Relations entre l’état d’une ressource et son exploitation via la compréhension et la formalisation des interactions de socio-écosystèmes. Application à la palourde japonaise (Venerupis philippinarum) du bassin d’Arcachon.

Significant component of the marine benthic ecosystem, exploited bivalves are mainly located inside the coastal area, which temporal and spatial features generate natural population fluctuations and contribute to considerable biomass and demographic structure changes added to anthropogenic activities’ effects (fishing, pollution,…). Understanding of the relationships between the species, its environment and its exploitation is crucial and their formalization, including for management purposes, requires development of mathematical models that aim at describing the functioning of the system, to explain the observed phenomenon in terms of cause and effect or predict effects of new causes. Originating from venerid culture trials carried out in France in the 80s, Manila clam (Venerupis philippinarum) is an important economic resource for coastal areas. Inside the Arcachon Bay, professional fishermen catch about 600 tonnes annually. Whereas the minimum legal harvest size is set by European legislation, complementary management measures are established by regional and departmental professional organizations in the framework of a co-management approach involving professional, scientists and administration. This doctoral thesis is part of this objective of co-management by integrating life history traits of the population in a simulation model used for management purposes. At local scale, conventional shape analysis methods using metric weights and measures establish allometric relationships between pairs of descriptors with a significant morphological change detected from a length of ca. 16-20 mm. Intra-site phenotypic variability is structured in three morphological patterns. Occurrence of globular character inside the Arcachon Bay, described here for the first time, is associated to low densities and to high proportions of individuals affected by brown muscle disease, an emerging disease in the Bay. At the scale of the French Atlantic coast, three morphological ratios (elongation, valve density and weight related to length indices) discriminate populations from northern (Banc du Guer and Morbihan Gulf) and southern sites (Bellevue and Arcachon Bay). Significant relationships between those ratios and trophic conditions expressed by chlorophyll a concentrations, as well as a link between weight surface ratios and percentage of seawater temperature ranging from 12 to 20°C are demonstrated. Complexity of factors involved in intrasite and intersite morphology suggests intervention of other factors such as sediment characteristics, which is supported by a first outlines analysis. This work confirmed the importance of seawater temperature on stock state variables particularly during the reproduction period. For those same variables, a major role of trophic conditions has also been demonstrated with answers depending on development stages. Part of this result contributed to modifications within the simulation model dedicated to this population. The modifications mainly concerned integration of trophic resources effect on recruitment level, juveniles’ production and growth rates per length class revision, accuracy of catches by professional fishermen and addition of a price effect on the fishing strategies. In conjonction with the model validation, the sensitivity analysis undertaken highlighted the sensitivity of the model to environmental parameters and to variables related to the younger stages. In a co-management context, this tool was used to perform projections on the future of the population according to various management scenarios. The differences in the patterns of biomass evolution in response to those action schemes were used by the stakeholders to identify management measures currently in force. In the end the model reinforces the engaged participatory process.