du zooplancton
dans le bassin d’Arcachon : le rôle des variables du milieu. Cah.
Biol. Mar, 36, 33-45.
339
innermost part of the bay, Castel & Courties (1982) clearly identifted an
outer, an intermediate, and an inner neritic community. These authors
suggest that the community structure is affected by the salinitytemperature gradient and the variability of hydrodynamical factors, especially in the inner bav.
The great change in community structures obser\ r ed in our study can be
explained to a large extent by a sporadic climatic event appearing at this
time of the survey. Two-day lasting strong north-westerly winds led to a
sharp decrease in temperature (approx. 2°C) and to a movement of vater
masses towards the south of the bay. As a consequence, the autochthonous northern community also moved towards the south and was replaced in the north by an essentiallv neritic communitv. D’Klbée & Castel
(1995) have alreadt' emphasixed the importance of environmental conditions and particularly of temperature in the temporal succession and density of zooplankters. Our results further strengthen the view that temperature, salinity and especially climatic conditions (e.g. winds) are responsible
for spatiotemporal variability of zooplanktonic populations, even at relatively short space and time scales.
Bibliographic references
Benzécri J.P. 1984. L’analyse des données. II. L’analyse des correspondances.
Dunod, Paris, 619 p.
Bouchet J.M. 1968. Étude océanographique des chenaux du bassin
d’Arcachon. Thèse de doctorat, université de Bordeaux 1.
CastelJ., Courties C., 1982. Composition and differential distribution
of zooplankton in Arcachon bay. J. Plankton Res., 4(3), 417-433.
ElbéeJ. (d’), Castel )., 1991. Zooplankton from the continental shelt ot
the southern bay of Biscay: exchange with Arcachon basin, France.
Ann. Inst. Océanogr. Paris, 67, 35-48.
ElbéeJ. (d'), CastelJ., 1995. Evolution spatio-temporelle du zooplancton
dans le bassin d’Arcachon : le rôle des variables du milieu. Cah.
Biol. Mar, 36, 33-45.
339