Biomasse et répartition de Caulerpa taxifolia dans les lagons de Nouvelle-Calédonie

The biology and ecology of the green tropical algae Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh have been studied in the lagoons of New Caledonia (South Pacific) with a view to understanding the invasion which began in 1984 in the northwest Mediterranean Sea. A total of 1772 stations were used to establish the spatial and depth distribution of this species, which can be considered as common in New Caledonia, since it has been found in 9 % of the stations. C. taxifolia occurred mainly at depths between 10 and 30 m. Monthly sampling has shown that its growth is maximum during the southern hemisphere spring. From 180 stations randomly sampled in the southwest lagoon we obtained a mean biomass of 0.046 g afdw/m(2), which accounts for only 0.18 % of the macrophytobenthic biomass in this lagoon. Nevertheless the species constitutes a food source which is specific to the small herbivorous mollusc sacoglosses.