These ecosystems are of considerable importance for the development of many marine species that have nursery or rearing areas in many coastal, nearshore or land-sea interface habitats (whether for fishing or shellfish farming). Shellfish production, for example, may have evolutionary scenarios that are profoundly affected by climate change: In a context of degradation of estuarine and coastal habitats linked to an accumulation of anthropic pressures, it is becoming increasingly vital to estimate the vulnerability and the capacity of adaptation of these socio-ecosystems to global change, and in particular to evaluate the sustainability of natural or cultivated resource exploitation systems in this context.

Key words: Vulnerability of socio-ecosystems to global change; resilience of marine living resources to global change; effects on the physiology of natural and cultivated organisms; modification of food chains and biocenoses; effects and impacts on new and traditional fisheries and aquaculture activities.