Montaudouin & Sauriau, 2000) and 3) a well-developed mariculture industry (Héral et al., 1989). However, no up-to-date synopsis on local marine fauna was found in the current literature, despite the existence of
Beltrémieux’s (1884) synopsis and several taxonomical studies published
since this date (e.g. Tardy, 1965). The latest synopsis on marine macrofauna diversity in the area was proposed by de Montaudouin & Sauriau
(2000) and enables the presentation of a new web site database. The Marin-Pertuis database (Marine Invertebrates of the Pertuis Charentais Sea)
is available via the Crema Web site.
Material and methods
The Pertuis Charentais Sea area is delimited by the Charente estuary on
its eastern side and by the île de Ré and the île d’Oléron on its western
side. The eastern continental shores are connected to the ocean by three
narrow sounds called “Pertuis”, i.e. pertuis Breton, pertuis d’Antioche
and pertuis de Maumusson. The area includes the three pertuis and two
shellfish ecosystems, i.e. Aiguillon Cove and the Marennes-Oléron ba\',
in which the blue mussel Mytihts editlis (Linnaeus, 1758) and the cupped
o\ ster Crassostrea ÿigtts (Thunberg, 1793) are cultivatcd (Goulletquer &
Héral, 1997). The main goal of the Marin-Pertuis database is to produce a register of marine invertebrate species, linked with a bibliography of all references published in the area since the 18th century, excluding unpublished reports. Since the database is based on the recent
synopsis of de Montaudouin & Sauriau (2000), information are therefore restricted to marine macrofauna species collected on a sieving mesh
of more than one millimetre.
Results
Search for macrofauna information through the database can be performed using four different “search forms”: (1) search the phylum is a
simple list of the 858 reported taxa, (2) search the species is a search in
which specifying the name of a genus and/or a species gives information
on its/their occurrence and/or recording (in some cases, spatial distributions of species within the Marennes-Oléron bay are given), (3) search the
geographic records is a search in which information on authttrs’ surveys,
suwey dates, species occurrence and locations are combined, (4) search the
bibliography enables searching of evety published reference in the area.
For instance, the search the phylum form indicates that benthic macrofauna species nchness of the Pertuis Charentais Sea, including soft- and
hard-bottom substrates, is 858. This figure includes Porifera, Bryozoa
and Urocorda species, mainly reported by Beltrémieux (1884) and de
Beauchamp (1923). However, the number of species within the fbllowing
phyla are certainly underestimated: Porifera (14), Cnidaria (67), Platyhelminthes (2), Nemertinea (2), Sipuncula (5), Bryozoa (45), Urocordata (32)
and Cephalocordata (1). This is partly due lo the lack of relevant published
76
Beltrémieux’s (1884) synopsis and several taxonomical studies published
since this date (e.g. Tardy, 1965). The latest synopsis on marine macrofauna diversity in the area was proposed by de Montaudouin & Sauriau
(2000) and enables the presentation of a new web site database. The Marin-Pertuis database (Marine Invertebrates of the Pertuis Charentais Sea)
is available via the Crema Web site.
Material and methods
The Pertuis Charentais Sea area is delimited by the Charente estuary on
its eastern side and by the île de Ré and the île d’Oléron on its western
side. The eastern continental shores are connected to the ocean by three
narrow sounds called “Pertuis”, i.e. pertuis Breton, pertuis d’Antioche
and pertuis de Maumusson. The area includes the three pertuis and two
shellfish ecosystems, i.e. Aiguillon Cove and the Marennes-Oléron ba\',
in which the blue mussel Mytihts editlis (Linnaeus, 1758) and the cupped
o\ ster Crassostrea ÿigtts (Thunberg, 1793) are cultivatcd (Goulletquer &
Héral, 1997). The main goal of the Marin-Pertuis database is to produce a register of marine invertebrate species, linked with a bibliography of all references published in the area since the 18th century, excluding unpublished reports. Since the database is based on the recent
synopsis of de Montaudouin & Sauriau (2000), information are therefore restricted to marine macrofauna species collected on a sieving mesh
of more than one millimetre.
Results
Search for macrofauna information through the database can be performed using four different “search forms”: (1) search the phylum is a
simple list of the 858 reported taxa, (2) search the species is a search in
which specifying the name of a genus and/or a species gives information
on its/their occurrence and/or recording (in some cases, spatial distributions of species within the Marennes-Oléron bay are given), (3) search the
geographic records is a search in which information on authttrs’ surveys,
suwey dates, species occurrence and locations are combined, (4) search the
bibliography enables searching of evety published reference in the area.
For instance, the search the phylum form indicates that benthic macrofauna species nchness of the Pertuis Charentais Sea, including soft- and
hard-bottom substrates, is 858. This figure includes Porifera, Bryozoa
and Urocorda species, mainly reported by Beltrémieux (1884) and de
Beauchamp (1923). However, the number of species within the fbllowing
phyla are certainly underestimated: Porifera (14), Cnidaria (67), Platyhelminthes (2), Nemertinea (2), Sipuncula (5), Bryozoa (45), Urocordata (32)
and Cephalocordata (1). This is partly due lo the lack of relevant published
76