Environmental variability in the Atlantic and Iberian waters and its influence on horse mackerel recruitment
Time-series (1967 -1997) of environmental variables such as air and sea surface temperature (SST), precipitation, wind, Ekman transport, and mean sea level, as well as time-series (1985-1997) of recruitment of horse mackerel, were studied in Atlantic Iberian waters. All time-series were analysed for autocorrelation. The results indicate a statistically significant relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation and air temperature in Santander. In western Iberia, winter Ekman transport is significantly correlated with the annual Gulf Stream position and sea level with the winter Gulf Stream position. Horse mackerel recruitment is negatively correlated with the annual and spring values of air temperature in the Cantabrian Sea and SST and air temperature in western Iberia. Correlation between recruitment and upwelling index is significant in spring and summer. Recruitment is also negatively correlated with the annual and winter Ekman transport. After multicolinearity analysis, a multivariate regression model of non-correlated variables (air temperature in Vigo and upwelling index) from April to September has been applied and explains 81.63% of the variance.
Article from Marine Science Symposia Vol. 219 - "Hydrobiological variability in the ICES Area, 1990-1999", symposium held in Edinburgh, 8-10 August 2001. To access the remaining articles please click on the keyword "MSS Vol. 219".
