FISH HABITAT MAPPING Atmospheric forcing on chlorophyll concentration in the Mediterranean Isidora Katara Æ Janine Illian Æ Graham J. Pierce Æ Beth Scott Æ Jianjun Wang Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008 Abstract Recent research suggests the coupling of climatic fluctuations and changes in biological indices that describe species richness, abundance and spatio- temporal distribution. In this study, large-scale modes of atmospheric variability over the northern hemi- sphere are associated with chlorophyll-a concentration in the Mediterranean. Sea level atmospheric pressure, air temperature, wind speed and precipitation are used to account for climatic and local weather effects, whereas sea surface temperature, sea surface height and salinity are employed to describe oceanic varia- tion. Canonical Correlation Analysis was applied to relate chlorophyll concentration to the above-men- tioned environmental variables, while correlation maps were also built to distinguish between localized and distant effects. Spectral analysis was used to identify common temporal cycles between chlorophyll concentration and each environmental variable. These cycles could be interpreted as mechanistic links between chlorophyll and large-scale atmospheric var- iability. Known teleconnection patterns such as the East Atlantic/Western Russian pattern, the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Polar/Eurasian pattern, the East Pacific/North Pacific, the East Atlantic jet and the Mediterranean Oscillation are found to be the most important modes of atmospheric variability related to chlorophyll-a concentration and distribution. The areas that are mostly affected are near the coasts and areas of upwelling and gyre formation. The results also suggest that this influence may arise either through local effects of teleconnection patterns on oceanic features or large- scale changes superimposed onto the general circula- tion in the Mediterranean. Keywords Teleconnection pattern  Canonical correlation analysis  Productivity Introduction The distribution of phytoplankton biomass is defined by the availability of light and nutrients. These growth-limiting factors are in turn regulated by physical processes of ocean circulation, mixed layer dynamics, atmospheric dust deposition and the solar Guest editor: V. D. Valavanis Essential Fish Habitat Mapping in the Mediterranean I. Katara (&)  G. J. Pierce  B. Scott  J. Wang School of Biological Sciences (Zoology), University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, AB24 2TZ Aberdeen, UK e-mail: r02ik6@abdn.ac.uk J. Illian School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, Observatory Buchanan Gardens, KY16 9LZ, St. Andrews, UK G. J. Pierce Centro Oceanogra ´fico de Vigo, Instituto Espan ˜ol de Oceanografı ´a, P.O. Box 1552, 36200 Vigo, Spain 123 Hydrobiologia (2008) 612:33–48 DOI 10.1007/s10750-008-9492-z