Hyperiid amphipods from the Gulf of Ulloa and offshore region, Baja California: The possible role of the gelatinous zooplankton as a transport vector into the coastal shelf waters.

Hyperiid amphipod species from the Gulf of Ulloa, Baja California, and the adjacent region (from the shelf break to 200 km offshore) were analyzed to evaluate diversity and abundances. This productive area supports small-scale commercial fisheries, including sand bass (Paralabrax nebulifer), California spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus), abalones, clams, and others. Strong coastal upwelling events were observed during summer seasons of the period 2002-2008 between Punta Eugenia and Punta Abreojos. The upwelling plumes at Punta Abreojos are transported southward in slope waters bordering the coastal shelf of the Gulf of Ulloa, contributing to the separation of coastal and oceanic regions, and explain differences in amphipod diversity and abundances between both regions. In the offshore region, the most abundant species were Vibilia armata, Lestrigonus schizogeneios, Primno brevidens, and Eupronoe minuta, similar to previous findings in northern regions of Baja California and southern California. However, abundances of these species were lower (10-30 individuals/1000 m3), only reaching 20-50% of abundance levels reported off northern Baja California. In the coastal shelf of the Gulf of Ulloa, amphipods were virtually absent during 2002, 2003 and 2006. However, during 2004 and 2005, abundances of P. brevidens increased (54 and 20 ind/1000 m3, respectively). Moreover, during the late summer of 2007, abundances of L. schizogeneios, P. brevidens, Lycaea nasuta, Lycaea pulex, and Simorhynchotus antennarius increased considerably (261, 39, 31, 68, 416 ind/1000 m3, respectively), indicating occasional utilization of the coastal shelf by pelagic amphipods. Changes in gelatinous populations (medusae, siphonophores, ctenophores, doliolids, and salps) paralleled changes in hyperiid populations, with highest abundances in 2005-2008 in the coastal shelf. Significant correlations of 17 amphipod species with gelatinous taxa, which are often used as host organisms by hyperiid amphipods, suggest that gelatinous presence enhanced hyperiid abundance and promoted the progression of hyperiid amphipods onto the coastal shelf during parts of the 2002-2008 period.

The making of a productivity hotspot in the coastal ocean.

BACKGROUND: Highly productive hotspots in the ocean often occur where complex physical forcing mechanisms lead to aggregation of primary and secondary producers. Understanding how hotspots persist, however, requires combining knowledge of the spatio-temporal linkages between geomorphology, physical forcing, and biological responses with the physiological requirements and movement of top predators. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we integrate remotely sensed oceanography, ship surveys, and satellite telemetry to show how local geomorphology interacts with physical forcing to create a region with locally enhanced upwelling and an adjacent upwelling shadow that promotes retentive circulation, enhanced year-round primary production, and prey aggregation. These conditions provide an area within the upwelling shadow where physiologically optimal water temperatures can be found adjacent to a region of enhanced prey availability, resulting in a foraging hotspot for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) off the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. SIGNIFICANCE/CONCLUSIONS: We have identified the set of conditions that lead to a persistent top predator hotspot, which increases our understanding of how highly migratory species exploit productive regions of the ocean. These results will aid in the development of spatially and environmentally explicit management strategies for marine species of conservation concern.