scholarly journals A review of cephalopods (Phylum: Mollusca) of the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (Central-East Atlantic, African coast)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Amanda Luna ◽  
Francisco Rocha ◽  
Catalina Perales-Raya
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Western Sahara ◽  
Guinea Bissau ◽  
Distribution Ranges ◽  
Large Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Sepiola Atlantica ◽  
First Time ◽  
Subsequent Identification

Abstract An extensive review of cephalopod fauna in the Central and North Atlantic coast of Africa was performed based on material collected during 10 research cruises in these waters. In the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) area, a total of 378,377 cephalopod specimens was collected from 1247 bottom trawl stations. Of those specimens, 300 were sampled for subsequent identification in the laboratory and found to belong to 65 different species and 23 families. After an exhaustive review of the existing literature on the cephalopods and new data obtained from the surveys, an updated checklist of 138 species was generated for the CCLME area. Our knowledge of the known geographic distribution ranges of several species has been expanded: Muusoctopus januarii has been sighted from Guinea–Bissau waters, passing through Western Sahara, to Morocco waters for the first time; Lepidoteuthis grimaldii and Octopus salutii have been sighted off Morocco waters for the first time; Austrorossia mastigophora, Abralia (Heterabralia) siedleckyi, Abralia (Pygmabralia) redfieldi and Sepiola atlantica have been cited off Western Sahara waters for the first time; Magnoteuthis magna, Abralia (Asteroteuthis) veranyi and Octopoteuthis megaptera have been sighted off Moroccan and Western Sahara waters for the first time; Ancistroteuthis lichtensteinii, Opisthoteuthis grimaldii, Onykia robsoni, Muusoctopus levis and Bathypolypus valdiviae have been cited in the Guinea–Bissau coast for the first time; the northern geographic limit of Bathypolypus ergasticus has been expanded to Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania and southward to Guinea–Bissau waters. The presence of Muusoctopus johnsonianus in Senegalese waters has been reported for the first time. A Chtenopteryx sicula specimen was reported in Western Sahara waters. A specimen belonging to the poorly known Cirrothauma murrayi species was found in South Moroccan waters. Amphitretus pelagicus, a probably cosmopolitan species, has been reported in the Western Sahara and Guinea–Bissau waters. Some species that were previously recorded in the area, Sepia angulata, Sepia hieronis, Heteroteuthis dagamensis, Helicocranchia joubini and Tremoctopus gelatus, were removed from the final checklist and considered to be not present in the CCLME area. Cycloteuthis akimushkini was substituted with Cycloteuthis sirventi, its senior synonym, in the final checklist. Similarly, Mastigoteuthis flammea and Mastigoteuthis grimaldii were substituted with Mastigoteuthis agassizii.

scholarly journals New Insights Into the Seasonal Movement Patterns of Shortfin Mako Sharks in the Gulf of Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kesley J. Gibson ◽  
Matthew K. Streich ◽  
Tara S. Topping ◽  
Gregory W. Stunz
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Movement Ecology ◽  
Size Segregation ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Mako Shark ◽  
Shortfin Mako

Highly mobile apex predators such as the shortfin mako shark (mako shark; Isurus oxyrinchus) serve an important role in the marine ecosystem, and despite their declining populations and vulnerability to overexploitation, this species is frequently harvested in high abundance in both commercial and recreational fisheries. In 2017, the North Atlantic stock was deemed overfished and to be undergoing overfishing and was recently listed in CITES Appendix II. Effective management of this species can benefit from detailed information on their movements and habitat use, which is lacking, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, a potential mating and parturition ground. In this study, we used satellite telemetry to track the movements of mako sharks in the western Gulf of Mexico between 2016 and 2020. In contrast to previous studies that have primarily tagged juvenile mako sharks (>80% juveniles), ∼80% of sharks tagged in this study (7 of 9) were presumed to be mature based on published size-at-maturity data. Sharks were tracked for durations ranging from 10 to 887 days (mean = 359 days; median = 239 days) with three mature individuals tracked for >2 years. Mako sharks tagged in this study used more of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico than reported in previous movement studies on juveniles, suggesting potential evidence of size segregation. While one mature female remained in the Gulf of Mexico over a >2-year period, predominantly on the continental shelf, two mature males demonstrated seasonal migrations ∼2,500 km from the tagging location off the Texas coast to the Caribbean Sea and northeastern United States Atlantic coast, respectively. During these migrations, mako sharks traversed at least 12 jurisdictional boundaries, which also exposed individuals to varying levels of fishing pressure and harvest regulations. Movement ecology of this species, especially for mature individuals in the western North Atlantic, has been largely unknown until recently. These data included here supplement existing information on mako shark movement ecology and potential stock structure that could help improve management of the species.

scholarly journals Subtidal Hydroids (Cnidaria) of Northumberland Strait, Atlantic Canada, with Observations on Their Life Cycles and Distributions

2003 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale R. Calder
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Biological Survey ◽  
Major Species ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
First Time ◽  
Warm Temperate ◽  
Medusa Stage

Hydroids were examined in collections from a biological survey of Northumberland Strait undertaken by Fisheries and Oceans Canada from June to August 1975. No investigations have been undertaken previously on hydroids of the study area. Forty-eight species referable to 12 families were present in the samples, with Sertulariidae dominating in both numbers of species (12) and frequency. Gonophores were found in 30 of the species. As usual in hydroids of higher latitudes, a majority of those represented do not have a medusa stage in their life cycle. Gonophores in 42 of the 48 species are known to be fixed sporosacs while free medusae or medusoids occur in only six. Two major species groups were distinguished in a numerical analysis of hydroid species/station data. One of these groups included the three most ubiquitous species (Calycella syringa, Hydrallmania falcata, Sertularia latiuscula) together with 15 others most prevalent in samples from shallower (<20 m) and warmer stations. The second group included species occurring primarily in samples from stations in deeper (>20 m) and mostly colder waters. Two species (Lafoeina tenuis, Halecium lankesteri) are new to the Atlantic coast of North America. Eight others (Bougainvillia sp., Eudendrium dispar, Eudendrium ramosum, Cuspidella humilis, Opercularella pumila, Halecium scutum, Halecium sessile, Diphasia fallax) are reported in the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence for the first time. The subtidal hydroid fauna in open waters of Northumberland Strait is a cold-water assemblage typical of the boreal zone in the western North Atlantic, and no relict warm-temperate species were found.

scholarly journals Reconstruction of past marine submersion events (storms and tsunamis) on the North Atlantic coast of Morocco

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otmane Khalfaoui ◽  
Laurent Dezileau ◽  
Jean-Philippe Degeai ◽  
Maria Snoussi
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The One ◽  
Sediment Layers ◽  
First Time ◽  
Common Era

Abstract. The North Atlantic coast of Morocco has been affected historically by marine submersion events resulting from both storms and tsunamis and causing human and economic losses. The development of proactive adaptation strategies requires the study of these events over centennial to millennial timescales. Using a 2.7 m sediment core sampled from the Tahaddart estuary, we have been able to reconstruct past marine submersion events on this coastal area of Morocco over the last 4000 years. The high-resolution sedimentological and geochemical analysis conducted on this core allows us to identify 14 sediment layers attributed to marine high-energy events. The core was dated with isotopic techniques (137Cs, 210Pbex, 14C) and the outcomes reveal that three sediment layers are in connection with two major historical marine submersion events. The first layer mentioned as E1 seems to fit with the great Lisbon tsunami in 1755 CE (Common Era), an event dated for the first time on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The other two layers referred as E13 and E14 were dated between 3464 and 2837 cal BP and correlated with marine submersion deposits found on Spanish and Moroccan coasts, which confirms the existence of a major high-energy event (around 3200 BP) similar to the one in 1755 CE.

scholarly journals The spreading of the non-native caprellid (Crustacea: Amphipoda) Caprella scaura Templeton, 1836 into southern Europe and northern Africa: a complicated taxonomic history.

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 145 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. ROS CLEMENTE
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Strait Of Gibraltar ◽  
Fouling Communities ◽  
Morphological Form ◽  
The North ◽  
Survey Report ◽  
First Time

Caprella scaura, originally described by Templeton (1836) from Mauritius and later reported as several subspecies from numerous areas of the world, was found for the first time in the Mediterranean in 1994. Since this report, the species was found in several Mediterranean locations. To explore the current distribution of C. scaura in the Iberian Peninsula and adjacent areas, we surveyed marine fouling communities from 88 marinas along the whole Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, 3 from Italy, 1 from France, 1 from Malta and 1 from Greece between June 2011 and June 2012. The results of this survey report the first confirmed record of C. scaura in Corsica (France), Creta (Greece) and Morocco, and confirm an extensive distribution of C. scaura along the Spanish Mediterranean coast and the Strait of Gibraltar. The species was absent in the north Atlantic coast of Spain and the upper distribution limit in the eastern Atlantic coast is the locality of Cascais, in the south coast of Portugal. All populations studied belong to the same morphological form, with match with the subspecies C. scaura typica from Brazil and C. scaura scaura from Mauritius, suggesting that these two subspecies could correspond to the same “variety”.

scholarly journals Mitogenomics of the endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) reveals dramatic loss of diversity and supports historical gene-flow between Atlantic and eastern Mediterranean populations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alba Rey-Iglesia ◽  
Philippe Gaubert ◽  
Gonçalo Espregueira Themudo ◽  
Rosa Pires ◽  
Constanza De La Fuente ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Mediterranean Populations ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Western Sahara ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus is one of the most threatened marine mammals, with only 600–700 individuals restricted to three populations off the coast of Western Sahara and Madeira (North Atlantic) and between Greece and Turkey (eastern Mediterranean). Its original range was from the Black Sea (eastern Mediterranean) to Gambia (western African coast), but was drastically reduced by commercial hunting and human persecution since the early stages of marine exploitation. We here analyse 42 mitogenomes of Mediterranean monk seals, from across their present and historical geographic ranges to assess the species population dynamics over time. Our data show a decrease in genetic diversity in the last 200 years. Extant individuals presented an almost four-fold reduction in genetic diversity when compared to historical specimens. We also detect, for the first time, a clear segregation between the two North Atlantic populations, Madeira and Cabo Blanco, regardless of their geographical proximity. Moreover, we show the presence of historical gene-flow between the two water basins, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and the presence of at least one extinct maternal lineage in the Mediterranean. Our work demonstrates the advantages of using full mitogenomes in phylogeographic and conservation genomic studies of threatened species.

scholarly journals On the robustness of an eastern boundary upwelling ecosystem exposed to multiple stressors

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndague Diogoul ◽  
Patrice Brehmer ◽  
Hervé Demarcq ◽  
Salaheddine El Ayoubi ◽  
Abou Thiam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Relative Index ◽  
Upwelling System ◽  
The North ◽  
Latitudinal Shift ◽  
Large Marine Ecosystem ◽  
North And South

AbstractThe resistance of an east border upwelling system was investigated using relative index of marine pelagic biomass estimates under a changing environment spanning 20-years in the strongly exploited southern Canary Current Large marine Ecosystem (sCCLME). We divided the sCCLME in two parts (north and south of Cap Blanc), based on oceanographic regimes. We delineated two size-based groups (“plankton” and “pelagic fish”) corresponding to lower and higher trophic levels, respectively. Over the 20-year period, all spatial remote sensing environmental variables increased significantly, except in the area south of Cap Blanc where sea surface Chlorophyll-a concentrations declined and the upwelling favorable wind was stable. Relative index of marine pelagic abundance was higher in the south area compared to the north area of Cap Blanc. No significant latitudinal shift to the mass center was detected, regardless of trophic level. Relative pelagic abundance did not change, suggesting sCCLME pelagic organisms were able to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Despite strong annual variability and the presence of major stressors (overfishing, climate change), the marine pelagic ressources, mainly fish and plankton remained relatively stable over the two decades, advancing our understanding on the resistance of this east border upwelling system.

scholarly journals Critical In-Water Habitats for Post-Nesting Sea Turtles from the Southern Gulf of Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 793
Author(s):  
Abigail Uribe-Martínez ◽  
María de los Angeles Liceaga-Correa ◽  
Eduardo Cuevas
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Turtle Species ◽  
Southern Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Large Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Physical Features

Marine turtles are globally endangered species that spend more than 95% of their life cycle in in-water habitats. Nevertheless, most of the conservation, recovery and research efforts have targeted the on-land habitats, due to their easier access, where adult females lay their eggs. Targeting the large knowledge gaps on the in-water critical habitats of turtles, particularly in the Large Marine Ecosystem Gulf of Mexico, is crucial for their conservation and recovery in the long term. We used satellite telemetry to track 85 nesting females from their beaches after they nested to identify their feeding and residency habitats, their migratory corridors and to describe the context for those areas. We delimited major migratory corridors in the southern Gulf of Mexico and West Caribbean and described physical features of internesting and feeding home ranges located mainly around the Yucatan Peninsula and Veracruz, Mexico. We also contributed by describing general aggregation and movement patterns for the four marine turtle species in the Atlantic, expanding the knowledge of the studied species. Several tracked individuals emigrated from the Gulf of Mexico to as far as Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Bahamas. This information is critical for identifying gaps in marine protection and for deciphering the spatial connectivity in large ocean basins, and it provides an opportunity to assess potential impacts on marine turtle populations and their habitats.

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