The fish fauna of Ampère Seamount (NE Atlantic) and the adjacent abyssal plain

Christiansen, Bernd; Vieira, RP; Christiansen, Sabine; Denda, Anneke; Oliveira, Frederico; Gonçalves, J. M. S.

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/8947

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
2014_Christiansen et al HMR_The fish fauna of Ampere Seamount.pdf		1.59 MB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Abstract(s)

An inventory of benthic and benthopelagic fishes is presented as a result of two exploratory surveys around Ampe`re Seamount, between Madeira and the Portuguese mainland, covering water depths from 60 to 4,400 m. A total of 239 fishes were collected using different types of sampling gear. Three chondrichthyan species and 31 teleosts in 21 families were identified. The collections showed a vertical zonation with little overlap, but indications for an affinity of species to certain water masses were only vague. Although most of the species present new records for Ampe`re Seamount, all of them have been known for the NE Atlantic; endemic species were not found. The comparison with fish communities at other NE Atlantic seamounts indicates that despite a high ichthyofaunal similarity, which supports the ‘‘stepping stone’’ hypothesis of species dispersal, some differences can be attributed to the local features of the seamounts.