Sediments and bionomic mapping on soft bottoms in the South-Western lagoon of New Caledonia | Proceedings of the sixth international coral reef symposium
1988
Chevillon, Christophe | Richer de Forges, Bertrand
The South-Western lagoon of New Caledonia covers an area of 5550 sq.km. composed largely of soft bottoms. As part of the identification of the soft bottom biotopes of the New Caledonian lagoons that is being carried out, a study of the distribution of sediments and communities has also been undertaken. Sampling has been done with a 2 nautical miles grid, using a dredge for the benthos and a grab for the sediments. Mapping of the muds and a multivariate analysis have made it possible to define the sedimentological structure of these bottoms. A qualitative inventory of the benthic macrofauna communities has been drawn up in respect of the main zoological groups. Mud distribution is governed by the morphology of the shore, bathymetry and hydrodynamics. Sediments are divided according to two gradients, one relating to grain size, the other to siltation, which reflect a two-fold influence, from the land and from the reef. One of the main factors affecting the distribution of benthic communities is the mud content of the sediment, which influences the wealth of species and the composition of fauna
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