Mesozooplankton size structure in the Canary Current System.

Changes in plankton composition influences the dynamics of marine food webs and carbon sinking rates. Understanding the core structure and function of the plankton distribution is of paramount importance to know their role in trophic transfer and efficiency. Here, we studied the zooplankton distribution, abundance, composition, and size spectra for the characterization of the community under different oceanographic conditions in the Canaries-African Transition Zone (C-ATZ).

Stranding of Mesopelagic Fishes in the Canary Islands.

Most mesopelagic fishes perform large diel vertical migrations from the deep-sea zone to the surface. Although there is a trade-off between a higher food availability at the upper layers and an energy cost and predation risk, incursion towards the surface also implies a transport by currents, where the fish are exposed to a stranding risk on the coast. Here, we reported the first documented stranding of mesopelagic fishes along the southeast shore of Gran Canaria Island.