Acta Adriatica, Vol. 56 No. 1, 2015.
Original scientific paper
Climate regime shifts and multi-decadal variability of the Adriatic Sea pelagic ecosystem
Branka GRBEC
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Mira MOROVIĆ
orcid.org/0000-0002-1716-4808
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Frano MATIĆ
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Živana NINČEVIĆ GLADAN
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Ivona MARASOVIĆ
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Olja VIDJAK
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Natalia BOJANIĆ
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Vanja ČIKEŠ KEČ
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Grozdan KUŠPILIĆ
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Sanja MATIĆ-SKOKO
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split, Croatia
Abstract
In recent highly variable climate, a combined effect of a large-scale northern hemisphere climate and regional-scale Adriatic hydroclimate changes significantly reflected in the Adriatic Sea ecosystem. To clarify this statement we set up in connection two inter-annual systems: the air-sea interconnected system and pelagic ecosystems for the period 1961 to 2010. Within this period, significant changes occurred through 1987-1998 period, characterized by a drop of temperature, salinity and oxygen concentration in the middle Adriatic intermediate layer as consequence of a weaker ventilation of the Adriatic Sea. The pelagic ecosystem reacted to these changes. Large fluctuations in marine biota (from plankton to pelagic fish) revealed significantly different regimes before and after the late eighties. Different patterns observed through analyzed biotic parameters seem linked to modification in thermohaline circulation related to the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT), whose effects prevented warmer and saltier water mass intrusions into the Adriatic Sea. These results provide evidence on connections between the shifts in the middle Adriatic pelagic ecosystem and the northern hemisphere climate via changes in regional atmospheric conditions, and highlight the importance of northern hemisphere climate changes for physical and biological regimes of the Adriatic Sea.
Keywords
Mid-latitude teleconnections; Adriatic climate; regime shift; plankton; pelagic fish
Hrčak ID:
148127
URI
Publication date:
1.7.2015.
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