Current observations near the continental slope off Portugal

Some current meter data obtained from a mooring at 2450 m water depth near the continental slope off Portugal are presented. The mean currents at five levels with observations are northward. Mean speeds in the core of the Mediterranean Water exceed speeds at shallower levels by 2 to 3 cm/sec, indicating advection connected to this specific water mass. The current variability is dominated by semi-diurnal tidal components. Normal mode analysis reveals a predominant mode of order 2, representing 48% of the total kinetic tidal energy. Results for the barotropic tidal component are in good agreement with earlier predictions for this area. The motion at higher frequencies w in the internal gravity wave band can be well described by a w**-2 power law for the energy density spectrum. This result is consistent with earlier observations in other parts of the ocean.

Glacial North Atlantic: Sea surface conditions reconstructed by GLAMAP 2000

The response of the tropical ocean to global climate change and the extent of sea ice in the glacial nordic seas belong to the great controversies in paleoclimatology. Our new reconstruction of peak glacial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Atlantic is based on census counts of planktic foraminifera, using the Maximum Similarity Technique Version 28 (SIMMAX-28) modern analog technique with 947 modern analog samples and 119 well-dated sediment cores. Our study compares two slightly different scenarios of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Environmental Processes of the Ice Age: Land, Oceans, Glaciers (EPILOG), and Glacial Atlantic Ocean Mapping (GLAMAP 2000) time slices. The comparison shows that the maximum LGM cooling in the Southern Hemisphere slightly preceeded that in the north. In both time slices sea ice was restricted to the north western margin of the nordic seas during glacial northern summer, while the central and eastern parts were ice-free. During northern glacial winter, sea ice advanced to the south of Iceland and Faeroe. In the central northern North Atlantic an anticyclonic gyre formed between 45° and 60°N, with a cool water mass centered west of Ireland, where glacial cooling reached a maximum of >12°C. In the subtropical ocean gyres the new reconstruction supports the glacial-to-interglacial stability of SST as shown by CLIMAP Project Members (CLIMAP) [1981]. The zonal belt of minimum SST seasonality between 2° and 6°N suggests that the LGM caloric equator occupied the same latitude as today. In contrast to the CLIMAP reconstruction, the glacial cooling of the tropical east Atlantic upwelling belt reached up to 6°-8°C during Northern Hemisphere summer. Differences between these SIMMAX-based and published U37[k]- and Mg/Ca-based equatorial SST records are ascribed to strong SST seasonalities and SST signals that were produced by different planktic species groups during different seasons.

Distribution of planktic foraminifera in surface sediments of the Atlantic Ocean

We present a data set of 738 planktonic foraminiferal species counts from sediment surface samples of the eastern North Atlantic and the South Atlantic between 87°N and 40°S, 35°E and 60°W including published Climate: Long-Range Investigation, Mapping, and Prediction (CLIMAP) data. These species counts are linked to Levitus's [1982] modern water temperature data for the four caloric seasons, four depth ranges (0, 30, 50, and 75 m), and the combined means of those depth ranges. The relation between planktonic foraminiferal assemblages and sea surface temperature (SST) data is estimated using the newly developed SIMMAX technique, which is an acronym for a modern analog technique (MAT) with a similarity index, based on (1) the scalar product of the normalized faunal percentages and (2) a weighting procedure of the modern analog's SSTs according to the inverse geographical distances of the most similar samples. Compared to the classical CLIMAP transfer technique and conventional MAT techniques, SIMMAX provides a more confident reconstruction of paleo-SSTs (correlation coefficient is 0.994 for the caloric winter and 0.993 for caloric summer). The standard deviation of the residuals is 0.90°C for caloric winter and 0.96°C for caloric summer at 0-m water depth. The SST estimates reach optimum stability (standard deviation of the residuals is 0.88°C) at the average 0- to 75-m water depth. Our extensive database provides SST estimates over a range of -1.4 to 27.2°C for caloric winter and 0.4 to 28.6°C for caloric summer, allowing SST estimates which are especially valuable for the high-latitude Atlantic during glacial times.

Long-finned pilot whale population diversity and structure in Atlantic waters assessed through biogeochemical and genetic markers

Acknowledgements. Cetacean samples were collected under the auspices of stranding monitoring programs run by the Sociedade Portuguesa de Vida Selvagem, the Coordinadora para o Estudio dos Mamíferos Mariños (supported by the regional government Xunta de Galicia), the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme and the Scottish Agriculture College Veterinary Science Division (jointly funded by Defra and the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales), the Marine Mammals Research Group of the Institute of Marine Research (Norway), the Museum of Natural History of the Faroe Islands and the International Fund for Animal Welfare Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Program (USA). The authors thank all the members of these institutions and organizations for their assistance with data and sample collection. S.S.M., P.M.F. and M.F. were supported by PhD grants from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (POPH/FSE ref SFRH/BD/ 38735/ 2007, SFRH/BD/36766/2007 and SFRH/BD/30240/ 2006, respectively). A.L. was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (ref SFRH/BPD/82407/2011). The work related to strandings and tissue collection in Portugal was partially supported by the SafeSea project EEAGrants PT 0039 (supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism), the MarPro project Life09 NAT/PT/000038 (funded by the European Union program LIFE+) and the project CetSenti FCT RECI/AAG-GLO/0470/2012 (FCOMP- 01-0124-FEDER-027472) (funded by the program COMPETE and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia). G.J.P. thanks the University of Aveiro and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Portugal) for financial support. The authors acknowledge the assistance of the chemical analysts at Marine Scotland Science with the fatty acid analysis.

Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Class II sequence polymorphism in long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) from the North Atlantic

Funding Silvia S. Monteiro and Marisa Ferreira were supported by a Ph.D. grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (ref SFRH/BD/38735/2007 and SFRH/BD/30240/2006, respectively). Alfredo López was supported by a postdoctoral grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (ref SFRH/BPD/82407/2011). Catarina Eira is supported by CESAM (UID/AMB/50017), from FCT/MEC through national funds and FEDER (PT2020, Compete 2020). The work related with strandings and tissue collection in Portugal was partially supported by the SafeSea Project EEAGrants PT 0039 (supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism), by the Project MarPro–Life09 NAT/PT/000038 (funded by the European Union–Program Life+) and by the project CetSenti FCT RECI/AAG-GLO/0470/2012; FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027472 (Funded by the Program COMPETE and Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia).

Long-finned pilot whale population diversity and structure in Atlantic waters assessed through biogeochemical and genetic markers

Acknowledgements. Cetacean samples were collected under the auspices of stranding monitoring programs run by the Sociedade Portuguesa de Vida Selvagem, the Coordinadora para o Estudio dos Mamíferos Mariños (supported by the regional government Xunta de Galicia), the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme and the Scottish Agriculture College Veterinary Science Division (jointly funded by Defra and the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales), the Marine Mammals Research Group of the Institute of Marine Research (Norway), the Museum of Natural History of the Faroe Islands and the International Fund for Animal Welfare Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Program (USA). The authors thank all the members of these institutions and organizations for their assistance with data and sample collection. S.S.M., P.M.F. and M.F. were supported by PhD grants from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (POPH/FSE ref SFRH/BD/ 38735/ 2007, SFRH/BD/36766/2007 and SFRH/BD/30240/ 2006, respectively). A.L. was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (ref SFRH/BPD/82407/2011). The work related to strandings and tissue collection in Portugal was partially supported by the SafeSea project EEAGrants PT 0039 (supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism), the MarPro project Life09 NAT/PT/000038 (funded by the European Union program LIFE+) and the project CetSenti FCT RECI/AAG-GLO/0470/2012 (FCOMP- 01-0124-FEDER-027472) (funded by the program COMPETE and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia). G.J.P. thanks the University of Aveiro and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Portugal) for financial support. The authors acknowledge the assistance of the chemical analysts at Marine Scotland Science with the fatty acid analysis.

Biomonitoring atlantic deep waters through the assessment of shark biomarkers

Os ecossistemas marinhos estão continuamente a ser sobrecarregados com contaminantes derivados de atividades humanas resultando numa dimunuição dos recursos marinhos. A exposição crónica a contaminantes, como metais pesados e poluentes orgânicos persistentes (POPs), pode afetar negativamente o ambiente marinho e, eventualmente, também os seres humanos. Grandes predadores pelágicos, como tubarões, são particularmente afetados pela poluição, principalmente através de processos de bioacumulação e biomagnificação. A fim de resolver o problema acima mencionado, são necessários estudos de avaliação de risco ambiental para prever os padrões de contaminação e evitar efeitos adversos que muitas vezes só são visíveis quando é tarde demais para tomar ações preventivas. Análises de concentração de químicos fornecem-nos informações sobre o nível de contaminação no ambiente; no entanto, podem não ser suficientes para entender como os organismos estão a ser afetados e há uma necessidade de relacionar essas quantificações com parâmetros biológicos. A avaliação de parâmetros bioquímicos, como a atividade enzimática, pode fornecer uma visão mais sensível e precisa sobre os níveis de contaminação. Tubarões como Prionace glauca são predadores de topo e portanto extremamente importantes nos ecossistemas marinhos. A sua grande distribuição, juntamente com o fácil acesso a amostras, fornecidas por barcos de pesca comercial, tornou-as um alvo favorável para utilização em ensaios toxicológicos. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o potencial de P. glauca como uma espécie sentinela para pesquisas de monitorização de poluição, através do desenvolvimento e da aplicação de biomarcadores apropriados. As amostras de tecidos foram recolhidas de vinte tintureiras na costa de Portugal, a bordo de um barco comercial de pesca de espadarte. Níveis de POPs, assim como parâmetros bioquímicos relacionados com destoxificação, stress oxidativo e funções neuronais, foram medidos. A caracterização prévia da atividade das colinesterases no músculo e cérebro de P. glauca foi feita, já que não havia dados disponíveis sobre esta matéria. Esta caracterização foi essencial devido à existência de três classes de ChE conhecidas em peixes, acetilcolinesterase (AChE), butirilcolinesterase (BChE) e propionilcolinesterase (PChE), todas bastante suscetíveis a agentes anticolinérgicos, e outros contaminantes, tornando-as biomarcadores relevantes em estudos de monitorização de poluição. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que o cérebro de P. glauca aparenta possuir ChEs atípicas, revelando propriedades mistas de AChE e BChE e, que o músculo aparentemente possui maioritariamente AChE. A exposição in vitro a chloropyrifos-oxon provocou inibição de ChE das tintureiras em ambos os tecidos, com o cérebro sendo o tecido mais sensível e, por isso, o mais adequado para a detecção de compostos anticolinérgicos no ambiente. Este estudo indica que a actividade de ChE em tintureiras tem potencial para ser usada como um biomarcador sensível e fiável em programas de biomonitorização marinha. O fígado apresentou níveis mais elevados de POP, quando comparado com músculo. Foram encontradas correlações positivas e negativas entre os parâmetros de contaminação e de stresse oxidativo. Este estudo destaca a importância da caracterização de Che antes de a usar como um biomarcador em estudos ecotoxicológicos, e demonstra o grande potencial de P. glauca como espécie modelo e como sentinela de poluição marinha, através do uso de biomarcadores adequados.

TPEA good practice guide: lessons for cross-border MSP from transboundary planning in the European Atlantic

This Good Practice Guide is the outcome of a project co-funded by the European Commission (DG Mare) called Transboundary Planning in the European Atlantic (TPEA), which ran from December 2012 to May 2014. The aim of the project was to demonstrate approaches to transboundary maritime spatial planning (MSP) in the European Atlantic region. This is one of a series of projects exploring the opportunities and challenges of carrying out cross-border MSP in Europe’s regional seas, making connections with integrated coastal management (ICM). TPEA focused on two pilot areas: one involving Portugal and Spain and the other Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite distinct identities in the region relating to different traditions of planning and stages of MSP implementation, TPEA worked towards a commonly-agreed approach to transboundary MSP and developed principles of cross-border working which it is hoped will be of wider benefit. This guide presents these principles, illustrated with examples from the TPEA project.

Distribution of meiobenthos in sediment samples of the northeastern Atlantic

The meiofauna of the deep sea areas (800 - 5500 m) between Madeira and Lisbon was quantitatively investigated during "Meteor" cruises in 1970 and 1971. With respect to numbers and biomass the meiofauna (especially nematodes and harpacticoid copepods) of the investigated areas is relatively poor averaging about 66,000 individuals per m**2 and 34 mg per m**2 wet weight biomass (polychaetes and foraminifera excluded). Regional differences are more pronounced in the investigated areas than differences due to depth. A comparison with the results of other authors from other areas confirms the regional variations in the meiofauna abundance of the deep sea.