Jean-François Rontani

TL;DR: In this article, a review of current functioning and responses of Mediterranean marine biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems with respect to key natural and anthropogenic drivers and to consider the ecosystems' responses to likely changes in physical, chemical and socio-economical forcings induced by global change and by growing anthropogenic pressure at the regional scale.

TL;DR: This paper reviews recent studies of phytol degradation and provides an update on more classical studies and examines the different biotic and abiotic processes which may play a significant role during the diagenesis of this widely distributed isoprenoid alcohol.

TL;DR: A study of the sedimentary lipids of coastal hypersaline microbial mats sampled in the Camargue (France) allowed identification of the predominant inputs of organic matter and provided insights about early diagenetic processes, and the biomarker profiles revealed a surprising diversity of organic Matter sources.

TL;DR: The data show that haptophyte algae are a possible source of the alkenols found in some marine sediments, but the small amounts found suggest that other sources such as bacterial reduction of alkenones are more likely in highly reducing sediments.

TL;DR: Changes in phytoplankton composition and degradation of particulate organic matter (POM) in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea were studied using time-series sediment trap samples collected during the spring of 2003 at the DYFAMED station, and sterol degradation products appeared to be less suited than oxidation products of monounsaturated fatty acids for the precise monitoring of the degradation state of POM.