The analysis concerns the assessment of the overall state of the coastal and transitional waters of the Western Channel and the Bay of Biscay. It results from the combination of the ecological status and the chemical status of each water body according to the rules of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The most recent assessment of the state is presented in the DCE Loire-Bretagne atlas. Earlier reports are available in annual archives.

The inventory of national marine habitats in mainland France was undertaken at the request of the Ministry for Sustainable Development. Its primary objective is to meet local requirements with regards to designation of sites of ecological importance which are joining the European Natura 2000 Network as part of the “Habitat, fauna, flora” directive (DHFF) from 1992.

The aim of this project is to develop an eco-physiological model to predict production flow of certain species of planktonic Foraminifera, which are representative of the main ecological system, as well as their habitat (depth, season), from climate forcing. The eco-physiological and geochemical/isotopic characteristics must be determined by the data obtained during cruises. The data from closing nets and sediment traps will be used to evaluate flows from different Foraminifera and the acquisition of their isotope and geochemical signals according to the depth of their habitat and their development cycle. The project is linked to ANR FORCLIM (coordinator L.Labeyrie, LSCE). Data is organised into two parts : 1/ measurements of physiochemical and biogeochemical parameters in the water column ; inventory of planktonic Foraminifera - 2/ Measurements of biogeochemical parameters and the interface between sediment and water: inventory of benthic Foraminifera fauna. The campaign is connected to the STEEPL Observation Service (Temporal monitoring of benthic and planktonic ecosystems in the Landes plateau) – OSUNA funding (Nantes Angers Sciences of the Universe Observatory).

The associated data highlights the sampling programme for the data acquisition campaign of Observation on the Aerial Platform for the SAMM2 campaign (Aerial Marine Megafauna Monitoring) conducted by the PELAGIS observatory.

Upon building a new waste pool for waste from oyster farming, a zostera noltii seagrass meadow was destroyed by sediment deposits. This site is located in the Arcachon basin and has been monitored since 2005 in order to evaluate the impact this of this work and the recolonisation of the site by benthic macrofauna.

Intertidal mudflats are a key system of the network, being closely connected to ecosystems which form the transition between the watershed area and the ocean. Their high productivity is linked to activity within a diatom biofilm, the functioning and future of which have recently been the subject of many research programmes. However, the determinism and future of bacterial production associated with the secretion of ExoPolySaccharides within the biofilm is largely unknown. Early studies have nevertheless shown that this production is at least as high as that of diatoms. An integrated view of the ecological functioning of intertidal mudflats within a more global schema of carbon flow therefore needs to define and quantify the determinism of this bacterial production and it future within the ecosystem.