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Deep-sea fauna at a former red-mud disposal site (Cassidaigne Canyon, NW Mediterranean)

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Abstract

After 50 years, the dumping of red mud at the head of Cassidaigne Canyon (Southern France) was stopped in 2015. The area was surveyed in 2021 with an ROV at depths of 440–630 m. Biological findings reported here (images, sampling) have been obtained during a single ROV transect in the heavily impacted zone. In spite of the industrial waste deposit, a diverse faunal assemblage has persisted at the canyon head. Bioconstruction comprising large deep-sea oyster shells, scleractinian corals and hexactinellid sponge skeletons provides elevate and complex substrates for other organisms. Among the more significant findings, three live specimens of Neopycnodonte zibrowii Gofas, C. Salas & Taviani, 2009, previously only known as dead shells in that canyon, were documented and the rarely observed stenopodid shrimp Odontozona edwardsi (Bouvier, 1908) has been sampled (first record in the Mediterranean) and DNA barcoded.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the ALTEO company for letting us use the acquired images and samples for science, as well as Laurine Moirand and the molecular biology lab (SCBM) at IMBE – Station Marine d’Endoume for assistance in obtaining DNA sequences. Serge Gofas is acknowledged for his confirmation of bivalve mollusc identifications. Juliette Grossmith and Hélène Rossignol (Calanques National Park) are thanked for their support. Two anonymous reviewers helped improve the manuscript.

Funding

The ROV survey was funded by the private company ALTEO. Subsequent analysis of images and samples was funded by CNRS and Aix Marseille University to PC.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IMBE, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université, IRD, Avignon Université, Station Marine d’Endoume, 13007, Marseille, France

    Pierre Chevaldonné & Jean Vacelet

  2. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW, England

    Sammy De Grave

  3. Dept Biol Evolut Ecol & Ciencies Ambientals, Fac Biol, Inst Recerca Biodiversitat IRBIO, Univ Barcelona, Avd Diagonal 643, E-08028, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain

    Joan Lluís Pretus

  4. Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB), CSIC, C/ d’accés a la Cala St. Francesc 14, 17300, Blanes, Catalunya, Spain

    Enrique Macpherson

  5. Le Corbusier 644, 280 Bd Michelet, 13008, Marseille, France

    Helmut Zibrowius

  6. GIS Posidonie, Océanomed, bâtiment IOA, OSU Pytheas, Campus de Luminy, case 901, Marseille cedex 09, 13288, Marseille, France

    Adrien Goujard

Authors
  1. Pierre Chevaldonné
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  2. Sammy De Grave
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  3. Joan Lluís Pretus
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  4. Enrique Macpherson
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  5. Jean Vacelet
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  6. Helmut Zibrowius
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  7. Adrien Goujard
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pierre Chevaldonné.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval

No animal testing was performed during this study.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities. The study is compliant with CBD and Nagoya protocols.

Data availability

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Author contribution

AG acquired the image data and samples. PC and AG conceived the research project. PC, SDG, JLP, EM, JV, and HZ studied the samples in details. PC gathered the data and wrote the paper. All authors contributed to the manuscript.

Additional information

Communicated by S. Gollner

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Chevaldonné, P., De Grave, S., Pretus, J.L. et al. Deep-sea fauna at a former red-mud disposal site (Cassidaigne Canyon, NW Mediterranean). Mar. Biodivers. 53, 79 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-023-01386-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-023-01386-5

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