To characterize the temporal and spatial variability of total mass fluxes in the Blanes submarine canyon and the nearby southern open slope, eight near-bottom sediment traps were deployed at 300, 900, 1200 and 1500 m along the canyon axis, and at 900, 1200, 1500 and 1800 m of water depth on the southern open slope from November 2008 to November 2009. The results obtained show that mass fluxes were higher into the canyon, ranging from 0.05 to 82.67 g m(-2) d(-1), compared with those from the open slope that ranged from 0.01 to 9.91 g m(2) d(-1). Both environments were highly influenced by atmospheric forcing and showed increased total mass fluxes during autumn and winter months. The spatial distribution of total mass fluxes and major constituents (organic matter, carbonate, opal and lithogenics) highlights the contrasts amongst the two physiographic domains in the study area (canyons vs. open slope). The temporal evolution of particle fluxes shows three distinct situations succeeding each other along the year. These are determined by: (1) storms in autumn and winter, driving 60% of the annual total mass flux in Blanes Canyon and 44% in the open slope stations, and also 60% and 40% of the annual OC flux in Blanes Canyon and the southern open slope, respectively; (2) open sea convection in late winter and spring, which is accompanied by a phytoplankton bloom and drives 13% of the settling OC in the canyon and 34% in the open slope; and (3) dust inputs and resuspension by bottom trawling in late spring and -summer months, driving 17% of the annual OC flux in the canyon and 18% in the slope. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

To ascertain whether the Blanes submarine canyon functions as a conduit of labile organic compounds to the deep margin, we analyzed phytopigment, protein, carbohydrate and lipid contents of sinking particles during a 6-months period comprised between a large storm event and the spring phytoplankton bloom. Four sediment traps were deployed, at 300, 900, 1200, and 1500m depth along the axis of the canyon from November 2008 to April 2009. Fluxes of all study variables (organic carbon, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) peaked from mid to late December. Afterwards, organic matter fluxes in the upper canyon decreased to values comparable (BC1200) or much lower (BC900) than those observed at the beginning of the monitoring period. The algal fraction of biopolymeric C (i.e. the percentage contribution of phytopigments to biopolymeric C utilized here as an indicator of particles’ freshness), ranging from 14 to about 100%, was generally low (median value about 32%), and showed the highest values from November to early December 2008 at all stations, except for the station at 1200m which peaks in April 2009. A severe storm that occurred the 26th of December 2008 determined a strong increase in the downward transport of organic matter along the Blanes Canyon, though associated with a decrease in its nutritional quality. Values of the protein to carbohydrate ratio (utilized here as an indicator of particles’ nutritional quality) ranged from 0.4 to >2.0, increasing from late winter to early spring at 900 and 1200m depth in association with the spring phytoplankton bloom in superficial waters. The material collected by sediment traps in spring had a higher nutritional value than in autumn–winter at both stations. According to the optimal foraging theory, the results of this study suggest that, following winter episodic events, deep-sea detritus feeders would need to ingest more detritus to fulfill their requirements for labile food than in spring, when fresher material is derived from sinking particles associated with phytoplankton blooms. We conclude that whilst submarine canyons like the Blanes Canyon act as major conduits for material exported from the continental shelf after high-energy episodic events, the supply of labile food to the deep-sea benthic ecosystem is connected to biological processes occurring at the sea surface.

Temporal patterns in deep-sea fish reproduction are presently unknown for the majority of deep continental margins. A series of seasonal trawling surveys between depths of 300 to 1750 m in the Blanes submarine canyon and its adjacent open slope (NW Mediterranean) were conducted. The bathymetric size distributions and reproductive cycles of the most abundant species along the NW Mediterranean margin were analyzed to assess the occurrence of (i) temporal patterns in reproduction (i.e., spawning season) along a bathymetric gradient and (ii) preferential depth strata for recruitment. The fish assemblages were grouped in relation to their bathymetric distribution: upper slope, middle slope and lower slope species. Middle-slope species (i.e., 800-1350 m) showed short (i.e., highly seasonal) reproductive activity compared to the upper (300-800 m) and lower (1350-1750 m) ones. Our results, together with those previously published for megabenthic crustacean decapods in the area, suggest a cross-phyla depth-related trend of seasonality in reproduction. In the middle and lower slope species, the reproductive activity reached a maximum in the autumn-winter months and decreased in the spring. The observed seasonal spawning patterns appear to be ultimately correlated with changes in the downward transport of organic particles and with seasonal changes in the physicochemical characteristics of the surrounding water masses. The distribution of juveniles was associated with the bathymetric stratum where intermediate nepheloid layers interact with the continental margins, indicating that this stratum acts as a deep-sea fish nursery area. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Submarine canyons are sites of intense energy and material exchange between the shelf and the deep adjacent basins. To test the hypothesis that active submarine canyons represent preferential conduits of available food for the deep-sea benthos, two mooring lines were deployed at 1200 m depth from November 2008 to November 2009 inside the Blanes canyon and on the adjacent open slope (Catalan Margin, NW Mediterranean Sea). We investigated the fluxes, biochemical composition and food quality of sinking organic carbon (OC). OC fluxes in the canyon and the open slope varied among sampling periods, though not consistently in the two sites. In particular, while in the open slope the highest OC fluxes were observed in August 2009, in the canyon the highest OC fluxes occurred in April–May 2009. For almost the entire study period, the OC fluxes in the canyon were significantly higher than those in the open slope, whereas OC contents of sinking particles collected in the open slope were consistently higher than those in the canyon. This result confirms that submarine canyons are effective conveyors of OC to the deep sea. Particles transferred to the deep sea floor through the canyons are predominantly of inorganic origin, significantly higher than that reaching the open slope at a similar water depth. Using multivariate statistical tests, two major clusters of sampling periods were identified: one in the canyon that grouped trap samples collected in December 2008, concurrently with the occurrence of a major storm at the sea surface, and associated with increased fluxes of nutritionally available particles from the upper shelf. Another cluster grouped samples from both the canyon and the open slope collected in March 2009, concurrently with the occurrence of the seasonal phytoplankton bloom at the sea surface, and associated with increased fluxes of total phytopigments. Our results confirm the key ecological role of submarine canyons for the functioning of deep-sea ecosystems, and highlight the importance of canyons in linking episodic storms and primary production occurring at the sea surface to the deep sea floor.