Claude Chauvet
New Caledonia University, Science, Emeritus
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Une experience de marquage d'un an a concerne la daurade Sparus aurata, le muge Liza aurata et principalement le loup Dicentrarchus labrax. Chez cette derniere espece, les juveniles (moins de trois ans) ont un comportement nomade... more
Une experience de marquage d'un an a concerne la daurade Sparus aurata, le muge Liza aurata et principalement le loup Dicentrarchus labrax. Chez cette derniere espece, les juveniles (moins de trois ans) ont un comportement nomade alors que les adultes sont sedentaires. Les trois especes presentent une distribution agregative marquee au niveau des estuaires
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The coconut crab, Birgus latro (LinneH , 1767), lives on oceanic islets and atolls as well as on the coasts of islands in the tropical Indo-Paci"c area. As a result of overharvesting and environmental modi"cation, Birgus latro... more
The coconut crab, Birgus latro (LinneH , 1767), lives on oceanic islets and atolls as well as on the coasts of islands in the tropical Indo-Paci"c area. As a result of overharvesting and environmental modi"cation, Birgus latro numbers have declined over the last decades in several regions, and numerous e!orts have been undertaken to manage the stocks (Reyne 1939; Holthuis 1959; Amesbury 1980; Page and Willason 1982; Reese 1987; Hartnoll 1988; Schiller 1988, 1992; Wolcott 1988; Fletcher et al. 1990a). However data on natural populations are still rare. Taiaro is an enclosed ring-shaped atoll located in the northeast of the Tuamotu archipelago (Chevalier and Salvat 1976; Galzin et al. 1998). This uninhabited atoll, which has UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status, was visited by scientists in 1972, 1992, and 1994 (Chevalier and Salvat 1976; Poli and Salvat 1976; Salvat et al. 1977; Galzin et al. 1998). The current study took place during the third mission, with the objectives of determining structure, abundance, and density of the unexploited coconut crab population.
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Cynoglossus canariensis has a very rapid growth. The rate of the males is 0,36 and the female one is 0,32. The asymptotic size is 55,0cm for the females and 50,5cm for the males. Females and males younger than three years (40cm), which... more
Cynoglossus canariensis has a very rapid growth. The rate of the males is 0,36 and the female one is 0,32. The asymptotic size is 55,0cm for the females and 50,5cm for the males. Females and males younger than three years (40cm), which represent 90 per cent of the Cote d'Ivoire stock have a similar growth, so the average equation: Lt=53,5 (1-e -0,34(t+1)) will be used.
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Décembre 2008 2 Financement du projet 1A1 : www.crisponline.net L'initiative pour la protection et la gestion des récifs coralliens dans le Pacifique, enga-gée par la France et ouverte à toutes les contributions, a pour but de... more
Décembre 2008 2 Financement du projet 1A1 : www.crisponline.net L'initiative pour la protection et la gestion des récifs coralliens dans le Pacifique, enga-gée par la France et ouverte à toutes les contributions, a pour but de développer pour l'avenir une vision de ces milieux uniques et des peuples qui en dépendent ; elle se pro-pose de mettre en place des stratégies et des projets visant à préserver leur biodiversité et à développer les services économiques et environnementaux qu'ils rendent, tant au niveau local que global. Elle est conçue en outre comme un vecteur d'intégration régionale entre états développés et pays en voie de développement du Pacifique. Le CRISP est structuré en trois composantes comprenant respectivement divers projets : -Composante 1 : Aires marines protégées et gestion côtière intégrée -Projet 1A : Analyse écorégionale -Projet 1B : Aires Marines Protégées -Projet 1C : Renforcement institutionnel -Projet 1D : Gestion intégrée des zones lagon...
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A B S T R A C T. - The Wallis Islands, part of Wallis and Futuna French Territories, are located in the central South Pacific Ocean. They are positioned at the boundary of two biogeographic provinces, the Pacific Plate and the... more
A B S T R A C T. - The Wallis Islands, part of Wallis and Futuna French Territories, are located in the central South Pacific Ocean. They are positioned at the boundary of two biogeographic provinces, the Pacific Plate and the Indian-Australian Plate. Our survey is the first comprehensive survey of the shorefishes of the Wallis Islands. The shorefishes were surveyed using a combination of visual censuses and specimens collecting using rotenone and spear fishing. We recorded or collected 639 species of shorefishes from the 1999-2000 surveys, 7 additional species were added based on crest net collections taken in 2002-2003 and 2 additional species based on specimens previously cataloged in museum collections, resulting in a total of 648 species of shorefishes in 79 families known from Wallis Islands. Combining rotenone collecting with visual censuses was critical to determining the shorefish biodiversity of Wallis Islands. Of the 648 species now known from Wa llis Islands, 42.9% of th...
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Les populations naturelles de troca etaient presentes entre les longitudes 90° O (les iles Andaman, a l’extremite ouest de l’arc indonesien) et 180° et entre les latitudes 20° N et 25° S. Le stock de trocas de Wallis se situe donc a la... more
Les populations naturelles de troca etaient presentes entre les longitudes 90° O (les iles Andaman, a l’extremite ouest de l’arc indonesien) et 180° et entre les latitudes 20° N et 25° S. Le stock de trocas de Wallis se situe donc a la marge de la distribution naturelle de l’espece (Fig. 1). Au siecle dernier, des transplantations ont deplace vers l’est, le nord et le sud-est les limites de cette distribution geographique (Gillett 2003). Bien qu’il y ait eu quelques echecs, a l’instar de la transplantation effectuee aux iles Loyaute (Lifou) a partir d’individus d’ecloserie de Nouvelle-Caledonie (Hoffschir et al. 1989 ; Chauvet et al. 1998), la majorite de ces nouvelles populations s’est bien adaptee.
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Revue des methodes. Principales sources d'erreur. Validite de l'echantillonnage. Adaptation des methodes. Exemples d'exploitation des resultats
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Les communautes de poissons des recifs frangeants et intermediaires du recif barriere interne et de la pente externe d'Uvea (Wallis et Futuna) ont ete etudiees en septembre 1999 le long de 4 radiales par comptages en plongee. Un total... more
Les communautes de poissons des recifs frangeants et intermediaires du recif barriere interne et de la pente externe d'Uvea (Wallis et Futuna) ont ete etudiees en septembre 1999 le long de 4 radiales par comptages en plongee. Un total de 194 especes pour 33 familles a ete recense. Les Labridae (34 especes), les Pomacentridae (33 especes) et les Chaetodontidae (23 especes) sont les familles les plus diversifiees. La composition specifique semble indiquer qu'Uvea se situe a la frontiere de plusieurs regions biogeographiques du Pacifique. La densite moyenne (2,5 ind./m 2 ) est globalement comparable aux autres communautes de poissons recifaux dans le Pacifique. En revanche, la biomasse moyenne (43 g/m 2 ) figure parmi les plus faibles valeurs signalees dans la region. Quatre assemblages ont ete identifies le long d'un gradient cote-large. Ils ont pu etre relies aux caracteristiques du substrat (corail vivant, corail mort, phanerogames, algues et sable): un assemblage caract...
A study of the Wallis Island Trochus niloticus stock was undertaken between 2004 and 2006. The growth of individuals was studied by tagging. Results are presented and compared with growth trends in other regions of the Pacific. 1.... more
A study of the Wallis Island Trochus niloticus stock was undertaken between 2004 and 2006. The growth of individuals was studied by tagging. Results are presented and compared with growth trends in other regions of the Pacific. 1. University of New Caledonia, BP R4, Noumea, New Caledonia. 2. Email: chauvet@univ-nc.nc; ph: +687 265 828, fax: +687 273 272. New Caledonia Wallis
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Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a common intoxication associated with the consumption of reef fish, which constitutes a critical issue for public health in many countries. The complexity of its epidemiology is responsible for the poor... more
Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a common intoxication associated with the consumption of reef fish, which constitutes a critical issue for public health in many countries. The complexity of its epidemiology is responsible for the poor management of the risk in tropical fish markets. We used the example of the Noumea fish market in New Caledonia to develop a cost-effective methodology of assessing the CFP risk. We first used published reports and the knowledge of local experts to define a list of potentially poisonous local species, ranked by their ciguatoxic potential. Based on two 1-month surveys in the market, conducted in winters 2008 and 2009, we then calculated the consolidated ratio of biomass of potentially poisonous species vs. total biomass of fish sold on the market. The prevalence of high CFP-risk species in the market was 16.1% and 18.9% in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The most common high CFP risk species were groupers (serranids), king mackerels (scombrids), snappers (lutjanids), barracudas (sphyaraenids), emperors (lethrinids) and wrasses (labrids). The size (age) of the fish also plays a critical role in the potential ciguatoxic risk. According to proposals of average size thresholds provided by experts for high-risk species, we were also able to assess the additional risk induced by the sale of some large fish on the market. The data collected both from experts and from the market allowed us to develop a cost-effective proposal for improving the management of the CFP risk in this market. However, the successful implementation of any regulation aiming to ban some specific species and sizes from the market, with an acceptable economical impact, will require the improvement of the expertise in fish identification by public health officers and, ideally, the commitment of retailers.
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Bora-Bora (French Polynesia) is a high volcanic island surrounded by an extensive coral reef complex. Environmental problems together with several conflicts between lagoon users have led the Polynesian government to develop a conservation... more
Bora-Bora (French Polynesia) is a high volcanic island surrounded by an extensive coral reef complex. Environmental problems together with several conflicts between lagoon users have led the Polynesian government to develop a conservation and management plan for Bora-Bora's reefs and reef resources. A scientific field study has been carried out, which identifies the healthiest and richest parts, or the most original or unique features, of the reef, and the zones where human activities have brought about reef degradation. It then analyses the uses of the reefs and how these various uses conflict. The management plan proposes a zonation of the lagoon, with seven reef sites selected for special management and protection within a single marine area. It also puts forward proposals for the regulation of all marine activities and for resource management in each zone.
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Research Interests: Biology, Coral Reefs, Fisheries Management, New Caledonia, Biological Sciences, and 11 moreEnvironmental Sciences, Experimental, Fish Community, Coral Reef Fish, Marine Protected Area, Marine Reserve, Natural Variation, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Trophic Structure, Fish Assemblage, and temporal variation
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Pseudogilquinia pillersi (Southwell, 1929), a poorly known species of trypanorhynch, is redescribed from plerocerci collected from Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton, 1922), Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch et Schneider, 1801) (Serranidae) and... more
Pseudogilquinia pillersi (Southwell, 1929), a poorly known species of trypanorhynch, is redescribed from plerocerci collected from Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton, 1922), Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch et Schneider, 1801) (Serranidae) and Plectropomus laevis (Lacépède, 1801) (Serranidae) off New Caledonia. These were compared with specimens from Lethrinus atkinsoni Seale, 1910 and Lethrinus miniatus (Forster, 1801) (Lethrinidae) off the north-east coast of Australia as well as syntypes from Protonibea diacantha (Lacépède, 1802) from Sri Lanka. Although size differences were found in parts of the scolex as well as in the sizes of the tentacular hooks, the hook arrangements were identical in all specimens. The differences observed were attributed provisionally to intra-specific variation across a wide geographic and host range.
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Ecological factors may influence the number of parasites encountered and, thus, parasite species richness. These factors include diet, gregarity, conspecific and total host density, habitat, body size, vagility, and migration. One means... more
Ecological factors may influence the number of parasites encountered and, thus, parasite species richness. These factors include diet, gregarity, conspecific and total host density, habitat, body size, vagility, and migration. One means of examining the influence of these factors on parasite species richness is through a comparative analysis of the parasites of different, but related, host species. In contrast to most comparative studies of parasite species richness of fish, which have been conducted by using data from the literature, the present study uses data obtained by the investigators. Coral reef fishes vary widely in the above ecological factors and are frequently parasitized by a diverse array of parasites. We, therefore, chose to investigate how the above ecological factors influence parasite species richness in coral reef fishes. We investigated the endoparasite species richness of 21 species of butterfly fishes (Chaetodontidae) of New Caledonia. We mapped the diet charac...
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ABSTRACT Tiger Sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, are large top-level predators usually solitary as adults. Observation of their scavenging activity on the carcass of a dead whale offered a rare opportunity for better understanding the pattern of... more
ABSTRACT Tiger Sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, are large top-level predators usually solitary as adults. Observation of their scavenging activity on the carcass of a dead whale offered a rare opportunity for better understanding the pattern of intra-specific behaviour within the aggregations of these large predators. In January 2002, the stranding, subsequent death and consumption of a 17.4m total length (TL) blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, was observed and filmed in Prony Bay, southern New Caledonia. After three weeks of confinement in the bay, the cetacean was killed by adult bullsharks Carcharhinus leucas. The first adult Tiger Shark was subsequently observed around the carcass after 36h. The fat slicks from the carcass attracted further Tiger Sharks which arrived after an additional 24h. The use of photo-identification on video footage collected during four observation sessions over an eight-day period identified 46 individual Tiger Sharks (primarily adult females between 3.3 and 4m TL) participating in the feeding aggregation. Only four animals were identified in two seperate observation sessions (over two consecutive days), suggesting a short-term residency pattern of several hours (<36h) around the carcass. As the arrival time of Tiger Sharks to the carcass differed, most arrivals of a new participant were followed by a frenzied period of intense intra-specific interaction. Different biting and agonistic behaviours were demonstrated by the Tiger Sharks on the carcass, including three new behaviours previously undescribed for this species. Size and level of aggressiveness appeared to be the determining factors of dominance amongst Tiger Sharks. These observations and analysis demonstrate that systematic study of feeding aggregations supported by photo-identification could contribute to knowledge of large shark ecology when coupled with capture-recapture, genetic fingerprinting and tagging techniques.
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Pseudorhabdosynochus bacchus sp. nov. (Diplectanidae) is described from the gills of the whitespotted grouper Epinephelus coeruleopunctatus collected off New Caledonia, South Pacific, and is the first monogenean reported from this fish.... more
Pseudorhabdosynochus bacchus sp. nov. (Diplectanidae) is described from the gills of the whitespotted grouper Epinephelus coeruleopunctatus collected off New Caledonia, South Pacific, and is the first monogenean reported from this fish. It has a characteristic quadriloculate male organ, with both cone and tube of similar short length (10–12 μm). The morphology of its sclerotised vagina, with two chambers of equal size, differentiates it from all other species of the genus. Other rare Pseudorhabdosynochus species and specimens of an undescribed species of Haliotrema (Ancyrocephalidae) were also found, but in insufficient number to allow description.