Session on planktonic foodwebs in coral reef waters at the 9ICRS

[Jean-Pascal TORRETON]

Dear Coral-listers,
Bruno Delesalle (EPHE-CNRS, France), William M. Hamner (UCLA, CA, USA),=
 Bruce
G. Hatcher, (Dalhousie University, Canada), Nathalie Niquil (University La
Rochelle, France) and I are organising a mini-symposium at the 9ICRS in Bali
(23-27 October) entitled " Planktonic foodwebs in coral reef waters: trophic
structure, functioning, and interactions with benthic and pelagic=
 communities
".
If you are interested in presenting a paper as part of this mini-symposium,
please send an abstract to David Hopley (David.Hopley at ultra.net.au) and to
myself (torreton at mpl.ird.fr).=20
When contacting David Hopley, please indicate which mini-symposium you=
 intend
to present at.=20
Instructions for abstract submission can be found on the conference home=
 page
(http://www.nova.edu/ocean/9icrs).=20
Please, remind that the deadline for abstract submission is 30 APRIL 2000.
We look forward to seeing you in Bali!
Best wishes
Jean-Pascal Torreton

Mini-symposium Abstract
Coral reefs are still widely perceived as benthic ecosystems, with
trophodynamics virtually independent of the plankton. Little is known of
planktonic processes in coral reef waters. This knowledge is urgently=
 required
in order to:=20
1. reach a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem function in the context=
 of
regional and global carbon and nutrient fluxes,=20
2. determine how the particular oligotrophic environment of reef waters
acts as
a limiting factor for planktonic processes and plankton diversity.=20
A functional approach to coral reef ecology demands that we take planktonic
communities into account. Reef benthos are now well known to consume
zooplankton, protists, phytoplankton, bacterioplankton and even particulate
detritus and sediments. This consumption represents a net input to coral=
 reef
pools which can contribute significantly to new production. In turn, these
benthic processes are known to act as positive feedbacks to=
 bacterioplankton,
zooplankton and, perhaps, phytoplankton. Some of these interactions
undoubtedly
involve other macro-organisms like bivalves and fishes.=20
Understanding these interaction processes, as well as describing the=
 internal
functioning of the reef water column, is a key, but usually overlooked=
 aspect
of coral reef ecology.=20
Even less is known of planktonic processes in coral reef waters.=
 Interactions
among size and functional groups, the role of protists as trophic links
between
picoplankton and upper levels of the trophic networks, the determinants of
picophytoplankton composition are all exciting areas of current research.=20
The aim of this mini-symposium is to summarize the state-of-the-art in
planktonic foodwebs and their interactions with the reef benthos and the
adjacent communities. An important output will be to identify the crucial
areas
of ignorance, and therefore, suggest directions of future research. A
comparison of the main features of the plankton-benthos coupling in the
different reef types, underlining common trends or functional differences,
will
allow better characterization of the pathways of matter and energy across=
 the
boundaries of coral reef ecosystems. This mini-symposium is definitely not
devoted only to water column scientists. On the contrary, the co-convenors
will
ensure that helpful, interdisciplinary exchange occurs.



_____________________________________________
Dr. Jean-Pascal TORRETON
IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le D=E9veloppement)=20
Universit=E9 Montpellier II=20
UMR-CNRS 5556,  Case 093=20
34095 Montpellier Cedex 05 FRANCE=20
Tel. (33)4 67 14 33 71, Fax. (33)4 67 14 39 26
torreton at mpl.ird.fr
_____________________________________________ =20