Impact of shellfish farming eutrophication on benthic macrophyte communities in the Thau lagoon, France

In a large marine lagoon (Thau lagoon, southern France) with a shellfish farming dominant eutrophication, the macrophyte communities were sampled by six transects of three depths (1.5, 2.5 and 5 m) and their characteristics (species composition, diversity and biomass) were described in relation to environmental and sediment parameters. With increasing eutrophication (total inorganic nitrogen, 0.140-0.295 mg l-1; dissolved reactive phosphorus, 0.045-0.110 mg l-1; and N/P atomic ratio, 3-22), silt fraction and shell fragments in sediments increased (12-93 and 0-65% dry wt respectively). Different types of macrophytic communities could be defined in the shallow zone (1.5-2.5 m) corresponding to four main and successive stages of degradation. A pure eelgrass stand (Zostera marina and Z. noltii) and an eelgrass community colonized by macroalgae were observed in SW sites and could be distinguished by their sedimentary features. In sites (NE) more affected by eutrophication (fine-textured sediment), available incident light determined two main seaweed communities: an Ulva rigida community, outside the shellfish tables, and a Gracilaria bursa-pastoris community in the shellfish tables (lower incident light).