Spawning season and temperature relationships for sardine (Sardina pilchardus) in the eastern North Atlantic

Spawning temperature preferences for sardine (Sardina pilchardus) in the eastern North Atlantic were determined from field data. These were compared with climatological temperature cycles (1986-2002) derived from satellite data by geographical region, to predict spawning seasons. Optimum spawning temperatures were determined as 14.0-15.0oC from the English Channel to Portugal and 16.0–18.0oC for all north-west African regions. Spawning seasons were closely related to the general latitudinal trend of the annual temperature cycle, with modification by upwelling in the western Iberian and north-west African regions. Some differences between temperature-based spawning season predictions and field observations were related to variations in seasonal plankton production. Correlations in the annual time-series of favourable spawning temperatures suggested relatively strong linkages between the southern areas from Portugal to Senegal. There was no consistent relationship between annual variations in duration of temperature-predicted spawning seasons and observed field abundance of eggs.

Is there a connection between high transport of water through the Rockall Trough and ecological changes in the North Sea?

Changes in the ecosystem of the North Sea may occur as pronounced inter-annual and step-wise shifts as well as gradual trends. Marked inter-annual shifts have occurred at least twice in the last two decades, the late 1980s and the late 1990s, that appear to reflect an increased inflow of oceanic water and species. Numerical modelling has demonstrated a link between altered rates of inflow of oceanic water into the northern North Sea and a regime shift after 1988. In 1989 and 1997 oceanic species not normally found in the North Sea were observed there, suggesting pulses of oceanic water had entered the basin and triggered the subsequent ecosystem change. The oceanic water has origins mainly west of Britain in the Rockall Trough, where the long-term mean volume transport is around 3.7Sv northwards (1Sv=10 super(6)m super(3)s super(1)), but in early 1989 and early 1998 was observed to be more than twice the mean value, reaching over 7Sv. These periods of high transport coinciding with the inferred pulses of oceanic water into the North Sea suggest a connection through the continental shelf edge current. Copyright 2001 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

The CPR Survey (1948-1997): a gridded database browser of plankton abundance in the North Sea.

The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey provides a unique multi- decadal dataset on the abundance of plankton in the North Sea and North Atlantic and is one of only a few monitoring programmes operating at a large spatio- temporal scale. The results of all samples analysed from the survey since 1946 are stored on an Access Database at the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) in Plymouth. The database is large, containing more than two million records (~80 million data points, if zero results are added) for more than 450 taxonomic entities. An open data policy is operated by SAHFOS. However, the data are not on-line and so access by scientists and others wishing to use the results is not interactive. Requests for data are dealt with by the Database Manager. To facilitate access to the data from the North Sea, which is an area of high research interest, a selected set of data for key phytoplankton and zooplankton species has been processed in a form that makes them readily available on CD for research and other applications. A set of MATLAB tools has been developed to provide an interpolated spatio-temporal description of plankton sampled by the CPR in the North Sea, as well as easy and fast access to users in the form of a browser. Using geostatistical techniques, plankton abundance values have been interpolated on a regular grid covering the North Sea. The grid is established on centres of 1 degree longitude x 0.5 degree latitude (~32 x 30 nautical miles). Based on a monthly temporal resolution over a fifty-year period (1948-1997), 600 distribution maps have been produced for 54 zooplankton species, and 480 distribution maps for 57 phytoplankton species over the shorter period 1958-1997. The gridded database has been developed in a user-friendly form and incorporates, as a package on a CD, a set of options for visualisation and interpretation, including the facility to plot maps for selected species by month, year, groups of months or years, long-term means or as time series and contour plots. This study constitutes the first application of an easily accessed and interactive gridded database of plankton abundance in the North Sea. As a further development the MATLAB browser is being converted to a user- friendly Windows-compatible format (WinCPR) for release on CD and via the Web in 2003.

Congruent trends in long-term zooplankton decline in the north-east Atlantic and basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus ) fishery catches off west Ireland

Trends in basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) fishery catches off Achill Island, west Ireland between 1949 and 1975 were examined in relation to zooplankton (total copepod) abundance in four adjacent sea areas over a 27-year period. The numbers of basking sharks caught and copepod abundance showed downward trends and were positively correlated (r-value range, 0.44–0.74). A possible explanation for the downward trend in shark catches was that progressively fewer basking sharks occurred there between 1956 and 1975 because fewer copepods, their food resource, occurred near the surface off west Ireland over the same period. We suggest that the decline in basking sharks may have been due to a distributional shift of sharks to more productive areas, rather than a highly philopatric, localized stock that was over-exploited.

Pulses in the eastern margin current and warmer water off the north west European shelf linked to North Sea ecosystem changes

The North Sea ecosystem has recently undergone dramatic changes, observed as altered biomass of individual species spanning a range of life forms from algae to birds, with evidence for an approximate doubling in the abundance of both phytoplankton and benthos as part of a regime shift after 1987. Remarkably, these changes, in part recorded in the Phytoplankton Colour Index of the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey, are notable as episodic shifts occurring in 1988/89 and 1998 imposed on a gradual decadal trend. These biological events are shown to be a response to coincident changes in oceanic input and water temperature. Geostrophic transports have been calculated from a hydrographic section across the Rockall Trough, and a time series of seasurface temperature derived from satellite observations. The 2 pulses of oceanic incursion into the North Sea in circa 1988 and 1998 coincided with strong northward advection of anomalously warm water at the edge of the continental shelf.

A regime shift in the North Sea circa 1988 linked to changes in the North Sea horse mackerel fishery

After 1987, Phytoplankton Colour (a visual estimate of chlorophyll) measured on samples taken by the continuous plankton recorder (CPR) in the North Sea increased substantially, both in level and seasonal extent, compared to earlier years since 1946. Many species of phytoplankton and zooplankton showed marked changes in abundance at about the same time. These events coincided with a large increase in catches of the western stock of the horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus L.) in the northern North Sea reflecting a northerly expansion of the stock along the shelf edge from the Bay of Biscay to the North Sea after 1987. Using a 3D hydrodynamic model, with input from measured wind parameters, monthly transport of oceanic water into the North Sea has been calculated for the period 1976–1994, integrated for a section from Orkney to Shetland to Norway. A substantial increase in oceanic inflow occurred in the winter months, December to March, from 1988. Higher sea surface temperatures were also measured after 1987 especially in spring and summer months. These biological and physical events may be a response to observed changes in pressure distribution over the North Atlantic. From 1988 onwards, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, the pressure difference between Iceland and the Azores, increased to the highest positive level observed in this century. Positive NAO anomalies are associated with stronger and more southerly tracks of the westerly winds and higher temperatures in western Europe. These changing wind distributions may have led to an increase in the northerly advection of water along the western edge of the European shelf and may have assisted the migration of the horse mackerel. This study is possibly a unique demonstration of a correlation between three different trophic levels of a marine ecosystem and hydrographic and atmospheric events at decadal and regional scales. The results emphasise the importance of maintaining into the future long term programmes such as the CPR.

Ecological effects of the North Atlantic oscillation

Climatic oscillations as reflected in atmospheric modes such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) may be seen as a proxy for regulating forces in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Our review highlights the variety of climate processes related to the NAO and the diversity in the type of ecological responses that different biological groups can display. Available evidence suggests that the NAO influences ecological dynamics in both marine and terrestrial systems, and its effects may be seen in variation at the individual, population and community levels. The ecological responses to the NAO encompass changes in timing of reproduction, population dynamics, abundance, spatial distribution and interspecific relationships such as competition and predator-prey relationships. This indicates that local responses to large-scale changes may be more subtle than previously suggested. We propose that the NAO effects may be classified as three types: direct, indirect and integrated. Such a classification will help the design and interpretation of analyses attempting to relate ecological changes to the NAO and, possibly, to climate in general.

Biodiversity of North Atlantic and North Sea calanoid copepods

Spatial patterns in pelagic biodiversity are the result of factors acting from a global to a local scale. The global patterns have been studied intensively using taxa such as foraminifera and euphausiids. However, these studies do not allow direct comparisons of neritic and oceanic regions or examination of relationships between local and regional patterns of pelagic diversity. Here we present a map of the diversity of calanoid copepods, a key planktonic group, summarising 40 yr of continuous monthly investigations in the North Atlantic and North Sea. The high number of samples (168 162) allowed mesoscale patterns in diversity to be detected for the first time at an ocean-basin level. Our results demonstrate pronounced local spatial variability in planktonic diversity and refine previous global studies at a lower resolution. They form a baseline at which long-term changes in planktonic diversity can be better assessed and ecosystem management plans implemented.

North Atlantic and North Sea climate change: curl up, shut down, NAO and ocean colour

The strength of the North Atlantic Current (NAC) (based on sea-surface elevation sloped derived from altimeter data) is correlated with westerly winds (based on North Atlantic Oscillation [NAO] Index data over a nine year period [1992-2002] with 108 monthly values). The data time window includes the major change in climate forcing over the last 100 years (1995 to 1996). It is shown that the NAO Index can be used for early earning of system failure for the NAC. The correlation response or early warning time scale for western Europe and south England is six months. The decay scale for the NAC and Subtropical Gyre circulation is estimated as three years. Longer period altimeter elevation/circulation changes are discussed. The sea-surface temperature (SST) response of the North Sea to negative and positive NAO conditions is examined. The overall temperature response for the central North Sea to NAO index forcing, reflecting wind induced inflow, shelf circulation and local climate forcing, is similar to 5 months. In years with strong North Atlantic winter wind induced inflow, under marked NAO positive conditions, mean temperatures ( similar to 10.5 degree C) are about 1 degree C warmer than under negative conditions. In 1996 under extreme negative winter NAO conditions, the North Sea circulation stopped, conditions near the Dogger Bank became more continentally influenced and the winter (March) temperature fell to 3.1 degree C whereas in 1995 under NAO positive winter conditions the minimum temperature was 6.4 degree C (February). Seasonal advance of North Atlantic and North Sea temperature is derived in relation to temperature change. Temperature change and monthly NAO Index are discussed with respect to phytoplankton blooms, chlorophyll-a measurements, ocean colour data and the anomalous north-eastern Atlantic 2002 spring/summer bloom SeaWiFS chlorophyll concentrations.

Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space?

The analysis of remotely sensed altimeter data and in situ measurements shows that ERS 2 radar can monitor the ocean permanent thermocline from space. The remotely sensed sea level anomaly data account for similar to 2/3 of the temperature variance or vertical displacement of isotherms at a depth of similar to 550 m in the Subtropical North Atlantic Ocean near 32.5 degree N. This depth corresponds closely to the region of maximum temperature gradient in the permanent thermocline where near semi-annual internal vertical displacements reach 200 to 300 m. The gradient of the altimeter sea level anomaly data correlates well with measured ocean currents to a depth of 750 m. It is shown that observations from space can account for similar to 3/4 of the variance of ocean currents measured in situ in the permanent thermocline over a 2-y period. The magnification of the permanent thermocline displacement with respect to the displacement of the sea surface was determined as - x650 and gives a measure of the ratio of barotropic to baroclinic decay scale of geostrophic current with depth. The overall results are used to interpret an eight year altimeter data tie series in the Subtropical North Atlantic at 32.5 degree N which shows a dominant wave or eddy period near 200 days, rather than semi-annual and increases in energy propagating westward in 1995 (west of 25 degree W). The effects of rapid North Atlantic Oscillation climate change on ocean circulation are discussed. The altimeter data for the Atlantic were Fourier analysed. It is shown how the annual and semi-annual components relate to the seasonal maximum cholorophyll-a SeaWiFS signal in tropical and equatorial regions due to the lifting of the thermocline caused by seasonally varying ocean currents forced by wind stress.

Ocean structure and climate (Eastern North Atlantic): in situ measurement and remote sensing

Structure and climate of the east North Atlantic are appraised within a framework of in situ measurement and altimeter remote sensing from 0 degree - 60 degree N. Long zonal expendable bathythermograph /conductivity-temperature-depth probe sections show repeating internal structure in the North Atlantic Ocean. Drogued buoys and subsurface floats give westward speeds for eddies and wavelike structure. Records from longterm current meter deployments give the periodicity of the repeating structure. Eddy and wave characteristics of period, size or wavelength, westward propagation speed, and mean currents are derived at 20 degree N, 26 degree N, 32.5 degree N, 36 degree N and 48 degree N from in situ measurements in the Atlantic Ocean. It is shown that ocean wave and eddy-like features measured in situ correlate with altimeter structure. Interior ocean wave crests or cold dome-like temperature structures are cyclonic and have negative surface altimeter anomalies; mesoscale internal wave troughs or warm structures are anticyclonic and have positive surface height anomalies. Along the Eastern Boundary, flows and temperature climate are examined in terms of sla and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) Index. Longterm changes in ocean climate and circulation are derived from sla data. It is shown that longterm changes from 1992 to 2002 in the North Atlantic Current and the Subtropical Gyre transport determined from sla data correlate with winter NAO Index such that maximum flow conditions occurred in 1995 and 2000. Minimum circulation conditions occurred between 1996-1998. Years of extreme negative winter NAO Index result in enhanced poleward flow along the Eastern Boundary and anomalous winter warming along the West European Continental Slope as was measured in 1990, 1996, 1998 and 2001.

Genetic structure of whiting (Merlangius merlangus) in the north east Atlantic and adjacent waters

Accurate identification of stock boundaries is essential for efficient fisheries management, hence the present study focused on the genetic structure of whiting. To this aim, 488 individuals collected from the southern Bay of Biscay to the southern Norwegian coast were genotyped using seven microsatellites. A low level of genetic structuring was detected in Atlantic waters since only the Bay of Biscay differentiated from more northern samples. The lack of genetic structure along the western margin of the British Isles is consistent with a high level of passive transport of pelagic eggs and larvae due to the combined influence of the North Atlantic Current and the Shelf Edge Current. High levels of dispersal could also occur between the western British Isles and the North Sea through both the branching of the North Atlantic Current into the northern North Sea and from the residual current flowing from the English Channel to the Southern Bight. In contrast, a significant genetic structure was identified within the North Sea, and this may be associated with the complex oceanography of this basin and retention systems reducing larval dispersal. In addition, considering also genetic, phenotypic and tag-recapture data collected on whiting, a learned homing behaviour of adults toward spawning areas may be hypothesised.

Phytoplankton change in the North Atlantic

A marked increase in global temperature over the last century was confirmed by the second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Here we report significant positive and negative linear trends from 1948 to 1995 in phytoplankton measured by the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey in the northeast Atlantic and North Sea that might reflect a response to changing climate on a timescale of decades. Spreading of unusually cold waters from the Arctic might have contributed to the decline in phytoplankton north of 59o N. Further south, phytoplankton season length and abundance seem to have increased.

Exceptional abundance of the snake pipefish (Entelurus aequoreus) in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean

Pipefish (Syngnathidae) have occurred with unprecedented frequency in Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) samples to the west of the British Isles from 2003 to 2005. Identification by mtDNA sequencing established that they were snake pipefish, Entelurus aequoreus. The geographical range of the records were from the outer continental shelf of the Celtic Sea and north-west of Ireland to the mid-Atlantic Ridge between 40° and 57°N, with the greatest abundance near the shelf edge and adjacent oceanic waters south of Ireland and west of Brittany. There were records in every month from February to November but most were in late spring and summer. A proposed mechanism for the increase in abundance of the species is that recent climate change has had beneficial impacts on the reproduction of adults and the survival of larvae and juveniles.