CPR EOV Report: Ecological EOV syntheses and impact of AtlantOS observations

Report on biological EOVs using newly defined habitats of the North Atlanti

The Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey – Monitoring plankton in the Nordic Sea

The warm-temperate calanoid copepod Calanus helgolandicus is becoming more common in the Nordic Seas with high records in 2016, which continued into 2017. The Pacific diatom Neodenticula seminae (an indicator of trans-Arctic migration) was recorded off Svalbard in 2016, which is its most easterly record in the Nordic Seas.publishedVersio

Mesoscale productivity fronts and local fishing opportunities in the European Seas

This study evaluates the relationship between both commercial and scientific spatial fisheries data and a new satellite-based estimate of potential fish production (Ocean Productivity available to Fish, OPFish) in the European Seas. To construct OPFish, we used productivity frontal features derived from chlorophyll-a horizontal gradients, which characterize 10%–20% of the global phytoplankton production that effectively fuels higher trophic levels. OPFish is relatively consistent with the spatial distribution of both pelagic and demersal fish landings and catches per unit of effort (LPUEs and CPUEs, respectively). An index of harvest relative to ocean productivity (HP index) is calculated by dividing these LPUEs or CPUEs with OPFish. The HP index reflects the intensity of fishing by gear type with regard to local fish production. Low HP levels indicate lower LPUEs or CPUEs than expected from oceanic production, suggesting over-exploitation, while high HP levels imply more sustainable fishing. HP allows comparing the production-dependent suitability of local fishing intensities. Our results from bottom trawl data highlight that over-exploitation of demersal species from the shelves is twice as high in the Mediterranean Sea than in the North-East Atlantic. The estimate of HP index by dominant pelagic and demersal gears suggests that midwater and bottom otter trawls are associated with the lowest and highest overfishing, respectively. The contrasts of fishing intensity at local scales captured by the HP index suggest that accounting for the local potential fish production can promote fisheries sustainability in the context of ecosystem-based fisheries management as required by international marine policies

Macro-ecological study of the niche of Calanus finmarchicus and C. helgolandicus in the North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas.

International audienc

Macro-ecological study of the niche of Calanus finmarchicus and C. helgolandicus in the North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas.

International audienc

An ecological partition of the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas

International audienceIn the past, partitions of the global ocean have been commonly carried out using relatively few environmental or biological variables. Although such partitions are undoubtedly useful on a global scale, we show that, at a basin scale, the use of a large number of biological variables greatly improves the accuracy of a partition. We first determined pelagic habitats using a set of selected environmental variables such as temperature, bathymetry, light at the seabed, sea ice concentration, current velocity and salinity. We then partitioned the North Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas at spatial resolutions of 2° latitude × 2° longitude and 0.5° × 0.5° using biological data from the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR survey). We used a total of 238 plankton species or taxa sampled between 1946 and 2015 representing more than 60 million data points. Finally, we combined the three biogeographies together to propose a new ecological partition of the North Atlantic and its adjacent seas into Ecological Units (EUs) and ecoregions. The comparison of our partition with the biogeochemical biogeography proposed by Longhurst reveals substantial differences in the location and size of biomes and provinces, especially over the continental shelf. In particular, boundaries of three known biomes (i.e. westerlies, polar and continental shelves biomes) differ substantially from the global-scale classifications

The Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey – Monitoring plankton in the Nordic Sea

The warm-temperate calanoid copepod Calanus helgolandicus is becoming more common in the Nordic Seas with high records in 2016, which continued into 2017. The Pacific diatom Neodenticula seminae (an indicator of trans-Arctic migration) was recorded off Svalbard in 2016, which is its most easterly record in the Nordic Seas