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Seasonal variability of copepod abundance in the Balearic region (Western Mediterranean) as an indicator of basin scale hydrological changes

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Abstract

Spatial and temporal changes of the copepod community have been investigated and related to the environmental variability of the Balearic Sea (Western Mediterranean). The period studied spans from 1994 to 1999 during which we analyzed the abundance and structure copepod variability over a cross-shore transect. Results showed a close link between hydrological changes and the variations of copepod abundance. The synchronous variability of copepods and hydrography indicated the rapid response of this zooplankton group to the inflow of cold and warm water masses coming through the study area. Cluster analysis revealed four main copepod assemblages that distinguished the coastal from the oceanic species and those species with different water masses preference. The copepod assemblage composed of Calanus helgolandicus, Clausocalanus arcuicornis, C. pergens, C. paululus, Calocalanus tenuis and Pleuromamma gracilis was associated with cool salty waters, whereas the assemblage formed by Temora stylifera, C. pavo, C. styliremis, Centropages bradyi and Acartia danae was related to warmer less saline Mediterranean waters. Moreover, it is suggested that changes in sea water temperature and salinity are linked to large-scale changes likely occurring at a basin scale, which is reflected in the Western Mediterranean mesoscale hydrographic changes. Therefore, it is stressed that changes in the Balearic copepod community can be used as potential tracers of the western Mediterranean water masses.

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Acknowledgements

This research has been carried out in the framework of project 1007 ‘Time-series of oceanographic observations in the Balearic Islands’, supported by the Instituto Español de Oceanografía. Our thanks go to the crew of R/V ‘Odón de Buén’ and to all those who contributed to the cruises and laboratory work: M. Serra, D. Oñate, C. Iglesias and in particular to B. Amengual for the nutrient analysis and L. Vicente for the total copepod estimations. Thanks also are due to Ben Stobart our colleague in the COB who helped us in the English transcription of the manuscript. The research of JCM is a contribution to the priority program AQUASHIFT (The impact of climate variability on aquatic ecosystems, IFM-GEOMAR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Muelle de Poniente, s/n 07015, Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain

    Ma Luz Fernández de Puelles & Ana Morillas

  2. Centro Oceanográfico de Gijón, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Avda. Principe de Asturias 70 bis, 33212, Gijon, Asturias, Spain

    Ángel Lopéz-Urrutia

  3. Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille-Lille1, CNRS, UMR LOG 8187, Wimereux Marine Station, 28 av. Foch, 62930, Wimereux, France

    Juan Carlos Molinero

  4. Marine Ecology/Experimental Ecology, Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften, IFM-GEOMAR, FB3, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105, Kiel, Germany

    Juan Carlos Molinero

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  1. Ma Luz Fernández de Puelles
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  2. Ángel Lopéz-Urrutia
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  3. Ana Morillas
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  4. Juan Carlos Molinero
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Correspondence to Ma Luz Fernández de Puelles.

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Guest editors: S. Souissi & G. A. Boxshall

Copepoda in the Mediterranean: Papers from the 9th International Conference on Copepoda, Hammamet, Tunisia

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Fernández de Puelles, M.L., Lopéz-Urrutia, Á., Morillas, A. et al. Seasonal variability of copepod abundance in the Balearic region (Western Mediterranean) as an indicator of basin scale hydrological changes. Hydrobiologia 617, 3–16 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9522-x

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