Résumé: The FishMed database provides traits, phylogeny, current and projected species distribution of Mediterranean fishes, and associated sea surface temperature (SST) from the regional oceanic model NEMOMED8. Data for the current geographical distributions of 635 Mediterranean fish species were compiled from a published expert knowledge atlas of fishes of the northern Atlantic and the Mediterranean (FNAM) edited between 1984 and 1986 and from an updated exotic fish species list. Two future sets of projected species distributions were obtained for the middle and end of the 21st century by using an ensemble forecasting approach for 288 coastal Mediterranean fish species based on SST according to the IPPC/SRES A2 scenario implemented with the Mediterranean climatic model NEMOMED8. The functional part of the database encompasses 12 biological and ecological traits (maximal and common lengths, vertical distribution, habitat, migration type, mode of reproduction, sex shift, semelparity, diet type (larvae and adults), social behavior, species origin, and depth) for the 635 fish species. To build the phylogeny we inferred the timing and geographic origins of Mediterranean teleost species diversity using nucleotide sequences collected from GenBank including 62% of Mediterranean teleost species plus nine outgroups. Maximum likelihood Bayesian phylogenetic and dating analyses were calibrated using 20 fossil species. An additional 124 fish species were grafted onto the chronogram according to their taxonomic affinity to obtain a phylogenetic tree including 498 species. Finally we also present the associated SST data for the observed period (1961–1980) and for the middle (2040–2059) and the end of the 21st century (2080–2099) obtained from NEMOMED8 according to the IPCC A2 scenario. The FishMed database might be of interest in the context of global anthropogenic changes as coastal Mediterranean ecosystems are currently recognized as one of the most impacted ecosystems on earth.

Résumé: Micronekton distributions and assemblages were investigated at two shallow seamounts of the south-western Indian Ocean using a combination of trawl data and a multi-frequency acoustic visualisation technique. La Pa rouse seamount (summit depth similar to 60 m) is located on the outskirts of the oligotrophic Indian South Subtropical Gyre (ISSG) province with weak mesoscale activities and low primary productivity all year round. The “MAD-Ridge” seamount (thus termed in this study; similar to 240 m) is located in the productive East African Coastal (EAFR) province with high mesoscale activities to the south of Madagascar. Higher micronekton species richness was recorded at MAD-Ridge compared to La Perouse. Resulting productivity at MAD-Ridge seamount was likely due to the action of mesoscale eddies advecting productivity and larvae from the Madagascar shelf rather than local dynamic processes such as Taylor column formation. Mean micronekton abundance/biomass, as estimated from mesopelagic trawl catches, were lower over the summit compared to the vicinity of the seamounts, due to net selectivity and catchability and depth gradient on micronekton assemblages. Mean acoustic densities in the night shallow scattering layer (SSL: 10-200 m) over the summit were not significantly different compared to the vicinity (within 14 nautical miles) of MAD-Ridge. At La Perouse and MAD-Ridge, the night and day SSL were dominated by common diel vertically migrant and non-migrant micronekton species respectively. While seamount-associated mesopelagic fishes such as Diaphus suborbitalis (La Perouse and MAD-Ridge) and Benthosema fibula= performed diel vertical migrations (DVM) along the seamounts' flanks, seamount-resident benthopelagic fishes, including Cookeolus japonicus (MAD-Ridge), were aggregated over MAD-Ridge summit. Before sunrise, mid-water migrants initiated their vertical migration from the intermediate to the deep scattering layer (DSL, La Perouse: 500-650 m; MAD-Ridge: 400-700 m) or deeper. During sunrise, the other taxa contributing to the night SSL exhibited a series of vertical migration events from the surface to the DSL or deeper until all migrants have reached the DSL before daytime. Possible mechanisms leading to the observed patterns in micronekton vertical and horizontal distributions are discussed. This study contributes to a better understanding of how seamounts influence the DVM, horizontal distribution and community composition of micronekton and seamount-associated/resident species at two poorly studied shallow topographic features in the south-western Indian Ocean.

Résumé: Anchovy (Engraulis ringens) is the most important exploited fish species in the Northern Humboldt Current System (NHCS) off Peru. This species, as well as most other pelagic resources, mainly forage on zooplankton. The NHCS is bottom-up controlled at a variety of scales. Therefore, fish biomass is driven by the abundance of their prey. In this context, we studied the spatiotemporal patterns of zooplankton biomass in the NHCS from 1961-2012. Data were collected with Hensen net all along the Peruvian coast. To transform zooplankton biovolume into biomass we used a regression that was calibrated from 145 zooplankton samples collected during four surveys and, for which, precise information was available on both biovolume and wet weight. The regression model was then applied on a time-series encompassing 158 cruises performed by the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (IMARPE) between 1961 and 2012. We observed a clear multidecadal pattern and two regime shifts, in 1973 and 1992. Maximum biomass occurred between 1961 and 1973 (61.5 g m(-2)). The lowest biomass (17.8 g m(-2)) occurred between 1974 and 1992. Finally, the biomass increased after 1993 (26.6 g m(-2)) but without reaching the levels observed before 1973. A seasonal pattern was observed with significantly more biomass in spring than in other seasons. Spatially, zooplankton biomass was higher offshore and in northern and southern Peru. Interestingly, the zooplankton sampling was performed using classic zooplankton net that are well fitted to mesozooplankton and are known to underestimate the macrozooplankton; however, the spatiotemporal patterns we observed are consistent with those of macrozooplankton, in particular euphausiids. This suggests that in the NHCS, when and where macrozooplankton dominates it also dominates the biomass obtained using classic zooplankton net samples. Finally, until now, in the NHCS only time-series on zooplankton biovolume were available. The biomass data we provide are more directly usable in trophic or end-to-end models.