Species Distribution Models (SDM) are useful tools providing results that can be extrapolated to anticipate species range shifts, under climate change scenarios. SDM studies integrating spatial constraints are significantly lacking in the marine environment, leading to optimistic predictions. This is particularly true for anadromous species in which marine distributions can be driven by their affinity to their natal rivers. Acipenser sturio is a critically endangered anadromous fish for which two stocked populations are currently maintained in the Gironde-Garonne-Dordogne (France) and Elbe (Germany) river systems. Benefiting from bycatch reports of A. sturio, we applied a SDM process that explicitly considers distance to home when evaluating habitat suitability. More precisely, we included the variable ‘distance to mouth of the natal river system’ into SDM inputs to test and characterize its influence on the marine distribution of A. sturio. We used this model to obtain the marine distribution under current climatic conditions with the two source populations and under population recovery scenarios (functional populations hypothesized to exist in ten currently unoccupied river systems). We projected the model under future conditions with two climatic scenarios (RCP 4.5 and 8.5) and three time slices over the 2023–2099 period. Constrained-ranges of both existing and hypothetical populations are projected to expand in the future. We observed an overall increase of habitat suitability, with new suitable sectors localized further from natal river mouths. By informing on the suitable marine surface that each hypothetical population holds and adds to the existing ones, our approach aims at informing about the feasibility of species recovery and marine habitats protection strategies. Our findings highlight the need for including dispersal information in marine SDM. The application of our dispersal-constrained approach may be considered for other less-well-known species for which dispersal point sources are identifiable, such as other diadromous species in different study areas.

Estuaries are important nursery habitats for the early life stages of fishes. Fish populations in the Gironde Estuary (South-Western France) have collapsed in recent decades, due to massive habitat destruction and poor water quality. In this context, we sampled the ichthyoplankton in the Gironde Estuary for one year to understand the spatio-temporal dynamics of fish larvae and identify key habitats. Total density of larvae was analyzed in relation to season (summer, winter, spring), area (oligo, meso, polyhaline), habitat type (confluences, mudflats) and depth (shallow, intermediate, deep). In total, 32 499 fish larvae were identified and divided into 14 taxa. Larval densities were largely dominated by an estuarine resident taxon, but marine estuarine-opportunist and diadromous species were also present. Summer was characterized by few taxa, including Engraulis encrasicolus, Dicentrarchus spp. or Pomatoschistus spp., in low density (0.16 +/- 0.53 larvae m-3 on average). Larval densities were higher in winter (0.30 +/- 2.13) and spring (29.50 +/- 291.00). Diadromous species were particularly present in winter, and gobies (Pomatoschistus spp.) dominated the spring assemblage. The oligohaline area and intertidal mudflats appeared to be key habitats in terms of larval density and diversity and should be target locations of conservation/restoration measures.

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image sizeKEYWORDS: Open sciencediatomsteratologiescrowd sourcing AcknowledgmentsThis project part of the AQUAREF program (French reference laboratory for monitoring aquatic environments), funded by the OFB (Office Français de la Biodiversité).Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Author contributionsSM directed and supervised the project. IV designed the software and database with the help of EQ, SB and ML. IV and SM wrote the manuscript. All authors provided feedback and helped shape the project and manuscript.Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the Office Français de la Biodiversité .

The European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) is a critically endangered anadromous fish species with the last remaining population living in the Gironde estuary, thanks to restocking programs. Between 2010 and 2018, trawling surveys (1022 trawl tows) in the estuary caught 452 sturgeons (fork length (FL) from 25.5 cm to 154 cm). Based on previous knowledge about the species ecology, individuals have been categorized into two groups, Estuarine Dwellers (ED; FL below 68 cm) that are using mainly the estuary, and Sea Explorers (SE; FL equal or above 68 cm) that could accomplish migration at sea. ED and SE were found in the estuary at all seasons with densities being the highest in autumn for SE and in all season except spring for ED. Hotspot analyses were made at the seasonal scale to localise ED and SE concentrations. Differences were analysed according to environmental variables (temperature, water column height, salinity and concentration in suspended matters) extracted from a hydrodynamic model (MARS3D), which all contribute to fish localisation at all seasons. In all seasons, both groups were using common areas located downstream (overlap from 26 to 33%) except in autumn, when different areas were used (12% overlap). SE were encountered downstream in deeper areas with higher salinity and lower temperature (except in winter). For this group, temperature seems to be a limiting factor. ED occupied downstream as well as upstream areas with lower salinity and higher temperature in summer, but there was no habitat selection linked to simulated environmental variables in spring and autumn. Since ED are mainly using the estuary they are probably accustomed to the range of values of the abiotic variables characterising the estuary and other factors are probably at play in spring and autumn, such as prey distribution. Comparison with the location of ancient wild cohorts highlights common hotspot areas downstream with our stocked population but the disappearance of a former upstream hotspot. We explained this difference by the environmental changes witnessed by the estuarine environment in the last decades. Our results highlights important areas for both groups that could help the design of conservation measures.

Increasing knowledge on distribution and habitat selection of coastal fish species is essential for the management of marine environments, and can be provided through the use of Species Distribution Models (SDM). Opportunistic and participatory data, such as recreational or commercial bycatch data, can provide precious information at large scale and low cost to estimate fish spatial distributions, but are subject to biases (e.g. lack of absence data, non-random sampling scheme). The European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) is a critically endangered diadromous fish and its marine habitat preferences are unknown. The goal of this study was to investigate key variables driving A. sturio distribution and predict its current distribution in inshore waters along the European Atlantic coast. We developed two correlative SDM in A. sturio marine habitats based on incidental observations (2012-2021) and two different sets of environmental predictors. In both attempts, six methods which differ according to the biases they aim to reduce (i.e. oversampled areas or environmental conditions, dependence between calibration and validation datasets) and the input dataset used (i.e. random pseudo-absences or targetgroup pseudo-absences) were applied at various stages of the model building and evaluation process. By comparing potentially biased and bias-corrected predictions, we found similar satisfactory level of evaluation and spatial patterns of habitat suitability. Marine areas predicted as the most suitable were distributed along the French Atlantic coast, the Seine and Somme bays, and at a lesser extent around the Rhine delta and in some coastal areas of the Cantabrian Sea (Northern Spain). We found a strong influence of the bathymetry, temperature, and salinity as well as an influence of the bottom current velocity and of the distance to the source population in explaining A. sturio marine distribution, while the nature of the substrate was not retained by the models. Results of this study could pave the way toward more integrated conservation measures for this critically endangered fish.

EuroDiad version 4.0 is a set of data tables that store information about the presences/absences and population functionality of diadromous species (lampreys and fish) populations in selected catchments in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa from 1750 to present time. This database contains distribution and life-history trait information for twenty-eight European diadromous species and geomorphological data for each of the selected catchments, though not every species has data for every catchment and time period. EuroDiad was originally created in 2005-2006 (EuroDiad 1.0 and 2.0), and contained data for 196 catchments and two time periods (1851-1950 and 1951-2010). It underwent a major update in 2009-2010 (EuroDiad 3.2) through a validation process by European fisheries experts. Version 3.2 included the addition of 63 small-sized catchments (< 10,000 km(2)) and an additional time period (17511850) for select species and catchments. This database underwent a second validation process in 2019-2020 and was updated to v 4.0, with the primary goal of providing infor-mation for a new generation of species distribution models, referred to as hybrid models, which incorporate both habitat suitability and population dynamics within their framework. Secondary objectives of this update were to: (a) incorporate new catchments for which information was provided by additional experts, (b) validate existing information about the presences or absences of diadromous species and categorize their population functionality within a catchment, and (c) perform data hygiene to prepare the database for broad dissemination. Information on the life history, morphology, and phenology of four emblematic species (i.e. eel, salmon, lamprey and shad) were added in this occasion. Data for this update were validated by DiadES project partners (www.diades.eu) and local experts. This update was focused on catchments located in the Atlantic Area for use in the DiadES project. Data were divided by country, and validation was performed for catchments in Ireland, the U.K., Spain, Portugal, and France under the supervision of national organisations in fisheries and environmental management. DiadES project partners were asked to validate geomorphological information for the catchment (location of the outlet, surface area of the drainage basin, length of the main watercourse, elevation at the headwaters), as well as the presences/absences information and population functionality categories for all species already present in EuroDiad for their country. If possible, verification was done for each of the three time periods. Partners were also asked to provide data for any other catchments for which they had access to information on fish population status. EuroDiad 4.0 now stores data for 350 catchments (of which 292 have population functionality records) and three time periods, though the precision of information varies and not every species has information for each time period. This validation process strengthened the usefulness of EuroDiad, which is now updated and available for use by the research community. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Dans le cadre d'une recherche qui s'ouvre aux pratiques de l'open-data pour la diffusion de donnees de qualite, il devient plus que jamais necessaire de doter le monde academique des « bons » outils pour cet objectif ambitieux. Nous parlons de logiciels dedies a la gestion qui peuvent etre soit crees dans le laboratoire ou ils sont utilises, soit diffuses vers une com-munaute de chercheurs, ou encore pris « sur etagere » dans le catalogue des logiciels libres. A travers cette contribution qui s'appuie sur la grille d'analyse Business Model Canvas, nous tentons d'identifier les points cles de la reussite de tels projets. Nous soulignons notamment la necessite d'une estimation realiste des moyens requis pour la diffusion et l'appropriation de tels logiciels et des differents profils de personnels necessaires a la realisation de ces projets, avec un focus particulier sur le role de curateur / administrateur / animateur des donnees dans les laboratoires, la necessite de proposer une offre d'hebergement et la structuration de l'appui.

Ensuring traceability of both field experimental data and laboratory sampling data for a reproducible research remains a challenge nowadays. Between the time when geolocalized specimens are taken, and the time the resulting data ends up in analysis published within a study, many manual operations take place that are prone to generate errors. The French nodes of the European Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Infrastructure called ”Zones Ateliers” propose a solution as generic as possible to this problem of monitoring of the samples and the data associated with them. Compared to existing solutions such as Laboratory Information Management Systems, we target a robust solution for labelling adapted to outdoor working conditions, with the management of storages and movements of samples. We designed and realized a software package tested from end to end, using open source licenses and cheap hardware, including small printers (mobile or not) and Raspberry Pis. This system provides sufficient flexibility so that it can facilitate working with a wide variety of existing protocols. One of the most interesting feature consists to record all contextual data associated with the samples, which constitute important parameters of the subsequent analyses. Furthermore, not only traceability is thus guaranteed, but also we can expect a reduced handling times and an increased streamlining of the storage of samples that will improve the return on investment.

Les acteurs des laboratoires de recherche scientifique environnementale collectent regulierement de nombreux echantillons qui sont ensuite analyses et stockes. Leur gestion sur le long terme s'inscrit dans une strategie qu'il s'agit de definir puis de mettre en oeuvre via des outils informatiques adaptes. Cet article presente cette strategie, puis sa declinaison dans un systeme d'information developpe sous le nom de Collec-Science, offrant un support adequat pour la tracabilite, la diversite des donnees a traiter et l'autonomie des utilisateurs. Il presente egalement les perspectives de ces travaux en matiere d'animation de communaute scientifique, a la fois sur les plans organisationnels et operationnels, dans le contexte d'une science ouverte.

Ensuring traceability of field experimental data or laboratory sampling data to conduct reproducible research is a challenge at the present time. Between the time when geolocalized specimens (biotic or abiotic) are taken, and the time the resulting data ends up in analysis published within a study, many manual operations take place and may generate errors. The French LTSER have joined forces at the national level to propose a solution as generic as possible to this problem of monitoring of the samples and the data associated with them. Compared to existing solutions (such as Laboratory Information Management Systems), we target a robust labeling solution adapted to outdoor working conditions, with the management of stocks and movements of samples. We designed and realized a prototype tested from end to end, using an open source software (https://github.com/Irstea/collec), cheap Zebra printers (mobile or not) and raspberries as devices. This solution provides sufficient flexibility for the wide variety of existing protocols. Its strength is the record of all contextual data associated with the samples, which constitute important parameters of the subsequent analyzes. At last, not only traceability is guaranteed, but also a gain of time and a rationalization of the storage of samples that will induce a return on investment.