To analyze the potential trophic interactions among tuna larvae and other fish species, we studied the larval fish assemblages inhabiting the surface mixed layer around the Balearic Islands using data from two surveys carried out in summer 2006 and 2008. Despite the high diversity, Thunnus alalunga, Auxis rochei, Cyclothone pygmaea and Ceratoscopelus maderensis clearly dominated the catch in bo...

Understanding changes in biodiversity requires the implementation of monitoring programs encompassing different dimensions of biodiversity through varying sampling techniques. In this work, fish assemblages associated with the "outer" and "inner" sides of four marinas, two at the Canary Islands and two at southern Portugal, were investigated using three complementary sampling techniques: underw...

Spatial properties of landscapes modify the abundance and diversity of most animal assemblages in ways that need to be understood to plan and implement conservation initiatives, and evaluate their effectiveness. Seascape context (i.e. the spatial arrangement of ecosystems) mediates the effects of reserves on fish abundance, species richness and ecological processes in shallow coral reef and man...

Stringer et al. (1) report 149 mollusk shells, 5 seal bones, 3 dolphin bones, and 3 fish bones from Mousterian layers in 2 caves on Gibraltar. From this they argue that the Neanderthals had ‘‘focused coastal visits. . . repeated during particular times, possibly seasonal’’ (p. 14323) and that in this respect they surpassed their South African Middle Stone Age (MSA) contemporaries. However, the ...

We studied the effects of marine protected areas (MPAs) on predatory interactions at a regional scale of 3 different islands across the geographical gradient of the Canary Islands. Protection measures positively affected predatory fish assemblages, enhancing the intensity of predatory interactions in comparison to equivalent unprotected areas (UAs), and causing indirect effects on populations o...