A large patch of anomalously warm water (nicknamed "the Blob") appeared off the coast of Alaska in the winter of 2013-2014 and subsequently stretched south to Baja California. This northeastern Pacific warm-water anomaly persisted through the end of 2015. Scientists and the public alike noted widespread changes in the biological structure and composition of both openocean and coastal ecosystems. Changes included geographical shifts of species such as tropical copepods, pelagic red crabs, and tuna; closures of commercially important fisheries; and mass strandings of marine mammals and seabirds. The ecological responses to these physical changes have been sparsely quantified and are largely unknown. Here, we provide a bottom-up summary of some of the biological changes observed in and around the areas affected by the Blob.

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The US and Mexico share a common history in many areas, including language and culture. They face ecological changes due to the increased frequency and severity of droughts and rising energy demands; trends that entail economic costs for both nations and major implications for human wellbeing. We describe an ongoing effort by the Environment Working Group (EWG), created by The University of California's UC-Mexico initiative in 2015, to promote binational research, teaching, and outreach collaborations on the implications of climate change for Mexico and California. We synthesize current knowledge about the most pressing issues related to climate change in the US-Mexico border region and provide examples of cross-border discoveries and research initiatives, highlighting the need to move forward in six broad rubrics. This and similar binational cooperation efforts can lead to improved living standards, generate a collaborative mindset among participating universities, and create an international network to address urgent sustainability challenges affecting both countries.

Background. The Cortez Province (CP) is located in the transitional warm-temperate/subtropical region that allows the ichthyological component inhabiting it to be a mixture of elements of different biogeographic affinities. Since the first systematic analysis of the fish fauna of the Gulf of California in the 1960's a major portion of the endemic species was recognized. Subsequently, a total of 31 new endemic species have been described in the CP. This study constitutes an amendment of the fish component of the CP, including the most relevant ecological attributes of the species, along with an updated taxonomic list. Materials and methods. A comprehensive literature review was made, considering current biological knowledge, and taxonomic status of the endemic species from the CP. Those fish species with restricted distribution ranges, falling within the limits of this province, were considered endemic. Additionally, and to recognize the dominant ecological attributes of the CP endemic species, the preferential habitat, bathymetric distribution, the reproduction strategy, and the maximum total length (TL) were recorded. Results. Seventy-nine endemic species were recognized and grouped in 13 orders, 29 families, and 59 genera. Gobiidae (12), Chaenopsidae (8), and Labrisomidae (7) are the families with the highest species richness, and Sebastes (6 species), the most diverse genus. Forty-five percent of the species are associated with coral and rocky reefs, with 35% distributed within the first 10 m depth layer. The dominant reproduction strategies are: oviparous with benthic eggs and pelagic larval phase (48.7%), and oviparous with pelagic eggs (25.6%). More than half of the species (52%) are shorter than 10 cm (total length). Conclusion. The list of endemic species presented in this study is not conclusive, still undescribed species have not been included, detected differences (morphologic and/or genetic) in several species with disjunct populations may increase the diversity of this province.

Co-operation in the management of shared fish stocks is often necessary to achieve sustainability and reduce uncertainty. The United States of America (USA) and Mexico share a number of fish stocks and marine ecosystems, while there is some binational co-operation in scientific research, unilateral management decisions are generally the rule. We present a case study using the giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas, Polyprionidae) to highlight how these management and research asymmetries can skew national perceptions of population status for a fully transboundary species.Scientific publications and annual funding related to giant sea bass are 7x and 25x higher in the USA, respectively, despite the fact that 73% of the species' range occurs in Mexico. Conversely, annual fishery production and consumptive value of giant sea bass in Mexico are 19x and 3.5x higher than in the USA, respectively, while the nonconsumptive value related to dive ecotourism is 76x higher in the USA. These asymmetries have generated a distorted view of the population status of the giant sea bass across its entire range. This and other factors related to historical fishery dynamics and policy must be accounted for when assessing population status, and subsequent appropriate management responses, across geopolitical boundaries. | 1393 RAMÍREZ-VALDEZ Et AL. 2.1. Asymmetry in scientific research 1394 2.2. Fishery and management trends 1395 2.3. Spatial patterns of the contemporary fishery 1397 2.4. Asymmetry in economic value 1397 3. RESULTS 1397 3.1. Asymmetry in scientific research 1394 3.2. Fishery and management trends 1399 3.3. Spatial patterns of the contemporary fishery 1401 3.4. Asymmetry in the economic value 1401 4. DISCUSSION 1402 4.1. Asymmetry in scientific research 1403 4.2. Fishery and management trends 1404 4.3. Spatial patterns of the contemporary fishery 1405 4.4. Asymmetry in economic value 1405 5. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS 1406 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1407 CONFLICT OF INTEREST 1407 AUTHOR CONTRIBUTION 1407 DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 1408Peer-reviewed papers -Information exclusively from the USA 39Peer-reviewed papers -Information exclusively from Mexico 13Peer-reviewed papers -Information from both the USA and Mexico 4Total unique GSB-centric papers 21 GSB-centric papers -Data exclusively from the USA 21 GSB-centric papers -Data exclusively from Mexico 0 GSB-centric papers -Data from both the USA and Mexico 3 Notes: WS, ISI Web of Science; GS, Google Scholar; GSB-listed, Papers that mention GSB; GSB-centric Paper, Papers that are focussed on GSB. Giant sea bass and black sea bass are common names in English used in the literature. Mero gigante and pescara are common names in Spanish (sensu Page et al., 2013).a Pescara is also a noun in Italian.