Azores Ecosystem Overview
Key signals within the environment and the ecosystem
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- The Subtropical Gyre primarily influences the ecoregion where surface conditions have recently been warmer than average, particularly in the Gulf Stream region. A northward shift of the subtropical front there may explain the 3°C warming anomaly.
- There is an indication that the size composition of the plankton community is shifting towards smaller taxa.
- The annual rate of discovery of non-indigenous species increased from 1.1 per year between 1950 and 1999, to 2.1 per year between 2000 and 2015.
