Imprint of the North Atlantic climate on the long term hydroclimate changes in the Gulf of Mexico

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Climate teleconnections link large scale regions through the transient behavior of atmospheric waves. In the Atlantic Ocean, one of the most prominent teleconnections is the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which together with the Arctic Oscillation (AO) constitutes regional manifestations of the Northern Annular Mode (NAM), closely linked to the leading pattern of sea surface temperature (SST). Here we have examined the potential influence such meteorological phenomenon has on patterns of low frequency variability of hydroclimate conditions fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Statistical analyses were performed using large- (NAO/AO) and regional scale (GoM climate) data and time series of GoM fish captures over the period 1980-2010. Results show significant correlative associations between the GoM hydroclimate variability and the North Atlantic climate over the period 1950-2010. The oscillation frequency of some hydroclimatic variables, the NAO/AO and some catch time series showed common peaks. The relationship, however, shows a transient behavior leaded by the varying dominant period of the climatic teleconnection. The close link between large-scale atmospheric forcing and regional environmental conditions suggest cascade down effects on plankton communities and/or changes in reproductive habitat for fish. The long periods of alternated low and high SST, likely coupled to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, can alter both food sources for fish larvae (i.e. changes in zooplankton structure) and the thermal window for mass reproduction of fish.