<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EstiloCorreo17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=ES link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Marine Ecology, Vol. 40, No. 6, December 2019<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>First published: 24 November 2019<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12568"><span lang=EN-US style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12568</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>2015–16 ENSO contributed reduction in oil sardines along the Kerala coast, south</span></b><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span></b><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>west India<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored=Shetye%2C+Suhas+S"><span lang=EN-US style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Suhas S. Shetye</span></a></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'> </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored=Kurian%2C+Siby"><span lang=EN-US style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Siby Kurian</span></a></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'> </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored=Gauns%2C+Mangesh"><span lang=EN-US style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Mangesh Gauns</span></a></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'> </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored=Vidya%2C+Pottekkatt+Jayapalan"><span lang=EN-US style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Pottekkatt Jayapalan Vidya</span></a></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'> <span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Abstract<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Fishery along the west coast of India largely depends on pelagic fish such as oil sardines, which are dominant during the south</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>west monsoon. However, the response of sardine population to the warming caused by the climatic events such as El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is poorly studied. Here, we hypothesize that the ENSO</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>related changes in biogeochemistry can adversely affect the oil sardines. We have used biogeochemical data collected along the Kerala coast during September 2015 (ENSO year) and September 2017 (a normal year) supported by catch per unit effort (CPUE) and fishery landing data to show the ENSO</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>related bio</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>physical dynamics and its impact on the oil sardine population along the south</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>west coast of India. During the 2015 ENSO year, upwelling velocity decreased minimizing cooling of surface waters and resulted with an increase in sea surface temperature (SST) (~1.8°C). Consequent decrease in nutrient levels favoured nano</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>phytoplankton and pico</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>phytoplankton. On the other hand, during September 2017 when the ENSO effect was nullified, the decreased SST and availability of nutrients in the euphotic zone resulted in the dominance of micro</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>phytoplankton. The hydrographic conditions (reduction in upwelling intensity), and reduction in micro</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>‐</span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>phytoplankton abundance and zooplankton density in turn perhaps affected the fishery potential of the region. Oil sardines population (along the west coast) collapsed from 1.55 lakh tones (2014) to 0.46 lakh tones during 2015–2016 ENSO event, while in 2017 the conditions become favorable and their population was back to normal (1.27 lakh tones). Our results are in close agreement with our hypothesis and suggest that ENSO events could reduce phytoplankton productivity and disrupt the food chain, which in turn can affect the oil sardine population along the west coast of India.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>