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Morocco shelters lagoons, estuaries and bays along its paralic coasts which are among the most productive in the world. The Bay of Dakhla is the longest and the most important site in Morocco due to its halieutic richness. In fact, this bay is an ecosystem with great potential in terms of aquaculture, mainly shellfish farming, and shelters favorable zones for tapiculture, mytiliculture and ostreiculture, in accordance with ecological planning. A hydrological study (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll "a", suspended matter and organic matter) was conducted on a breeding project of the cupped oyster (Crassostrea gigas) installed on the Duna Blanca site since April 2003. A seasonal follow-up of sediment structure was carried out involving granulometric and metallic studies. The hydrological sampling was performed monthly on the surface and at the bottom, during spring tides, low tide and high tide. The results confirmed that the site encompasses a wealth of nutritive elements and a significant chlorophyll-rich biomass. A gradient of hypersalinity is well correlated with seasonal variation of the temperature. The sedimentary structure ranges from muddy-sandy to sandy type. The metal concentrations in the sediments never exceeded the toxicity thresholds. However, the site's production potential cannot be limitless and could be affected by the extension and installation of new conchylaceous farms.

The sometimes sharp thermal variations and irregular precipitations and force concentrated over short periods characterize the Mediterranean climate. The structure of the zooplanktonic settlement was analyzed during one year in three Algerian reservoirs (lakes) with different geographical and climatic situation, in relation to abiotic factors (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, suspended matter, carbonates, nitrogenized and phosphorated nutritive salts). A canonical correspondence analysis was used to estimate the influence of the abiotic factors on the temporal distribution. The studied lakes are located, on the one hand, in northern Algeria, in a sub-humid area (Lake Boukourdane) and, on the other hand, in the South of the country, in the arid region (Foum El Ghorza and Djorf Torba). Analysis of the environmental parameters indicates that there is a seasonal variation in the three reservoirs. In Lake Foum El Ghorza, the temperature and hydrology variations, linked with the arid climate, affects the concentration of dissolved oxygen, which strongly decreases (1.5 mg/l), involving a pH reduction; suspended matters are sometimes high, coming from the stripped catchment area, causing a turbidity in this not very deep lake. The study of the distribution of the species allowed us to highlight a seasonal temporal variation. Lake Boukourdane, in the sub-humid zone, has an increased specific richness (SR=13). The various species evolve in alternation during the annual cycle. The representative species of this lake is Copidodiaptomus numidicus, characteristic of the rainy and endemic zone of the western Mediterranean; it is dominant (67%) in the spring. The Stenothermal species Diaphanosoma brachyurum, endemic of hot waters, is common to the two lakes; it evolves particularly in the summer (51.3%) at Boukourdane, whereas it is perennial and dominant (55%) in the spring at Djorf Torba. The specific richness is lower in Djorf Torba (SR=7) and in Foum El Ghorza (SR=6). The species collected in these two lakes are common and cosmopolitan, but they are adapted to the extreme conditions of the arid climate. Nevertheless, the species evolving in Lake Foum El Ghorza have undergone a significant decline, which has reduced the number of species and their density in the summer-autumn period. Thus, we can say that in the studied lakes, the hydrological factors and the temperature related to the Mediterranean climate would be two of the principal causes of the temporal distribution of the species.

Tomato seedlings (Lycopersicon esculentum), initially cultivated in a basic nutrient solution during 12 days, were treated with increasing CdCl(2) concentrations for 10 days. The results showed that cadmium inhibited the weight growth depending on the metal concentration and the plant organ. In the presence of 20 microM CdCl(2), the addition of calcium, 0.1 to 10 mM of CaCl(2) in the culture medium, improved especially the biomass production and the mineral composition of the plants in concomitance with an increase in the contents of photosynthetic pigments. Histological study at the hypocotyle level revealed that cadmium (20 microM) induced a restriction of the tissue territories as well as meristem formations differentiating in a root structure. At this concentration, the addition of CaCl(2) (5 microM) was characterized by an opposite effect with absence of meristem structures. The overall results suggest that the alteration of some plant growth process after exposure to cadmium can be attenuated by an adequate calcium contribution in culture medium.

Zea mays L. seedlings were cultivated for 10 days with submission to 4 s illumination periods interspersed with dark periods varying in length from 30 min to 6 h depending on the lot analyzed. The results show that, for the case in which the dark periods were shorter than 1 h, the relative proportions of different spectroscopic chlorophyll forms (maxima at 662, 670, 677.5, and 684 nm) were constant. For longer durations of darkness between illuminations, the relative proportion of the form Da670 increases, while that of Ca684 diminishes with the length of darkness; to a lesser extent, the relative proportion of Ca662 increases and a form Ca692 disappears. A scheme is proposed to explain the evolution of the relative proportions of the different spectral forms. The different chlorophyll holochromes present in the chloroplasts were also analysed. If the dark period was longer than 1 h, chlorophyll was associated with peptide chains of molecular weights 21 000 and 29 000. If the dark period was shorter than 1 h chlorophyll was associated with four peptide chains of molecular weights 21 000, 25 000, 29 000 and 70 000. The results taken together demonstrate that a given spectral chlorophyll a form cannot be associated with a definite chlorophyll holochrome.