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The Marine Biological Reference Collections (CBMR) are located at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) in Barcelona, Spain. The CBR are a Unit of Service where around 15000 referenced species are preserved, catalogued and maintained for their study. The most represented marine groups at the CBMR are fish, crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms, but also other groups are present. The studies based on the CBMR specimens are focused on biodiversity, biogeography, taxonomy (type species), invasive and alien species, and genetic analysis. Several PhD theses have also been carried out in collaboration with the CBMR.The CBMR are a reference point for the marine biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea, but in their facilities the CBMR also hold specimens from all the oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Antarctic and Arctic). The Collections are constantly receiving new specimens and updating. The main sources of specimens are oceanographic surveys and different kind of sampling programs carried out by the research projects run by the ICM-CSIC. However, the CBMR have also received (in the past and currently) different collections donated by naturalists, researchers, other institutions, and particulars. The CBMR were created in 1981, in the earlier history of the ICM-CSIC, by Jaume Rucabado, Domingo Lloris and Concepción Allué. The Collections were later recognized and catalogued by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 1990. In the last decade, the CBMR initiated a new stage where the information was digitized and the physical preservation of specimens updated to the new rules (such as change from formaldehyde to ethanol). The CBMR are now part of GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility), thus making public and available all data collections and their metadata. We have also incorporated the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to monitor and study the geographical distribution of our specimens and moreover, the CBMR started to act as repository of DNA voucher collections for genetic analyses.As a unit of service of the ICM-CSIC we think that education and outreach of marine science is of crucial importance for the society and for that reason the CBMR take active part in several outreach activities with schools, universities and general public. For more information or details you can visit our webpage (http://cbr.icm.csic.es/en/node) and send us an e-mail (cbr@icm.csic.es). We will be happy to help you.

Regarding the research activities carried out by Oceanographic Centre of the Canary Islands (IEO-CSIC) during intersession, several studies on different topics were presented. Firstly, reproductive traits for the four main species have been analysed including all the data obtained since the monitoring system was launched in 2013. Although with some variations, the spawning season matched with winter and beginning spring for S. colias, T. picturatus and S. pilchardus. However, spawning individuals of S. aurita are present all year round. Sizes at first maturity (SFM) were also estimated, with slightly smaller sizes obtained for S. colias and T. picturatus (around 19 cm of total length) compared with the reference values (20 cm and 23 cm, respectively) (Jurado-Ruzafa and Santamaría, 2013; Lorenzo and Pajuelo, 1996). It seems that SFM remains stable for S. pilchardus (15 cm) (Méndez-Villamil et al., 1997). In the case of S. aurita, size at first maturity has been estimated for the first time in the Canary Islands, and has been recently published (Jurado-Ruzafa et al., 2022). Secondly, a first attempt to describe total catches of the Canary artisanal purse-seine fleet based on scientific observation shows that discards are more relevant than what was supposed, reaching the 25 percent of the total catches. The situation is even more concerning if only S. colias is considered, with discards around 40 percent of the total catches, mainly impacting on juveniles’ fraction, which is usually used as bait by commercial vessels but that are not officially reported. Finally, very preliminary results were shown to the working group about the potential adaptive plasticity in Scomber colias from the Canary Islands, based on otolith shape analyses. These results were obtained from analysing 748 otoliths extracted from August 2016 to December 2017. A DIvisive ANAlysis (DIANA) Clustering method using the fourth wavelet obtained from otolith contours resulted in the detection of five different morphotypes (or otolith phenotypes), with two of them representing 85 percent of the samples analysed, and whose individuals were slightly larger than for the other morphotypes. Further questions should be explored, addressing possible intraspecific variation in the growth rate among phenotypes; phenotypes proportions change in relation to seasonal variations; existence of different ecological strategies related to each phenotype and the presence of these otolith phenotypes in other geographical areas, as it has been described for T. picturatus (Tuset et al., 2019; Vasconcelos et al., 2021). References Jurado-Ruzafa, A. and M.T.G. Santamaría. 2013. Reproductive biology of the blue jack mackerel, Trachurus picturatus (Bowdich, 1825), off the Canary Islands. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 29(3): 526–531. Jurado-Ruzafa, A., B. Sotillo de Olano, Z. Santana Arocha, B. G. Mañé, C. Estil-las, E. Hernández, S. Jiménez, G. González-Lorenzo and C. Perales-Raya. 2022. Reproductive traits of the round sardinella in the Canary Islands (Spain, NW Africa). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, (early view) 1-7. Lorenzo, J. M. and J.G. Pajuelo. 1996. Growth and reproductive biology of chub mackerel Scomber japonicus off the Canary Islands. South African Journal of Marine Science, 17(1): 275-280. Méndez-Villamil, M., J.M. Lorenzo, J.M. González and R. Soto. 1997. Periodo reproductor y madurez sexual de la sardina Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) en aguas de Gran Canaria (Islas Canarias). Boletín del Instituto Español de Oceanografía, 13(1-2): 47-55. Tuset, V.M., A. Jurado-Ruzafa, J.L. Otero-Ferrer and M.T.G. Santamaría. 2019. Otolith phenotypic variability of the blue jack mackerel, Trachurus picturatus, from the Canary Islands (NE Atlantic): Implications in its population dynamic. Fisheries Research, 218: 48-58. Vasconcelos, J., A. Jurado-Ruzafa, J.L. Otero-Ferrer, A. Lombarte, R. Riera and V.M. Tuset. 2021. Thinking of Fish Population Discrimination: Population Average Phenotype vs. Population Phenotypes. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8(1489). BAses de Datos y Estadística de las pesquerías Artesanales de Canarias: Evaluación, Interacciones ambientales y Modelización de los Stocks Biología de recursos vivos de Canarias Estudio de las Pesquerías de AFRICa 2 PACA-BADE EPAFRIK-2 PACA-BIO

including iodothyronine deiodinases 1, 2 and 3 (dio1, dio2, dio3) was unaffected. Feeding Se enriched rotifers effectively increased Se in ABT larvae tissue. The improved growth observed in Se supplemented treatments might be related to an accelerated development as the flexion index was significantly higher in all Se enriched treatments compared to the non-supplemented control. A similar effect by Se supplementation has been previously described in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) in relation to an enhanced thyroid hormone activity by Se supplementation (Ribeiro et al., 2012). The Se level of 0.10 µg g-1 dw measured in non-supplemented rotifers is below known requirements in fish (Antony Jesu Prabhu et al. 2016). In contrast, rotifers supplemented with the lowest Se level (Se3) contained 4.42 µg Se g-1, which might be sufficient to cover requirements for this mineral as selenoproteins displayed maximum expression in ABT larvae fed this treatment. The increased seleno-enzyme production might have contributed towards an improved antioxidant status in ABT larvae, indicated by a transcriptional downregulation of redox sensitive antioxidant enzymes cat and sod. In conclusion, rotifers without Se enrichment are suboptimal for ABT larvae at first feeding. A dietary Se level of 4.42 µg g-1 dw is recommended as it boosted growth performance and improved the antioxidant status in ABT larvae.

Algae blooms are becoming more frequent throughout the world, causing significant impacts on the environment and even on human health. Benthic cyanobacteria, such as the species of the genus Lyngbya C.Agardh ex Gomont, are one more component of the communities of intertidal and subtidal habitats of all the oceans. Nevertheless, these species present the ability to grow rapidly under certain conditions, even forming blooms that dominate the habitat, and eventually, may affect the rest of the species in the community harmfully. In this study, we present the results of an oceanographic survey carried out on the southern coasts of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in November 2021, where the massive presence of Lyngbya sp. (species yet to be confirmed genetically) was detected on circalittoral bottoms and at depths greater than 100 m. Dense populations of this species were recognized visually, sampling with ROV-T Tasife, and were also identified by live samples collected with the Liropus ROV. Lyngbya populations presented different colors, mainly depending on the depth, being dark red in the shallowest waters at 80 m and whitish at around 150 m. The accumulations of filaments of this alga overgrown the bed and all the benthic species found there, especially some vulnerable habitat-forming species: cnidarian species such as the black corals Antipathes furcata, Antipathella wollastoni or Stichopathes gracilis, or sponges such as different species of the Axinellidae family. This is the first study assessing the impact of the algae bloom on the circalittoral benthic environment of The Canary Islands. The present study was funded by the project ESMARES2 from the IEO-CSIC, under the framework of the application of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), ordered by the Ministerio de Transición Ecológica y Reto Demográfico (MITERD) of Spain.

Al debatir, es importante establecer si nos moveremos sobre la evidencia y la ciencia, o si usaremos la creencia, la fe, la percepción de la opinión publica-publicada; o simplemente la conveniencia estratégica. Panamá ha lanzado recientemente una propuesta para incluir la tintorera, quenlla o tiburón azul (Prionace glauca) dentro de la lista de especies del apéndice II de CITES. NO