Recolonisation of Zostera marina, following complete destruction caused by an anoxic crisis, was studied in the Thau lagoon (French Mediterranean Sea) from February 1998 to September 1999. The recolonisation took place surprisingly rapidly as biomasses similar to those from untouched areas were reached only nine months after seed germination. The recolonisation success was partly due to a high seedling survival rate as well as a rapid vegetative recruitment (ranging from 0.012 to 0.042 per day). Two phases of recovery could be observed: a rapid multiplication of shoots during the first 3 months was followed by an increase in biomass due to elongation of leaves. During the first year of recolonisation no flowering shoot was observed whilst reproductive effort was considerable during the second year. In case of two consecutive anoxic crises at the same site, the recovery would have probably been much slower, since the annual seedbank would have been depleted.

The primary production and the respiration of Zostera noltii beds in the Thau lagoon were studied by means of the benthic bell jar technique. Concurrently, environmental data (temperature, light and nutrients) as well as morphological data of seagrass meadows (leaf width and height, density of shoots, above/below-ground biomass ratio) were collected with the purpose of explaining most of the observed variations in metabolism. Seagrass plus epiphyte respiration rates were influenced mainly by the water temperature, showing a typical exponential response to an increase in temperature. Surprisingly, measurements of production rates were not related to incoming light intensities recorded at the seagrass canopy level. An equation frequently used for terrestrial standing crops, involving the leaf area index (LAI) and the characteristics of the canopy architecture (parameter K, depending on leaves optical and geometrical properties), was applied to the seagrass ecosystem in order to estimate the light energy actually available for the plants, i.e. the light intercepted by the seagrass canopy (Q(abs)). Linear relationships were then validated between gross production rates and calculated Q(abs) for Z. noltii beds, and the best fits were obtained with K values nearing 0.6, confirming the similarities between terrestrial graminaceae and seagrasses. A linear regression model for primary production is proposed, involving the calculated Q(abs), the water temperature and the leaf nutrient content.

Shellfish farming leaves its mark on the environment in which it has developed, and the men who depend upon it. These changes have altogether balanced the lagoon cycle and have caused disastrous episodic events. Increased water clarity caused by the uptake of particulate material by shellfish fanning allows seagrass to grow in deeper areas of the lagoon (down to five metres). Shellfish farming nutrient transformations increase ecosystem productivity, even if the filtration pressure keeps phytoplankton biomass at a low level. Storage of phosphorus and nitrogen in animal tissue limits eutrophication in this ecosystem. Transfer of oysters from growout facilities increases animal and vegetal specific diversity. The presence of large amounts of shellfish allows for the development of a masive benthos, while organic enrichment from biodeposition changes the specific composition of soft-bottom benthos. In the deeper areas, (less than six metres), where summer thermoclines limit oxygen transfer from surface water, the organically enriched substrate induces oxygen depletion and ammonium and nitrogen sulfide accumulation in the water column. This ecosystem dysfunction kills benthic populations, and sometimes reaches pelagic populations and affects the shellfish farming economy. (C) Elsevier, Paris.