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RADIALES (IEO), with the support of the Korea Institute for Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) Versión del editor

presentación Marine ecosystem variability shows large fluctuations on a wide variety of scales, from seconds to millennia and from local to global. This limits our ability to observe these systems and to develop good tools to predict how changes in the environment may affect their physical and biological properties. It also limits our ability to differentiate anthropogenic from natural processes. An example is how difficult it is to compare data collected in different sampling locations and at different times. Time series data help resolve both short- and longer-term scales of variability and provide context for traditional process-oriented studies. Time series projects focusing on biogeochemical and ecological observations have yielded important scientific results. They have helped to: (i) evaluate the statistical significance of the ranges of variability of many parameters and environmental variables and biological communities, and (ii) quantify and evaluate the dimension of the interactions between key physical/chemical oceanographic processes and biological rates in plankton communities. As a result, time series are helping estimate warming rates and trends as well as the effects of global change on biota. They have established reference baselines to evaluate the magnitude of environmental perturbations and estimate recovery times on biodiversity and productivity of specific trophic levels. In spite of their scientific value, marine time series are difficult to maintain over time because of costs and availability of trained personnel. Only a few survive beyond a decade. There is great potential in sharing and combining marine data sets from different time series programs from around the world. This allows for comparisons of changes occurring in distant locations, and helps detect changes that occur at broad scales, perhaps even global scales, and to distinguish them from local imbalances or fluctuation. Sharing data can have important economic and social benefits. For instance, efficient use of existing marine data represents a significant cost saving from the 2 billion Euro spent each year now in the EU collecting and accessing to marine data. From the social point of view, the demand from different stakeholders for answers to the challenges posed by changes in the marine environment is growing rapidly. Sharing and accessing time series data would reduce the uncertainties in the management of marine resources and ecosystem services. The UNESCO IOC advocates that: (i) an observation not made today is lost forever, (ii) existing observations are lost if not made accessible, (iii) the collective value of data sets is greater than its dispersed value, and (iv) open access to standardised time series data must be pursued as a common, coordinated international goal. IOC-UNESCO, IEO

Ship-based biogeochemical and ecological time series are one of the most valuable tools to characterize and quantify ocean ecosystems. These programs continuously provided major breakthroughs in understanding ecosystem variability, allow quantification of the ocean carbon cycle, and help understand the processes that link biodiversity, food webs, and changes in services that benefit human societies. A quantum jump in regional and global ocean ecosystem science can be gained by aggregating observations from individual time series that are distributed across different oceans and which are managed by different countries. The collective value of these data is greater than that provided by each time series individually. However, maintaining time series requires a commitment by the science community and sponsor agencies.. Based on the success of existing initiatives, e.g. ICES and SCOR working groups, IOC-UNESCO launched the International Group for Marine Ecological Time Series (IGMETS, http://igmets.net) to promote collaborations across different individual projects, and jointly look at holistic changes within different ocean regions. The effort explores the reasons and connections for changes in phytoplankton and zooplankton at a global level and identifies locations where particularly large changes may be ocurring. This compilation will facilitate better coordination, communication, and data intercomparability among time series. IEO (RADIALES) IOC-UNESCO

Esta obra ofrece una síntesis de la información recogida en las series temporales de observaciones oceánicas del IEO en la región atlántica del norte de España iniciadas en 1943 con el registro mareográfico; muestra evidencias de cambios interanuales en la física, la química y la biología del océano en relación con los factores climáticos, y estima los impactos más probables del clima en el océano futuro. Este volumen continúa la serie de estudios de la influencia del cambio climático en el mar iniciada con el Cambio climático en el Mediterráneo español (Vargas Yánez et al., 2010). En este caso, el enfoque es multidisciplinar, empleando, por primera vez, series de observaciones recogidas de forma coordinada y simultánea. A lo largo de sus ochos capítulos, se analiza la variabilidad climática atmosférica reciente y su influencia sobre las condiciones oceanográficas de la región, especialmente en relación con la intensidad y frecuencia del afloramiento de aguas profundas que determina, en gran medida, el aporte estacional de nutrientes a la superficie y, por tanto, la producción biológica. Se describen las tendencias en el nivel del mar a partir de las medidas de los mareógrafos de la zona con una estimación de los niveles extremos esperados a largo plazo. Se realiza un análisis comparativo –entre Galicia y el Cantábrico– de la variabilidad en los nutrientes inorgánicos y se determinan los elementos limitantes de la producción primaria en cada zona. Finalmente, se analizan las variaciones en las comunidades de fitoplancton, picoplancton y zooplancton como indicadoras de cambios en el ecosistema pelágico, destacando las fluctuaciones en la biomasa y producción primaria, base de la red trófica pelágica de la región, y la presencia de medusas y salpas y su relación con el clima. This book presents a synthesis of the oceanic time-series observations of IEO in the Atlantic region of northern Spain. These series, starting in 1943 with tide-gauges, reveal evidence of interanual changes in physical, chemical and biological properties of the ocean that were related to climatic factors, allowing to estimate future impacts of climate on the ocean. The volume continues the series started with “Climate Change in the Spanish Mediterranean” (Vargas Yánez et al., 2010). In this case the study is multidisciplinary, including for the first time series obtained in coordinated and simultaneous observational programs. The eight chapters first analyse recent climatic variability and its influence on the regional oceanography, particularly in relation to the intensity and frequency of the deep-water upwelling that largely determines the seasonal inputs of nutrients and primary production in this region. Next, the main trends in sea level revealed by tidal gauges along with the estimates of expected extreme levels are described. The variability in inorganic nutrients and the identification of limiting elements for primary production were presented as a comparative analysis between Galicia (in the West) and the Mar Cantábrico (in the east). Finally, the variability in the composition of the plankton communities, including phytoplankton, picoplankton and zooplankton, is analysed as indicative of changes in the pelagic ecosystem. Particular attention is given to the fluctuations in primary biomass and production and to the presence of salps and jellyfish in relation to climate. Versión del editor

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Within the framework of the RADIALES time series monitoring program carried out by the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), 10 stations were monthly sampled for zooplankton biomass, abundance and taxonomic composition. Additionally, hydrographic features and nutrient concentrations were also measured. From the beginning of the program, a total of 2179 zooplankton samples have been collected. The sampling stations are located along four coastal-ocean sections in the Northwest and North Iberian shelf, off Vigo, A Coruña, Gijón and Santander beginning in 1994, 1991, 2001, 1992, respectively. There is classically a contrasted situation between the Galician and the Cantabrian coast. Since the Galician coast represents the northern limit of the Canary upwelling system, coastal upwelling has a major influence on their hydrodynamic behavior and nutrient distributions. In the Cantabrian coast, upwelling is restricted to occasional events during summer and nutrient fertilization depends mostly on the deep convection occurring during winter. In this communication we aim to describe the long-term dynamics of zooplankton biomass for oceanic and shelf waters of the northwest and north Iberian Peninsula focusing in the common period sampled in all the stations (2001-2013, representing 1405 sampling events). We used a method able to cope with the non-stationary nature of the data, namely wavelet analysis. It allows describing the periodic components of the signal as classically obtained with the Fourier analysis. But in addition, the wavelet analysis approach provides information of the variability of the periodic components along the time series. Indeed the principal periodic components (1, 1,5 and 3 years) appear to be transient in both hydrologic and zooplankton biomass series. A pair-wise comparison between the power spectrum matrices of each zooplankton biomass time series allowed us to detect common dynamics between the coastal Cantabrian stations, the oceanic Cantabrian stations and the Galician ones.

Environmental and biological data-sets were recovered from oceanographic surveys and other observation sources (e.g. tide gauges) since the 40s. This rescue and mining exercise was carried out in cooperation with the countries bordering the CCLME and other nations undertaking research in the region (i.e. Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Spain, Norway, Germany and France). A total of 425 data-sets, 27 databases and 21 time-series sites have been identified in the area. A substantial part of them were rescued from archives supported in paper copy. Finally, a directory of meta-data referring 99 data-sets and data-bases has been published. This catalogue and the recovered data offer an exceptional opportunity for the researchers in the CCLME to study the dynamics and trends of a multiplicity of variables, and will enable them to create their own time-series, baselines and climatologies under a spatial and temporal perspective. It will produce new and valuable information on changes produced during the last 35 years in this region, going from climatic changes to shifts in species diversity and populations due to natural and human induced factors. This directory is the first result of the project “Enhancing oceanography capacities on Western Africa Countries” funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and coordinated by the IOC-UNESCO and the IEO. The project aims to reinforce transboundary cooperation in the CCLME and to facilitate access and data flow to existing scientific information and its utilization by the scientists, politicians, industry and civil society.

Se trata de un libro que pretende divulgar a la sociedad las principales investigaciones multidisciplinares llevadas a cabo por el Instituto Español de Oceanografía durante su primer siglo de vida, y dar a conocer la historia del organismo, de su Sede Central y de los nueve centros oceanográficos repartidos por los litorales mediterráneo y atlántico, en la península y archipiélagos., Kongsberg 200

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La influencia de factores climáticos y oceanográficos sobre el zooplancton de la región norte y noroeste de la Península Ibérica fue analizada mediante cinco series temporales de observaciones de abundancia, composición específica y biomasa. Las series incluyeron la región oceánica próxima, representada por el área estándar F4 del Continuous Plankton Recorder entre 1960 y 2006, así como series costeras de Galicia (Vigo y A Coruña) y el mar Cantábrico (Cudillero, Gijón, Santander), muestreadas desde la década de 1990. En el océano se detectó un incremento interanual en biomasa y número de especies de copépodos entre 1960 y 1986, mientras que en la costa se detectaron incrementos en la abundancia y biomasa de algunas especies en Vigo y disminuciones de otras en A Coruña y Santander en los últimos años. Ninguna de las series del Cantábrico mostró tendencias ni ciclos en los valores interanuales de biomasa durante el periodo de observación. El plancton gelatinoso (medusas y tunicados) no mostró un patrón común a escalas locales, con incrementos en las medusas en Vigo y en los tunicados en A Coruña. La influencia climática y oceanográfica sobre este tipo de zooplancton parece resultar de modificar la proporción entre copépodos y plancton gelatinoso a partir de un efecto más directo del clima y las condiciones oceanográficas sobre los primeros. En Galicia el número y diversidad de especies de copépodos y su biomasa se incrementaron con la temperatura mientras que en el mar Cantábrico sólo se incrementaron en abundancia y ocupación espacial las especies de aguas cálidas (como Temora stylifera) mientras que las especies oportunistas típicas de afloramiento (como Acartia clausi) disminuyeron. La modulación local de los efectos del clima y del afloramiento sobre el zooplancton de la región sugiere la existencia de interacciones no lineales a largo plazo que favorecerían el mantenimiento e incluso el incremento de biomasa y diversidad de zooplancton a pesar de la tendencia a la disminución en el afloramiento observada en las últimas décadas. The influence of climatic and oceanographic factors on zooplankton in the northern and northwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula was analysed using five time-series of abundance, species composition and biomass. The series included the nearby ocean region, represented by the standard area F4 of the Continuous Plankton Recorder between 1960 and 2006, as well as coastal series from Galicia (Vigo and A Coruña) and the Mar Cantábrico (Cudillero, Gijón and Santander) sampled from the 1990s. An increase in biomass and species number of copepod species was detected in the oceanic region between 1960 and 1986. In the coast, however, the abundance and biomass of some species also increased in Vigo but decreased for other species in A Coruña and Santander in recent years. No long term trends or cycles were detected in any of the Mar Cantábrico biomass series. Gelatinous plankton (medusae and tunicates) did not show any common trend at local scales, having increased medusae in Vigo and tunicates in A Coruña. Climate and oceanographic factors appear to influence the ratio between copepods and gelatinous zooplankton through a larger effect of the environment on copepods. Temperature increased the number and diversity of copepod species in Galicia whereas in the Mar Cantábrico only warm tolerant species (as Temora stylifera) increased in abundance and spatial distribution while opportunistic species typical of upwelling waters (as Acartia clausi) decreased. Local modulation of climate and upwelling effects on zooplankton suggest non-lineal interactions favouring the sustaining and even increase of zooplankton biomass and diversity despite the decadal decrease of upwelling in this region.

A spatially and environmentally explicit egg production model is developed to accommodate a number of assumptions about the relationship between egg production and mortality and associated environmental variables. The general model was tested under different assumptions for Atlanto-Iberian sardine. It provides a flexible estimator of egg production, in which a range of assumptions and hypotheses can be tested in a structured manner within a well-defined statistical framework. Application of the model to Atlanto-Iberian sardine increased the precision of the egg production time-series, and allowed improvements to be made in understanding the spatio-temporal variability in egg production, as well as implications for ecology and stock assessment., Sí

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Data on the occurrence of sardine (Sardina pilchardus) eggs from 42 national ichthyoplankton surveys along the European Atlantic coast were collated in order to describe the spawning habitat and spawning distribution of sardine in recent decades (1985–2005). A modification of existing spawning habitat characterisation techniques and a newly developed method to compare the probability of egg presence across surveys carried out with different sampling gears were used. Results showed that sardine spawning off the Atlantic European coast is mainly restricted to the shelf area, with the main geographical range being between the Strait of Gibraltar (the southern limit of data available for this analysis) and the middle part of the Armorican shelf (latitude around 47.5 North), and along a temperature range of 12–17 C. Spawning grounds within these limits show a nearly continuous geographical distribution, covering a large proportion of the shelf of the Iberian peninsula and adjacent waters, except for: (1) a persistent gap at the north west corner of the Iberian peninsula, (2) a small secondary break at the Spanish–French border in the inner part of the Bay of Biscay and (3) at the south west corner of the peninsula where there is a narrowing of the shelf width. These discontinuities were used to separate spawning into four nuclei and to describe the changes in spawning distribution in the time series. The relative importance of each nucleus and the degree of separation between adjacent nuclei varies between years, with the exception of the permanent gap at the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula, which is persistent throughout the time series. Year to year changes in the proportion of the potential spawning habitat in which spawning actually occurred, changing from around 60% before the mid 1990s to around 40% thereafter, and did not show any relationship with spawning stock biomass. Evolution of potential habitat occupation over the Armorican shelf shows larger variability than that observed in the Iberian peninsula, with percentages of occupation ranging from around 30% up to nearly 80% of the shelf in recent years (within the limitations of the relatively sparse data for this region).

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Trends in ecosystem variables of the Eastern North Atlantic shelf near the Iberian Peninsula were analysed in relation to regional climate and oceanographic variability. In addition, detailed changes in oceanographic properties (surface temperature, upwelling and poleward current activity) and biological components (plankton and pelagic consumers) in the period 1989-2005 were compared with the main trends and multidecadal periods observed in time series dating back to 1950. In contrast to previous studies, the North Atlantic Oscillation did not appear as the main influence in the climate of the North Iberian region, while East-West and subtropical gradients were the dominant modes. Climatic oscillations at decadal scales were paralleled by similar oscillations in oceanographic and biological variables, but the latter appeared weakly related to climate. Time- lags of up to 5 years in the biological response may partly explain these relationships. The main planktivorous fish species (sardine and anchovy) alternate in periods of 10-15 years of relative dominance, in synchrony with equivalent species around the world. In contrast, plankton cycles appear greatly modified after 1990 in coincidence with shifts in climatic and oceanographic variables. Subregional variability indicated divergent trends in biological variables, particularly the zooplankton increase off A Coruña and the decrease in the Bay of Biscay since 1990. Such divergences are related to direct and indirect effects of global changes in this transitional upwelling region.

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During March-April 1994 and 1996 two cruises have been performed around Bay of Biscay in order to check movements of blue whiting using acoustic methods. These cruises consisted in a double coverage of an area from 47°30' N, 7°15' W to 43°30' N, 6°30' W along the French and Spanish continental shelf-break (200 m to 1000 m). During these surveys juveniles of blue whiting were found in off-shore pelagic schools. This paper describes the spatial distribution and depth of these schools around the studied area.

Se ha estudiado la composición y abundancia del microzooplancton (20-200 mm) en dos estratos de profundidad (0-15 y 15-30 m) en un total de 16 estaciones de muestreo situadas sobre la plataforma continental gallega, durante tres campañas oceanográficas realizadas en verano, otoño y primavera. Los estadios larvarios de organismos holoplanctónicos y meroplanctónicos dominan en la comunidad del microzooplancton. Entre ellos destacan las larvas nauplius de copépodo, cuya abundancia relativa es mayor en primavera (87%) que en verano (40%) y otoño (52%), y las larvas de lamelibranquio que son más abundantes en verano (13%) y otoño (10%) que en primavera (2.5%).Los valores extremos de las abundancias del microzooplancton fueron de 1 y 82 ind 1-1• Las abundancias medias en primavera y verano fueron de 25 y 20 ind 1-1 respectivamente, mientras que en otoño la media fue de 8 ind 1-1• Las larvas nauplius no presentan una distribución de abundancias localizada en una zona determinada de la plataforma continental, en cambio, las larvas de lamelibranquio son más abundantes en las estaciones situadas frente alas Rías de Vigo y Arosa que en las situadas frente a la Ría de Muros, Cabo Vilano y La Coruña., SI

Information on benthos biodiversity is scarce in the CCLME and inventories of marine fauna are only available for Morocco and the Canary Islands; a regional report was recently compiled in the framework of the CCLME project. A major review of benthic biodiversity in West Africa was carried out by Le Loeuff and Von Cosel (1998), who reported the highest specific richness between Cape Blanc (Mauritania) and Cape Verga (Guinea Bissau). Although a latitudinal biodiversity pattern was not observed, preliminary results of R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen and Vizconde de Eza surveys recorded the highest diversity values in Western Sahara and also higher diversity on the shelf and upper slope than in deep waters. An important faunistic change between tropical and temperate biota has been reported at Cape Blanc latitude. The zoobenthos of Cape Verde and the Canary Islands shows some specific features linked to their volcanic origin, insularity and oceanographic conditions. Epibenthic communities maintain a similar structure throughout the region, despite the differences in their specific composition. Decapods seem to be the most important group, in terms of both abundance and biomass, being other representative taxa molluscs, echinoderms, sponges, cnidarians and polychaetes. Echinoderms, mainly holothuroids, are clearly dominant in deep waters. Suspension‐feeder assemblages, previously recorded in the entire upwelling area, do not seem to play an important role in the current epibenthic communities. Although tropical coral reefs have not been reported in NWA, vulnerable ecosystems, like the giant coldwater coral reef, canyon systems, seamount and grounds of sponges and gorgonians, still exist in deep waters of the continental slope, despite the intensive fishing exploitation over more than 50 years. Studies focused on these important vulnerable marine ecosystems, as well as on the currently unknown bottoms of deep‐shelf and slope (Senegal, Guinea‐Bissau, Guinea and Cape Verde), are strongly recommended in order to protect these deep‐water areas threatened by the trawling fleets’ displacement and by the oil and mineral resources exploitation. The assessment of the main benthic taxa during scientific and commercial demersal surveys would improve the ecosystem approach to marine resources management and also help keep track of changes in benthic biodiversity over time. Benthic research in regional marine scientific institutes should be promoted and strengthened and be considered as a highest priority line., AECID

In the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) water masses of very different origin converge. The upper levels, between 100 dbar and 700 dbar, are occupied by North Atlantic Central Waters (NACW) and South Atlantic Central Waters (SACW) that feed the nutrient-rich wind-driven upwelling ecosystem. The NACW are formed by surface subduction of winter water in the North Atlantic, while the SACW are formed in the western South Atlantic Ocean. The Cape Verde Frontal Zone (CVFZ), at approximately 15°N, separates these thermocline waters. The Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and the warmer and saltier Mediterranean Water (MW) occupy the intermediate layer, between 700 dbar and 1500 dbar. The North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), formed in the Labrador Sea, occupies the layers deeper than 1500 dbar.

We provide a review of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) within the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME). As yet all documented HABs within the region have been associated with the production of one or another toxin. The diversity of harmful algae recorded within the region is similar to that found in other eastern boundary upwelling systems, and includes those species responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning, diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, amnesic shellfish poisoning and azaspiracid poisoning. Also present off Northwest Africa, but generally absent from the other major upwelling systems, are those species responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning and microcystin‐producing cyanobacterial blooms. Their presence is afforded by the subtropical habitat provided by the island archipelagos found within the CCLME. It is intended that this brief review will provide the foundation and stimulus for further studies of the ecology and dynamics of HABs, of their toxins, and of the public health and socioeconomic impacts of HABs within this region., SI

This work describes the main geomorphological features of the seabed on the Atlantic continental shelf of Northwest Africa (NWA) (region encompassing the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem – CCLME). Knowledge of these geological shapes and the existing materials are fundamental for studying the biological habitats they comprise, particularly the benthonic and demersal ecosystems. In general, geomorphological data on this region collected by universities and research centres is limited and sometimes inaccessible. This report is therefore based on research carried out by the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) in various oceanographic campaigns conducted in recent years together with scientific publications dealing with particular zones in this region. For this purpose, a review has been made of the geological data obtained in the seven multidisciplinary campaigns undertaken by the IEO throughout the continental margin of Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania between 2004 and 2010. In these oceanographic campaigns, exploration of the seabed was carried out using multibeam echo sounders, high-profile seismic profiling and the direct collection of sediment samples and sedimentary rocks. The passive continental margin of NWA marks the transition between the lithosphere of the African continent and the oceanic lithosphere generated in the Atlantic Ridge. Continental rift and ocean crust formation in this part of the East Atlantic took place over the course of 225 Ma. The substrate of this continental margin is therefore composed of Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks, the oldest sedimentary rocks are Triassic and the ancient oceanic crust is Jurassic. As for the sedimentary rocks, the oldest are of continental origin while the later ones are of marine origin from various depositional environments (coastal, shelf, slope and seabed). In slope and continental shelf zones, these sedimentary materials can all reach thickness of up to 10 km, while in seabed zones they are below 5 km. In this zone of NWA, various surveys have also been carried out in recent decades under the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), which have described the main geological features of the materials and morphologies of the continental margin. In addition, distensive tectonic structures have been cited throughout the region, most consisting of normal faults on an axis more or less parallel to the continental edge and structures perpendicular to the latter. On the Morocco-Western Sahara-Canaries margin, and on the Mauritania-Senegal-Guinea margin, descriptions exist of numerous salt domes, pockmarks and faults associated with diapiric processes related to Triassic saline deposits that have fluidified and intruded into the stratigraphic column of the continental margin Finally, two volcanic archipelagos associated with hotspots and consisting of islands and numerous seamounts exist in ocean interplate areas of the CCLME. The main geomorphological features of the CCLME region are described below in a survey of four geographical areas selected on a north-south basis, namely Morocco-Western Sahara, Canary Islands, Mauritania, and Senegal–Guinea-Bissau–Guinea–Cape Verde Islands., MAVA (Contract 12087 Coastal West Africa C4/2012)

The Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) ranks third in the world in terms of primary productivity and has one of the highest fisheries production of any African large marine ecosystem with an annual production ranging from 2 to 3 million tons. The CCLME waters exhibit high abundance and biomass and a rich cephalopod fauna in comparison with other areas of the world’s oceans. These waters are a transitional zone between different Atlantic zoogeographic provinces where tropical, temperate and cold water cephalopod species mix. Several assemblages can be identified in the coastal, shelf, slope and deep waters. Coastal assemblages are dominated by sepiids, loliginids and shallow-water octopus, while more oceanic assemblages are largely dominated by ommastrephid and deep-water octopus species. This area shows cephalopod resources that can maintain local and trawl fisheries for these resources, mainly for coastal octopus, neritic loliginids and more pelagic ommastrephids. This work presents a brief review of cephalopod fauna found in CCLME waters in terms of biodiversity, ecology and fisheries., MAVA (Contract 12087 Coastal West Africa C4/2012)