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Marine benthic species introduced to the Azores are collated from scientific publications, internal reports and own data. Twelve algae and 21 invertebrates are classified as non-indigenous species, 18 as cryptogenic. Two species of algae and two ascidians are regarded as particularly invasive along the shores of this oceanic archipelago.

Seven coastal fish species are newly reported for the remote north Atlantic archipelago of the Azores: Mediterranean sand eel Gymnammodytes cicerelus, bar jack Caranx ruber, two-banded seabream Diplodus vulgaris, bastard grunt Pomadasys incisus, unicorn leatherjacket filefish Aluterus scriptus and longspined porcupinefish Diodon holacanthus. The occurrence is also confirmed for 19 species that had been hitherto cited occasionally for the region, totalling a list of two elasmobranchs and 23 teleosts. Diplodus vulgaris, which appears to have recently colonized the islands, as well as roughtail stingray Dasyatis centroura and golden grey mullet Liza aurata, re-cited based on new records, are frequent or common coastal species in the Azores. The remaining 22 species, exceptional or rare in the region, are of tropical or subtropical affinity and find their northernmost distribution limit within the central and north-east Atlantic Ocean precisely in the Azores. This biogeographical pattern contrasts with that of the Azorean coastal fish community and suggests a tropicalization process in the region in line with previous findings of similar patterns across the north-east Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. These novel data from the most isolated archipelago of the North Atlantic Ocean, located in a biogeographic boundary area where colonization opportunities are reduced, reinforce the need for long-term monitoring programmes of coastal fish communities and, in particular, of indicator species groups to improve understanding of the effects of climate change on marine communities.

The Dodecanese region has a high prevalence of marine alien species due to its close proximity to the Suez Canal and associated Suez shipping lanes, as well as its location at biogeographical border between sub-tropical and tropical biota. This region is therefore very important for the early detection of alien species entering the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal and it is imperative that monitoring of alien species is continued in order to assess the levels of biological invasion. We present results of marine alien surveys, carried out in April 2014 on the island of Rodos. Surveys were performed by a team of marine taxonomic experts and students as part of an EU wide training school, coordinated by the COST Action TD1209 “Alien Challenge”. A variety of survey methods were employed to cover a number of coastal habitats. These included: rapid assessment surveys of epibiota on artificial structures in harbours, rapid assessment snorkelling surveys of biota on sublittoral bedrock, and quantified fishing surveys (both boat-seine and trammel net fishing methods). A total of 33 alien and cryptogenic species were recorded across all the survey techniques. Of these species, 9 represented first records for Rodos: the foraminiferan Amphisorus hemprichii, the polychaetes Branchiomma bairdi, Dorvillea similis, Hydroides dirampha and Pseudonereis anomala, the molluscs Aplysia parvula, Chama pacifica and Septifer cumingii, and the bryozoan Hippopodina feegeensis. Of note the record of the Lessepsian invader Dorvillea similis represents the second record in the Mediterranean Sea. Alien fish species represented a small but notable proportion of the diversity, biomass and number of individuals in fishing catch of both fishing methods. All alien fish species observed were already known to be present in Rodos. The addition of species firstly recorded in this study brings the total number of marine alien and cryptogenic species in the Dodecanese region up to 129 species. The vast majority of these alien species have entered unaided via the Suez Canal, but an increasing number have been introduced through hull fouling or ballast water transfer from shipping. The results highlight the value of conducting marine alien surveys with teams of a diverse range of taxonomic expertise, both in its scientific output and student training

Obtaining a comprehensive knowledge of the spatial and temporal variations of the environmental factors characterizing the Azores region is essential for conservation and management purposes. Although many studies are available for the region, there is a need for a general overview of the best available information. Here, we assembled a comprehensive collection of environmental data and briefly described the ocean climatology and its variability in the Azores. Data sources used in this study included remote sensing oceanographic data for 2003-2013 (sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration, particulate inorganic carbon, and particulate organic carbon), derived oceanographic data (primary productivity and North Atlantic oscillation index) for [2003][2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009][2010][2011][2012][2013], and in situ data (temperature, salinity, oxygen, phosphate, nitrate and silicate) obtained from the World Ocean Atlas 2013. We have produced 78 geographic datasets of environmental data for the Azores region that were deposited at the World Data Center Pangaea and also made available at the SIGMAR Azores website. As with previous studies, our results confirmed a high spatial, seasonal and inter-annual variability of the marine environment in the Azores region, typical of mid-latitudes. For example, lower sea surface temperature was found in the northern part of the study area coinciding with higher values for chlorophyll-a concentration, net primary production (NPP), and particulate organic and inorganic carbon. Higher values for some of these parameters were also found on island slopes and some seamounts. Compiled data on the environmental conditions at near-seabed revealed some notable variations across the study area (e.g., oxygen and nutrients) and with depth (e.g., temperature, salinity, and oxygen). Knowledge of these patterns will help improve our understanding of the distribution of many deep-sea organisms such as fish, cold-water corals, and sponges, thereby supporting the implementation of marine spatial planning and other management measures. It should be noted that the assembled datasets suffer from a number of Amorim et al. Ocean Climatology in the Azores limitations related to the accuracy of remote sensing and global bathymetry data, or to the limited and unevenly distributed collection of environmental observations. Accordingly, an effective observing system for detecting oceanic change with adequate accuracy and precision is still required.

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Despite being an exploited and economically important species, little is known about the reproductive behaviour of Loligo forbesi. During a captive trial performed in a closed seawater system in the Azores, three spawning events were directly witnessed. An account of their main behavioural aspects is given. A number of behavioural components are described for the first time in this species: ‘pair formation’, ‘mate guarding’, ‘egg holding’, ‘egg touching’, ‘white arms’, ‘red accessory nidamental glands’, ‘accentuated testis’, and ‘jockeying and parrying’. The chromatic, locomotor and postural components were very similar to other coastal loliginids observed on spawning grounds. From egg masses recovered on octopus traps, we show that in the Azores spawning activity occurs at least between 25 and 144 m, but greater depths might be expected. We suggest that this squid preferentially deposits egg masses on hard structures probably hiding them in cracks and crevices of volcanic substrata. The existence of spawning aggregations is supported by several factors: (i) these spawning grounds may coincide with the fishing spots, where the exploitation seasonally takes place, given that most individuals caught by fishermen are usually mature (more than 80%); and (ii) mate guarding and jockeying/parrying by males was observed, which is a common feature of spawning aggregation areas, where sperm competition occurs. Furthermore, our results, combined with available published and non-published data further confirm L. forbesi as an intermittent spawner. We estimate that throughout their short life cycle, females of L. forbesi are able to perform up to six spawning events, each composed of an average of ≈2300 eggs.