RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Spatial heterogeneity of Pelagia noctiluca ephyrae linked to water masses in the Western Mediterranean
A1 Pastor-Prieto, Marina
A1 Bahamon, Nixon
A1 Sabatés, Ana
A1 Canepa Oneto, Antonio Jesús
A1 Gili, Josep-Maria
A1 Carreton, Marta
A1 Company, Joan B.
K1 Informática
K1 Computer science
K1 Ciencias naturales
K1 Natural history
AB Pelagia noctiluca is the most common jellyfish in the Western Mediterranean Sea, living inoceanic waters with a holoplanktonic lifecycle. Frequent outbreaks have been well documented in coastal areas, yet little is known about their offshore distribution. In this study weaddress the relationship between oceanographic structures and the distribution of P. noctiluca ephyrae along the central continental slope of the Western Mediterranean, covering awide latitudinal gradient, during July-August 2016. The region is characterized by a rich andcomplex mesoscale surface circulation driven by the inflow of Atlantic Water into the Western Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. The results revealed a high variability inthe ephyrae spatial paterns related with different water masses and the resulting mesoscalehydrographic features. Their horizontal distribution showed a clear latitudinal gradient withhigh abundances in the south, associated with recent Atlantic Water, and low abundancesor absence in the north, in coincidence with the old Atlantic Water transported by the Northern Current. Ephyrae showed diel vertical migrations of short-extent in the first 50 m, with awide distribution above the thermocline and the Deep Chlorophyll Maximum during daytime,being more concentrated towards the surface at night. The results suggest the populationconnectivity of P. noctiluca between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In that case, theabundance variability of the species in the Mediterranean could be modulated by itsentrance associated with the inflow of Atlantic Water through the Strait of Gibraltar.
PB Public Library of Science
YR 2021
FD 2021-04
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10259/7347
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10259/7347
LA eng
NO This research was supported by the projects CONECTA (CTM2014-54648-C2-1-R) and WINFISH (CTM2015-68543-R) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. MP-P and MC were supported by a predoctoral fellowship (FPU16/06794 and FPU2015/04339, respectively) from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. The publication fee was partially supported by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 08-may-2024