Climate influence on deep sea populations

8 pages, 5 figures.-- PMID: 18197243 [PubMed].-- PMCID: PMC2174526.-- Supporting information (Suppl. figures S1-S9) available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0001431
Dynamics of biological processes on the deep-sea floor are traditionally thought to be controlled by vertical sinking of particles from the euphotic zone at a seasonal scale. However, little is known about the influence of lateral particle transport from continental margins to deep-sea ecosystems. To address this question, we report here how the formation of dense shelf waters and their subsequent downslope cascade, a climate induced phenomenon, affects the population of the deep-sea shrimp Aristeus antennatus. We found evidence that strong currents associated with intense cascading events correlates with the disappearance of this species from its fishing grounds, producing a temporary fishery collapse. Despite this initial negative effect, landings increase between 3 and 5 years after these major events, preceded by an increase of juveniles. The transport of particulate organic matter associated with cascading appears to enhance the recruitment of this deep-sea living resource, apparently mitigating the general trend of overexploitation. Because cascade of dense water from continental shelves is a global phenomenon, we anticipate that its influence on deep-sea ecosystems and fisheries worldwide should be larger than previously thought
Supported by the US Office of Naval Research grant N00014-04-1-0379 (PP; current meter data) and the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia grant REN 2002-04151-C02-01 (ML; sediment trap data)