Author(s): Christiansen, Bernd ; Vieira, Rui P. ; Christiansen, Sabine ; Denda, Anneke ; Oliveira, Frederico ; Gonçalves, Jorge M. S.
Date: 2015
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/17643
Origin: RIA - Repositório Institucional da Universidade de Aveiro
Subject(s): Deep sea; Fish distribution; Ichthyofauna; Seamounts; Zoogeography
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.
