164
A. Cheminée et al.
Feeding
Resng
Connectivity
a
c
b
Nurseries
Breeding
Permanent habitat
for this resident
species
Breeding area for
this migratory
species
Slope
Abyssal area
Functions
Fig. 11.1 Organisation and connectivity of essential habitats of marine organisms
disturbing. In the course of this landscape survey, the aim is to determine in particular
which are the units that have an ‘important’ function (as much from the social and
economic as from the ecological point of view) and which are exposed to pressures
likely to endanger this function and thus give rise to a high probable cost (social,
economic or ecological). To an ecological scientist’s eye, the units (seen as habitats)
that should be considered as priority include those that have a key ecological function: in the case of the fishes (Teleosteans), for instance, this would be the adults’
spawning grounds (Koenig et al. 2000) and the nursery sites for juveniles (HarmelinVivien et al. 1995; Beck et al. 2001; Cheminée et al. 2011), since they are considered
as indispensable for the renewal of the populations. In order to manage the ‘fishes’
resource, the management plan should thus include protection of these key habitats,
i.e. essential for the life cycle of the species. There is increasing awareness of the
necessity to protect the habitats in order to protect the species and this is increasingly
integrated into management processes at international (e.g. the Habitats directive included in the Natura 2000 process) or national level (e.g. Arrêté of 29 October 2009
providing a list of protected birds for the whole territory and the means of protection,
which stipulates in Art. 3 that the restrictions apply to physical or biological elements
necessary for the reproduction or resting of the species under consideration).
However, this approach is at best adopted at the scale of a habitat or only at the
scale of habitats that are essential for a single species: the overall dynamic and the
interactions between units of the seascape mosaic are today not at all or only rarely
taken into account. Yet it is in reality a chain of habitats that should be taken into account for the definition of the management priorities and actions in order to take into
account all the habitats that are essential at each stage of the life cycle for each of the
species of interest. During their life cycle, living organisms successively occupy the
ecological habitats essential to each phase of their existence (Fig. 11.1). The essential habitats habitually taken into account are the spawning grounds (breeding site),
A. Cheminée et al.
Feeding
Resng
Connectivity
a
c
b
Nurseries
Breeding
Permanent habitat
for this resident
species
Breeding area for
this migratory
species
Slope
Abyssal area
Functions
Fig. 11.1 Organisation and connectivity of essential habitats of marine organisms
disturbing. In the course of this landscape survey, the aim is to determine in particular
which are the units that have an ‘important’ function (as much from the social and
economic as from the ecological point of view) and which are exposed to pressures
likely to endanger this function and thus give rise to a high probable cost (social,
economic or ecological). To an ecological scientist’s eye, the units (seen as habitats)
that should be considered as priority include those that have a key ecological function: in the case of the fishes (Teleosteans), for instance, this would be the adults’
spawning grounds (Koenig et al. 2000) and the nursery sites for juveniles (HarmelinVivien et al. 1995; Beck et al. 2001; Cheminée et al. 2011), since they are considered
as indispensable for the renewal of the populations. In order to manage the ‘fishes’
resource, the management plan should thus include protection of these key habitats,
i.e. essential for the life cycle of the species. There is increasing awareness of the
necessity to protect the habitats in order to protect the species and this is increasingly
integrated into management processes at international (e.g. the Habitats directive included in the Natura 2000 process) or national level (e.g. Arrêté of 29 October 2009
providing a list of protected birds for the whole territory and the means of protection,
which stipulates in Art. 3 that the restrictions apply to physical or biological elements
necessary for the reproduction or resting of the species under consideration).
However, this approach is at best adopted at the scale of a habitat or only at the
scale of habitats that are essential for a single species: the overall dynamic and the
interactions between units of the seascape mosaic are today not at all or only rarely
taken into account. Yet it is in reality a chain of habitats that should be taken into account for the definition of the management priorities and actions in order to take into
account all the habitats that are essential at each stage of the life cycle for each of the
species of interest. During their life cycle, living organisms successively occupy the
ecological habitats essential to each phase of their existence (Fig. 11.1). The essential habitats habitually taken into account are the spawning grounds (breeding site),