First record of the Indo-West Pacific spotted scat Scatophagus argus (Acanthuriformes, Scatophagidae) from the Canary Islands (East-Central Atlantic).

The pantropical crab Cronius ruber (Lamarck, 1818) (Brachyura: Portunidae) is recorded for the first time from the Canary Islands. Previously known from off Cape Verde Islands and Senegal, this is the northernmost record of the species in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Crabs have been caught by means of a collecting small trap for sampling in shallow waters, and then identified by both morphological characters and DNA barcoding (16S). Cytochrome c oxidase I partial sequence has been obtained for this species for the first time. This relatively large and very aggressive crab species seems to be rapidly occupying both hard substrates (sublittoral caves) and soft substrates (sand with seagrass meadow) adjacent to shallow rocky bottoms, at depths between 2 and 10 m, in the warm southern waters of Gran Canaria Island. The reasons for this species’ occurrence are discussed herein. Among them, natural range extension may be a consequence of tropicalization in the eastern Atlantic. Also, a human-mediated introduction could be based on the heavy traffic of ships (ballast waters or oil platforms) arriving at the Canary Islands from African countries and from Brazil in the last decade.

The occurrence of the fish Cephalopholis taeniops (Serranidae: Epinephelinae) has been recorded for the first time in the Canary Islands (eastern subtropical Atlantic). Repeated observations of adult stages of the species (≈30 cm total length) inside oil platforms coming from the Gulf of Guinea greatly suggest an introduction related to the transport of ballast water in these structures, and show their importance in the dispersal of adult stages of large-sized species of littoral fish. Oil platforms constitute one special case in the introduction of marine species in the context of ballast water transport. This poorly known phenomenon may greatly favour marine species invasion, and might have significant repercussions in many regions -especially in the current climate change context- as well as explaining some surprising cases of occurrence of expatriated adult individuals of certain species.

First steps to develop the Surveillance Net in Macaronesian Detection of Ciguatera in species of fishing interest.

Invasive Tubastraea spp. and Oculina patagonica and other introduced scleractinians corals in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands) harbor: Ecology and potential risks

This research was supported by Fundación Canaria de Investigación y Salud
\n(project 34/04) and the Consejeria de Educación y Ciencia de Castilla-La Mancha
\n(project POII09-0141-8176).

This work documents the introduction of non-native fish species to the Canary Islands (central-eastern Atlantic) through oil rigs. Methodological approaches have included surveys by underwater visual censuses around and under oil platforms and along the docking area of rigs at the Port of Las Palmas. Eleven non-native fish species were registered. Paranthias furcifer, Abudefduf hoefleri, Acanthurus bahianus, Acanthurus chirurgus, and Acanthurus coeruleus are first recorded from the Canaries herein. Other three species could not be identified, although they have never been observed in the Canaries. Cephalopholis taeniops, Abudefduf saxatilis, and Acanthurus monroviae had been previously recorded. Native areas of these species coincide with the areas of origin and the scale of oil rigs with destination the Port of Las Palmas. The absence of native species in the censuses at rigs and their presence at rigs docking area, together with the observation of non-native species after the departure of platforms, reject the possibility that these non-native species were already present in the area introduced by another vector. C. taeniops, A. hoefleri, A. saxatilis, A. chirurgus, A. coeruleus and A. monroviae are clearly seafarer species. A. bahianus seems to be a potential seafarer species. P. furcifer is a castaway species. For themoment, the number of individuals of the non-native species in marine ecosystems of the Canaries seems to be low, and more investigation is needed for controlling these translocations.

Marine macrophytes are vertically distributed according to their ability to optimize their photosynthetic performance. We assessed the photo-physiological performance of the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa and the green seaweed Caulerpa prolifera at varying depth at Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands, eastern Atlantic). The biomass of C. nodosa decreases with depth, while the opposite occurs for C. prolifera. Photochemical responses of both macrophytes were measured in shallow (5 m) and deep (20 m) waters at two times via chlorophyll a fluorescence and internal content of photoprotective pigments and antioxidant activity. We additionally carried out a reciprocal transplant experiment by relocating shallow and deep vegetative fragments of both macrophytes to assess their short-term photo-physiological acclimation. Overall, C. nodosa behaves as a ‘light-plant’, including a larger optimum quantum yield and ETRmax under scenarios of high photosynthetically active radiation and a larger antioxidant activity. In contrast, C. prolifera is a ‘shade-adapted’ plant, showing a larger carotene content, particularly in shallow water. Deep-water C. nodosa and C. prolifera are more photochemically efficient than in shallow water. The alga C. prolifera shows a rapid, short-term acclimation to altered light regimes in terms of photosynthetic efficiency. In conclusion, decreased light regimes favour the photosynthetic performance of the green alga when both species coexist.

Event Abstract Back to Event Reproductive capability of non-indigenous species introduced in Gran Canaria associated to oil platforms. Raquel Ruiz-Díaz1*, Raül Triay-Portella1, José A. González1, Angel Luque1, José M. Lorenzo1 and José G. Pajuelo1 1 Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Estudios Ambientales y Recursos Naturales i-UNAT, Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain Introductions of non-indigenous species have generated serious alterations in the composition and function of ecological communities world-wide, giving rise to an important economic impact. The spread of a non-native species in a new region depends on various factors, mainly its tolerance to environmental conditions in the new ecosystem. These environmental conditions, especially temperature, have a great influence on the reproductive capacity of these species, affecting the maturity process, spawning, and the survival of offspring. To verify the reproductive capacity of the introduced non-native species associated with the oil platforms, under the environmental conditions found in the Canary Islands, was performed the capture of individuals of non-indigenous species by volunteer observers (Scuba divers, professional and recreational fishermen) in the Port of Las Palmas, and in areas of the marine Net Natura 2000 of Gran Canaria and were examined histologically. The specimens examined belonged to families Acanthuridae: Acanthurus bahianus (Castelnau, 1855), Acanthurus chirurgus (Bloch, 1787) Acanthurus monroviae (Steindachner, 1876); Serranidea: Cephalopholis taeniops (Valenciennes, 1828), Paranthias furcifer (Valenciennes, 1828); Pomacentridae: Abudefduf hoefleri (Steindachner, 1881); and Pomacanthidae: Pomacanthus paru (Bloch, 1787). These species have their native distribution range in tropical or subtropical regions as Brazil or Gulf of Guinea. All individuals examined of alien species were sexually immature or inactive, indicating that these species, at the moment, are not able to spread and increase their populations in Gran Canaria waters, with the exception of Cephalopholis taeniops, a hermaphrodite species, which was the unique with developed gonads. Acknowledgements Many thank are given to Fundación Universitaria for making this essay possible through their Innova 2020 program. Keywords: non-indigenous species, Oil rigs, Reproductive capacity, Histological analysis., Gonad development Conference: XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies, Porto, Portugal, 5 Sep - 9 Sep, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: 2. GLOBAL CHANGES, INVASIVE SPECIES AND CONSERVATION Citation: Ruiz-Díaz R, Triay-Portella R, González J, Luque A, Lorenzo J and Pajuelo J (2016). Reproductive capability of non-indigenous species introduced in Gran Canaria associated to oil platforms.. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.05.00189 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 28 Apr 2016; Published Online: 03 Sep 2016. * Correspondence: Miss. Raquel Ruiz-Díaz, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Estudios Ambientales y Recursos Naturales i-UNAT, Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, 35017, Spain, raquel.ruiz103@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Raquel Ruiz-Díaz Raül Triay-Portella José A. González Angel Luque José M. Lorenzo José G. Pajuelo Google Raquel Ruiz-Díaz Raül Triay-Portella José A. González Angel Luque José M. Lorenzo José G. Pajuelo Google Scholar Raquel Ruiz-Díaz Raül Triay-Portella José A. González Angel Luque José M. Lorenzo José G. Pajuelo PubMed Raquel Ruiz-Díaz Raül Triay-Portella José A. González Angel Luque José M. Lorenzo José G. Pajuelo Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

This study examines the role of North Atlantic storms degrading a Late Pleistocene rocky shoreline formed by basaltic rocks overlying hyaloclastite rocks on a small volcanic peninsula connected to Gran Canaria in the central region of the Canary Archipelago. A conglomerate dominated by large, ellipsoidal to angular boulders eroded from an adjacent basalt flow was canvassed at six stations distributed along 800 m of the modern shore at El Confital, on the outskirts of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. A total of 166 individual basalt cobbles and boulders were systematically measured in three dimensions, providing the database for analyses of variations in clast shape and size. The goal of this study was to apply mathematical equations elaborated after Nott (2003) and subsequent refinements in order to estimate individual wave heights necessary to lift basalt blocks from the layered and joint-bound sea cliffs at El Confital. On average, wave heights in the order of 4.2 to 4.5 m are calculated as having impacted the Late Pleistocene rocky coastline at El Confital, although the largest boulders in excess of 2 m in diameter would have required larger waves for extraction. A review of the fossil marine biota associated with the boulder beds confirms a littoral to very shallow water setting correlated in time with Marine Isotope Stage 5e (Eemian Stage) approximately 125,000 years ago. The historical record of major storms in the regions of the Canary and Azorean islands indicates that events of hurricane strength were likely to have struck El Confital in earlier times. Due to its high scientific value, the outcrop area featured in this study is included in the Spanish Inventory of Geosites and must be properly protected and managed to ensure conservation against the impact of climate change foreseen in coming years.

The genus Atomopria Kieffer, 1911 currently includes two only described species: A. fulvicornis Kieffer, 1911, from north-western Italy (Liguria) and A. rufithorax Kieffer, 1911, from Tunisia (Tunis). The following ten new species are described from North Africa and Canary Islands: A. helenae n. sp. (Algeria, Kabylia), A. giachinoi n. sp. (Algeria, Kabylia), A. lisae n. sp. (Algeria, Kabylia), A. olmii n. sp. (Canary Islands, Gran Canaria), A. ortegae n. sp. (Canary Islands, Tenerife), A. boffai n. sp. (Canary Islands, Tenerife), A. cavazzutii n. sp. (Canary Islands, Tenerife), A. longicornis n. sp. (Canary Islands, Tenerife), A. paglianoi n. sp. (Canary Islands, Tenerife), A. scaramozzinoi n. sp. (Canary Islands, Tenerife). Diagnostic morphological features of representatives of this genus are described; male genitalia of some species are illustrated for the first time. The synonymy of the genus Atomopria with Basalys Westwood, 1832 is also hypothesized, but not proposed in this contribution. A key for identification of all species is provided, both for females and males. Finally, some taxonomic and biogeographic questions are briefly debated.

The Canary Islands are a leading European touristic destination. The ultraviolet index (UVI) in the region is the highest in Spain, and similar to indexes registered in Australia and New Zealand, which hold the highest incidence of skin melanoma worldwide. Yet according to cancer registry data, the incidence in the Canary Islands in the late 1990s was the lowest in Spain (among the lowest in Europe) and about six times lower than in New Zealand. To analyze the incidence rates of skin melanoma in Gran Canaria island between 2007 and 2018. The study was based in the two centres of the Canary Islands' Healthcare Service centralizing melanoma care in Gran Canaria. We analyzed crude and age-standardized (ASR) incidence rates of invasive cutaneous melanoma for the period 2007-2018 following the inclusion criteria of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Clinical and histological characteristics of melanoma patients were assessed. A total of 1058 patients were included. The incidence rates obtained matched the latest available Canary Islands' cancer registry data, confirming its reliability (ASR, Segi-Doll world standard population: 6.4 cases per 100,000 habitants for 2008-2012). The incidence was also below the latest IARC predictions for Southern Europe (GLOBOCAN 2018). Histological characteristics of patients were similar to other Southern European series. The incidence of skin melanoma in Gran Canaria is unexpectedly low for a Southern European population exposed to such a high UVI. Further research in the Canary Islands could provide insight into a better understanding of melanoma pathogenesis.

Extralimital Senegalese species during Marine Isotope Stages 5.5 and 11 in the Canary Islands (29° N): Sea surface temperature estimates

Further field work in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) yielded new records of escaped cacti. Opuntia elatior, O. engelmannii, O. phaeacantha, O. stricta, Oreocereus pseudofossulatus, Pilosocereus polygonus, Trichocereus cuzcoensis and T. pachanoi are reported for the first time from Gran Canaria. A spontaneous hybrid between two invasive species (O. ficus-indica and O. robusta) was recorded in two localities. Several of these taxa appear to be firmly established while others are considered casuals, at least at present. Austrocylindropuntia cylindrica – a species formerly considered doubtful in the Canary Islands – is confirmed from Gran Canaria. New records are presented for three recently detected, naturalized or invasive species: Cylindropuntia bigelovii, C. prolifera and Opuntia lindheimeri. All newly detected taxa are illustrated and a key for the identification of the opuntioid species reliably recorded so far in the Canary Islands is presented.

Metal content in stranded pelagic vs deep-diving cetaceans in the Canary Islands

Vertical distribution, composition and migratory patterns of acoustic scattering layers in the Canary Islands