. "Bigot et al. (2006)" . "In order to give a description of the soft bottom macrobenthic communities from Reunion Island (tropical Indian Ocean) the coastal benthic environment was investigated following a bathymetric gradient in 1994 on the Bois Rouge / St Andre sector. This baseline study of the macrobenthos will be used as part of a long-term monitoring programme focused on the impact of the industrial sugar cane processing activity. Eleven stations at 2 sites ranging from 20 to 140 m depth were surveyed once before the start of industrial outfalls, on a potential impacted area (Bois Rouge site, BR) and on a control site (St Andre, SA). Among the 81 species recorded, polychaetes, were the most abundant with more than 40 species (77% of the abundance), followed by many cnidarians, crustacean, bivalves and sipunculans. The macrobenthic abundance, biomass and species richness showed clear bathymetric trends. The analyses conducted on the sediments and macrofauna yielded a progressive depth cline, with three macrobenthic assemblages recorded along the Eastern coastal shelf of Reunion Island. The community analysis, confirmed the progressive depth gradient in both sites. Our results contribute to the knowledge on biodiversity of tropical soft bottom macrofauna on little studied tropical coasts, and illustrate a traditional framework of the macrobenthic community composition in an Indian Ocean coastal high-energy environment." . "In order to give a description of the soft bottom macrobenthic communities from Reunion Island (tropical Indian Ocean) the coastal benthic environment was investigated following a bathymetric gradient in 1994 on the Bois Rouge / St Andre sector. This baseline study of the macrobenthos will be used as part of a long-term monitoring programme focused on the impact of the industrial sugar cane processing activity. Eleven stations at 2 sites ranging from 20 to 140 m depth were surveyed once before the start of industrial outfalls, on a potential impacted area (Bois Rouge site, BR) and on a control site (St Andre, SA). Among the 81 species recorded, polychaetes, were the most abundant with more than 40 species (77% of the abundance), followed by many cnidarians, crustacean, bivalves and sipunculans. The macrobenthic abundance, biomass and species richness showed clear bathymetric trends. The analyses conducted on the sediments and macrofauna yielded a progressive depth cline, with three macrobenthic assemblages recorded along the Eastern coastal shelf of Reunion Island. The community analysis, confirmed the progressive depth gradient in both sites. Our results contribute to the knowledge on biodiversity of tropical soft bottom macrofauna on little studied tropical coasts, and illustrate a traditional framework of the macrobenthic community composition in an Indian Ocean coastal high-energy environment." . "2006"^^ . "2006"^^ . . "Bigot et al. (2006)" . . "Bigot, L., Quod, J. & Conand, C. 2006. Bathymetric distribution of soft bottom tropical macrobenthos from the exposed east coast of Reunion Island (southwest Indian Ocean). Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 5(1): 1-15." .