| Résumé en anglais |
Cyprideis torosa (Crustacea, Ostracoda), which is well known for its ability to live in a wide range of salinity and for the variability of its ornamentation, was sampled in the paralic environment. in the Camargue (France) and in the area of Santa-Pola (south-east Spain), in ambient waters whose salinity varies from 1 to 120 g/l. The collected valves. which are smooth, punctuated, reticulated or have nodes on their surface, were analyzed by means of spark-source mass spectrometry. We detected twenty-six chemical elements, and found a clear relationship between the chemical composition, the ornamentation of the valves and the environmental parameters. In the oligohaline environment, the carapaces are thick, reticulated or node-bearing ; they are enriched in Si, Al, Fe, Mn and Ba which are terrigenous elements introduced by fresh water. In an open hypersaline environment, the carapaces are reticulated or punctuated ; they are chemically characterized by P, Sr and Li, typical for concentrated seawater. Finally, in a closed hypersaline environment. the collected individuals are smooth, and their carapaces are very thin ; their content S is related to the abundant organic matter provided by the development of algal and cyanobacterial mats. Salinity and confinement, which are the main parameters characteristic of the studied ecosystems, are also the two factors that control the ornamentation of the valves. The chemical analysis and the field observations reveal that the granulometric characteristics of the microhabitats must be considered because they control the exchanges at the water-sediment interface. The anthropic influences on the chemical composition of the carapace must be emphasized: it is possible to detect industrial and domestic wastes. But the ornamentation of the carapace is not related to these pollutants - chiefly heavy metals (Pb, Ni Sn) - and depends mainly on the open or closed character of the ambient environment. The present method highlights, on the basis of the chemical composition, a relationship between ornamentation and environmental parameters. It is particularly efficient in the interpretation of the morphology of the valves in relation to the palaeoenvironment. |
