Increasing human pressure along Mediterranean coastlines raises the need to define sensitive bioindicators that provide an early response to nutrient enrichment. We performed multiscale carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses on the limpet Patella caerulea, the snail Monodonta turbinata, epilithic biofilms, and the macroalga Rissoella verruculosa inhabiting the rocky midlittoral zone. Samples were seasonally collected in 2006 from 5 sites exposed to a range of anthropogenic discharges in the Revellata Bay area and in Marseille harbour (France). All bioindicators exhibited strongly elevated δ 15 N values at impacted sites compared to pristine ones, which revealed the biological availability of anthropogenically derived nutrients. Only epilithic biofilms tended to show both the occurrence of nutrient pulses during the tourist season and a δ 13 C response at impacted sites. In contrast to macroalgae, which exhibited a somewhat equivocal signal, gastropods and especially M. turbinata provided the best time-integrated picture of the graduated exposure of the 5 sites to anthropogenic impact. Results also showed first evidence of large isotopic variability at a scale of tens of metres, close to that found at the kilometre scale. The intra-and interspecific isotopic variability in gastropods may be explained by the patchiness of resources and specific morphological and behavioural features, but these factors do not greatly hamper their potential as early bioindicators of wastewater disturbances.

The study of spatial patterns is important in understanding the causes of the distribution and abundance of organisms, and it also provides a valuable basis for management and conservation. Amphipod crustaceans are key organisms in seagrass ecosystems. However, little attention has been paid to the spatial scales at which amphipod assemblages may vary. We examined variability patterns of amphipod populations inhabiting Posidonia oceanica meadows, over spatial scales spanning four orders of magnitude (1 to 1000 meters) and for two consecutive years. This study reports the scales that contributed most to spatial variation of amphipod assemblages and explores the potential processes driving the observed patterns, with particular emphasis on habitat features. The number of species, the diversity, and the density of some species varied substantially across years. For most species the highest spatial variation in density and biomass occurred at small scales (1 and 10 meters). Based on density data, the structure of amphipod assemblages did not differ at any scales investigated. The patchiness that occurred at small scales may have been related to habitat features, but only weakly. Instead, we postulate that amphipod behavioral processes likely represent good explanatory factors. Although, small-scale spatial variability can be an important feature of amphipod assemblages in P. oceanica meadows, some patterns may have gone undetected because they occur at scales smaller than those investigated.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a key tool for conservation purposes, but few studies have assessed the responses of small macrozoobenthic assemblages to different protection levels in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we used a hierarchical sampling design spanning 3 orders of magnitude (1, 10 and 100 m) to investigate whether a MPA exerts an effect on amphipod assemblages associated with Posidonia oceanica meadows. We report spatial and temporal variability patterns of amphipod assemblages in 4 different protection levels and discuss potential confounding effects, such as habitat features. The structure of amphipod assemblages based on density data was patchy at all spatial scales investigated, but differed markedly among protection levels. Among outstanding points, multiscale analyses showed that lower densities and/or biomasses of several taxa occurred within fully protected and external areas, in comparison with partially protected areas (PPAs). Furthermore, P. oceanica meadow features (shoot density, leaf and epiphyte biomasses, coefficient A and litter biomass) accounted for only a low proportion of the total variability. We consequently infer that the observed patchiness is likely to occur for multiple and interconnected reasons, ranging from the ecological and behavioural traits of amphipod species to protection-dependent processes (e.g. fish predation). Long-term multiscale spatial and temporal monitoring, as well as experimental manipulations, are needed to fully understand the effects of protection on macrozoobenthic assemblages. KEY WORDS: Amphipod assemblages • Posidonia oceanica • Seagrass • Hierarchical sampling design • Marine protected area Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher This authors' personal copy may not be publicly or systematically copied or distributed, or posted on the Open Web, except with written permission of the copyright holder(s). It may be distributed to interested individuals on request.

A model on river terrace formation is presented, written in PASCAL and run on a VAX 8600. The model calculates the influence of a fluvial system on the relief of an area with macroscopical dimensions (10 km x 20 km x 0.5 km) over a period of 2 5 million years. Model input relies on uplift and alternations in discharge and sediment load as a function of climatic changes. The output of the model are 3-dimensional grid drawings which visualize the impact of uplift, discharge, and sediment load on a landscape. Model formulation is based on empirical information on fluvial systems, which was incorporated in the model by means of a slightly adapted way of finite state modelling, in which decisions act as thresholds. The model is organized using two entities, 'River' and 'Landscape' with attributes that have values within a specific, realistic domain. The model produces plausible (x, y, z), and (x, y, t ) plots in the light of existing geomorphological theories. The described modelling procedure shows that it is possible to simulate river terrace formation threedimensionally with the use of empirical information.

The processing of benthic diatoms is tedious and involves several potentially damaging steps for cells. Although the preservation of siliceous frustules is of paramount importance in the implementation of biotic indices, only few studies quantified treatment-induced cell losses. We assumed that commonly used treatments may lead to mechanical (centrifugation, sedimentation, boiling, sonication and mounting in Naphrax) and chemical (cold H 2 O 2 digestion) damages on diatoms. We analysed the potential adverse effects of these treatments and the cleaning efficiency of H 2 O 2 and incineration in order to find out the most suitable technique to process lightly silicified Mediterranean populations. Results showed that successive resuspensions of material after each concentration treatment (sedimentation and centrifugation) and low speed centrifugation did not alter the physical integrity of frustules. In contrast, boiling and sonication exhibited adverse effects especially on the preservation of large frustules and Naphrax mounting proved to be the most damaging step whatever the size of diatoms. For cleaning treatments, incineration provided the most satisfactory results and acted on a non-selective way as opposed to hydrogen peroxide which led to either a large number of non-cleaned frustules or dissolved valves. Our recommendations for processing samples of lightly silicified Mediterranean benthic diatoms include the use of low speed centrifugations, dehydration at room temperature, incineration and dry mounting.