Paramétrisation de la nutrition azotée et phosphorée d'Alexandrium catenella, microalgue toxique responsable d'efflorescences dans la lagune de Thau

In the Thau lagoon, blooms of the toxic microalgae Alexandrium catenella have induced regular losses of shellfish production since 1998 due to bioaccumulation of toxins in oysters and mussels. This thesis was conducted to enhance knowledge of toxic bloom development regulation by environmental factors, focusing on nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients influence on A. catenella growth. These works highlighted a large variety of potential nutritive sources for this species and a major part of these nutrients appeared to be potentially regenerated in the water column. Different organic sources may contribute to the growth of A. catenella from diverse nutrition processes: direct absorption through the cell membrane (for urea), enzymatic degradation in the extracellular medium (for dissolved organic phosphorus) or phagocytosis (for ingestion of cyanobacteria). These mixotrophic capacities may represent competitive advantages for this species allowing the development of huge blooms; another competitive advantage may correspond to the potential use of nitrogen nutrients at night. A high complexity in nutrition processes of this species was revealed through observation of temporal variations in uptake capacities, excretion/absorption phenomena and interactions between nutrient uptake processes. The parametrization of a part of this complexity allowed the definition of mathematical formulations which can be integrated in a future growth model.