Antoni Lombarte

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• Dr
• Researcher at Institut de Ciències del Mar

Despite the wide distribution and diversity of extant Anguilliformes in tropical America (central western Atlantic and central eastern Pacific), no fossil moray ell (Muraenidae) has been reported to date from this region. Here, we describe the first three fossil specimens of Muraeninae from America: one from the Late Miocene Gatun Formation (Fm.),...

Geographic distributional range shifts are a common effect caused by global warming on marine species, usually leading to polewards displacements of their native distribution. These climate-induced distributional expansions can cause the introduction of warmer alien species in higher latitude areas, which leads to the tropicalization of these areas...

The long-time fishery tradition on the Mediterranean coastal region without a biological-base management strategy has led to an overexploitation of the main fishing resources. To overturn this trend, the European Union implemented the Western Mediterranean Multi-Annual Plan (WMMAP) aiming to better manage key commercial species caught by bottom tra...

Since 2003, with the aim of addressing different issues related to otoliths and the advancement of technologies, AFORO acronym of Anàlisi de FORmes d'Otòlits (otolith shape analysis), a computational environment with a set of tools including a website for this purpose, has gradually expanded its functionality. This implies different ways to measure...

Otolith shape analysis has been extensively employed to distinguish stocks and populations of marine fish species. While the majority of studies have employed Elliptic Fourier descriptors (EFD) for this purpose, an alternative approach was introduced in 2005 founded on the Wavelet Transform, using the à trous multiscale signal representation with a...

Otoliths of actinopterygians are calcified structures playing a key role in hearing and equilibrium functions. To understand their morphological diversification, we quantified the shape of otoliths in both lateral and dorsal view from 697 and 323 species, respectively, using geometric mor- phometrics. We then combined form (i.e. size and shape) inf...

INTRODUCTION Otolith shape analysis has been widely used to delineate structure of populations of marine fish species, mostly based on Elliptic Fourier descriptors. Alternatively, the wavelet transform of the radii length improves the otolith contour interpretation, quantifying the otolith irregularities and determining accurately their position. T...

The morphology of otoliths determines the function they perform, and it is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Knowing those relationships is necessary to understand the role of hearing in fish. The objectives of this work were: exploring the shape of the sulcus of the sagittal otolith in seven species of Sciaenidae, in relation to sou...

This Collective article reports 17 introduced species and 22 new locations for these species in the Mediterranean Sea. The reports are from three different Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) subregions (Aegean-Levantine Sea, Adriatic Sea and Western Mediterranean Sea) and the Sea of Marmara and cover ten different countries. The goal of con...

The otoliths of teleosts are part of the inner ear. They are related to the balance system and are also mechanical components of sound transmission, responsible for hearing in fish. Their morphology is determined by the function they perform and is also influenced by environmental factors. In this context, our goal was to: analyse the possible morp...

Discards represent a loss of natural resources and negatively affect the sustainability of fisheries. Information on discards, such as diversity and size of the species discarded is essential to better manage trawl fisheries. Thus, this study aims to gain knowledge on discards from the Catalan bottom trawl fisheries in the NW Mediterranean Sea to o...

Simple Summary We investigated the causative mechanism of the first mesopelagic fish strandings along the southeast shore of Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands) during June 2021. We examined remote sensor data (current velocity, Trade Winds, and the presence of upwelling filaments and eddies near the island) to determine the reasons for the strand...

Reconstruction of marine communities in search of baseline (pristine) conditions is a crucial first step for their future restoration. A recent reconstruction (last century) of the sandy-muddy bottom fauna on the continental shelf of a marine protected area (MPA) was performed in the Columbretes Reserve, including periods after and before the Reser...

Macrofauna associated with the bamboo coral Isidella elongata was analysed in the Balearic Basin at depths of 697–1308 m. The diversity of associated macrofauna and the specific associations identified depended on different morphological characteristics of colonies, such as height or density of rami. Species associated with Isidella consisted mainl...

Lanternfishes are the dominant component of mesopelagic fishes living in the ocean between 200 and 1000 m depth, playing a key role in the food web of oceanic ecosystems (Catul et al., 2011). Most mesopelagic fishes perform large diel vertical migrations from the deep-sea zone, where they stay during the day, to the surface where they feed at night...

Presentation of the Marine Biological Reference Collections of the ICM-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain. The Marine Biological Reference Collections (CBMR) are specialized mainly in Chordata (fish), Arthropoda and Mollusca, mostly from the Mediterranean Sea, but also with important contributions from the Atlantic Ocean and the rest of the world’s oceans (see...

The living and dead fauna of Valencia Seamount, a deep promontory in the middle of the Balearic Basin which summit is at ca. 1100 m depth, is described by first time based in a rock dredge perfomed in a sedimentary area of the summit Mount. Surface-feeder polychaetes (the Paraonidae Levinsenia gracilis and Terebellidae as dominant), and taxodont bi...

The genetic polymorphism and phenotypic variation are key in ecology and evolution. The morphological variability of the contour of fish otoliths has been extensively used for the delimitation of stocks. These studies are conventionally based on average phenotype using elliptic Fourier analysis and lineal discriminant analysis as classifier. Consid...

The use of bioacoustic methods to address sea lice infestation in salmonid farming is a promising innovative method but implies an exposure to sound that could affect the fish. An assessment of the effects of these techniques related to the salmon’s welfare is presented here. The fish were repeatedly exposed to 350 Hz and 500 Hz tones in three- to...

The occurrence of the rendezvous fish, Polymetme corythaeola (Alcock, 1898) in Mediterranean Sea is here reported for the first time. A single individual of this benthopelagic fish was caught in February 2020 during a scientific trawl survey. The specimen was collected at a depth of 369 m (upper slope) in the Gulf of Roses (Catalonia, north‐western...

The exploitation of forage fish species can modify the functioning of marine ecosystems potentially impacting the population status of predators. This may be the case for the western Mediterranean Sea, where a reduction in the biomass of two key pelagic forage fish (European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and European sardine Sardina pilchardus) co...

Bottom trawling is the most extensive fishing activity affecting the continental shelf in Mediterranean waters. This gear has caused negative effects on the communities and topography of the seafloor. Temporal or spatial fishing closures have been proposed as strategies to reduce the disturbances caused by overfishing and for biodiversity recovery...

The increasing trend of biological invasions is one of the most concerning threats for ecosystems functioning. The identification of optimal characters determining the invasive potential of non-native species has always been a challenge in conservation studies. Morphological features can be used as a good proxy to address the invasive success in fi...

The identification of fish species using otolith shape has been common in many fields of the marine science. Different analytical processes can be applied for the morphological discrimination, but reviewing the literature we have found conceptual and statistical limitations in the use of shape indices and wavelets (contour analysis), being speciall...

L’avaluació de les comunitats íctiques litorals mitjançant la dieta del corb marí emplomallat com a bioindicadora, permet detectar fluctuacions inter i intra-anuals, així com determinar diferències entre zones que solen anar lligades al tipus de comunitat submarina existent. Per dur a terme aquesta avaluació, es realitzen actuacions tals com; (1) d...

Anglerfishes are widely distributed from shallow to deep-water habitats occupying different ecological niches. To explain this adaptability, it was performed a morpho-functional study on common benthic anglerfishes inhabiting the Indian deep-sea waters. Sensory capabilities of species were examined using the morphology and morphometry of sagittae o...

The marine Biological Reference Collections (CBR) 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 groups at the CBR are fish, crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms, but al...

This work deals with the task of distinguishing between different Mediterranean demersal species of fish that share a remarkably similar form and that are also used for the evaluation of marine resources. The experts who are currently able to classify these types of species do so by considering only a segment of the contour of the fish, specificall...

This work deals with the task of distinguishing between different Mediterranean demersal species of fish that share a remarkably similar form and that are also used for the evaluation of marine resources. The experts who are currently able to classify these types of species do so by considering only a segment of the contour of the fish, specificall...

The otolith digital catalogue AFORO allows unknown otoliths to be classified automatically by using a comparison with its classified records. To do this, the otolith’s contour, which is extracted from an image, is used. In AFORO, otolith images follow a strict positional normalization. Only the left sagitta is considered, and the images must show t...

Gastropod shells may present large spines and sharp shapes that vary according to environmental, taxonomic, and evolutionary factors. In these cases, classic morphometric methods used to study shell contour might not provide a clear representation of morphological shell based on angular decomposition of contour. The present study analyzed and compa...

Here we used a method of morphological niche analysis, previously shown to be an effective predictor of invasion success, to investigate morphological relationships of sagittae otoliths of Lessepsian (Red sea species entering the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal) fishes within the morphospace of the corresponding receiving taxonomic groups. Ove...

Assessment of fish trophic ecology in natural environments is imperative to understand biological and ecological requirements, supporting the management and conservation of populations and environments. There are several methods available to assess fish diets, generically divided in noninvasive approaches, such as underwater observations, and invas...

On November 2019, a single individual of Acanthopagrus bifasciatus was captured along the coast of Barcelona. Its external characteristics were described and morphologically analysed. This record represents the second confirmed observation of this species in the Mediterranean Sea and the first for the western basin. Its detection in a commercial ha...

Fisheries are one of the main economic sectors affected by marine litter, which can damage gear, reduce catch, and require time to repair or clean nets. This study aims to evaluate the type and density of marine litter in two shallow fishing grounds in the NW Mediterranean Sea, both belonging to the Natura 2000 network. Moreover, it quantifies the...

Morphological characters of species are essential for assessing the functional structure of a fish assemblage, since differences between them, for example in body shape, are related to many functional and ecological traits (e.g., swimming, search for food, striking and capturing prey, evading predators, spawning). Globally, tidal flats are relevant...

Insight into the evolutionary radiation of organisms is partly underpinned by theories on the adaptive divergence of sensory systems, and the ecological, physiological, and behavioural adaptations to both environmental conditions and to competition for limited resources. The aim of this study is to determine the degree of phenotypic variability and...

Despite extensive studies on the taxonomy of fossil otoliths, the diversity of late Quaternary to Recent sea bottom otolith assemblages remains largely unexplored. Otolith assemblages from bottom sediments of the North-eastern Atlantic (NE Atlantic), central Mediterranean, and Red Sea were described based on a dataset of 9696 identifiable otoliths....

Coastal lagoons are marine ecosystems spread worldwide with high ecological value; however, they are increasingly becoming deteriorated as a result of anthropogenic activity. Their conservation requires a better understanding of the biodiversity factors that may help identifying priority areas. The present study is focused on 37 Mediterranean coast...

The study was conducted in the NW Mediterranean where Rosas' fishermen association has closed during two years one of their fishing grounds. We compared the community structure between the closed fishing ground, and an adjacent area where fishing was permitted in order to explore the effects of the closed area on the community assemblage. Prelimina...

In order to successfully diversify Mediterranean aquaculture, it is necessary to determine optimum culture conditions of potential candidate species such as greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili). Among culture conditions, rearing temperature is a key factor for achieving optimum growth and maintaining fish welfare. However, little is known about the...

Ricardo Zariquiey Cenarro (1870–1943) and his son, Ricardo Zariquiey Álvarez (1897–1965), were paediatricians who devoted their free time to a shared passion, the study of deep hypogeal beetles (Coleoptera, Insecta) and decapods (Crustacea). Zariquiey Cenarro became fascinated by biospeleology – and cave-dwelling fauna in particular – in 1917 and l...

Fish cages attract a high variety of wild fish, and therefore are similar to fish aggregation devices. Aquaculture cages enhance local fisheries, with a more diverse and abundant fish assemblages compared to control stations, not influenced by fish cages. Previous studies have been mainly focused on taxonomic and ecological indices, such as species...

The development of an improved hearing sense in teleosts as expressed in fossil otoliths may have been one important element in the success of their evolution. Hence, fossil otoliths add valuable information to paleoichthyology. Teleost otolith morphology, however, has initially diversified very slowly during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous and a...

We present an initial reconstruction of recent (last few centuries) mud-bottom faunal communities on the upper slope (398- 667 m) of the continental margin off Catalonia (western Mediterranean), including periods free of any trawling impact. Radiometric dating of marine sediments and identification of faunal remains (e.g., fish otoliths, pteropod s...

It is necessary to understand the resource partitioning among species, to describe the functioning of deep sea marine ecosystems. Functional morphology is an effective approach to understand and compare taxonomic units with different phenotypic characteristics related to swimming and foraging. In this study, our main objective was to delineate the...

The study was conducted in the NW Mediterranean where Roses’ fishermen association has closed during two years one of their fishing grounds. We compared the community structure between the closed fishing ground, and an adjacent area where fishing was permitted in order to explore the effects of a closed area on the community assemblage. Preliminary...

A hake nursery ground in the Roses Gulf (NW Mediterranean) has been closed by decision of the fishermen association during two years in order to protect recruitment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this measure. Hake landings data series showed marked fluctuations in the last 15 years, although effort decreased. The first...

Regressions between fish length and otolith size are provided for 40 species from the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and 142 species from the Mediterranean Sea. Regressions were also estimated at genus level. Most of the regressions (c. 84%) explained a high percentage of the deviance (>75%).

The sensory drive hypothesis proposes that environmental factors affect both signalling dynamics and the evolution of signals and receivers. Sound detection and equilibrium in marine fishes are senses dependent on the sagittae otoliths, whose morphological variability appears intrinsically linked to the environment. The aim of this study is to unde...

To check the suitability of otoliths for measuring biodiversity, the contour and shape of the sulcus acusticus of sagittal otoliths were described using geometric morphological analysis. Thirteen and fourteen points were used to define these structures respectively. Three current coastal fish assemblages of the north-western Mediterranean were sele...

Two opportunistic fish species associated with fish farms, bogue (Boops boops) and salema (Sarpa salpa), were studied to infer whether changes in their feeding habits may cause a phenotypic response in body and otolith shape. Specimens were collected close to aquaculture cage sites, called ‘wild-farmed fish’, and from control sites far away from th...

We applied and compared three different sets of landmarks and semilandmarks commonly used in studies of fish assemblages to identify a standardized method of landmark selection that includes the maximum amount of morphological information of species. The different landmark-based methods used produced differences regarding the distribution of case-s...

The three-dimensional (3-D) otolith shapes recently included in the Anàlisi de FORmes d’Otòlits (AFORO) database are defined by means of clouds of points across their surfaces. Automatic retrieval and classification of natural objects from 3-D databases becomes a difficult and time-consuming task when the number of elements in the database becomes...

The three-dimensional (3D) otolith shapes recently included in the AFORO database are defined by means of clouds of points across their surfaces. Automatic retrieval and classification of natural objects from 3D databases becomes a difficult and time-consuming task when the number of elements in the database becomes large. In order to simplify that...

Sagitta otolith shape was analysed in twenty sympatric rockfishes off the southern California coast (Northeastern Pacific). The variation in shape was quantified using canonical variate analysis based on 5th wavelet function decomposition of otolith contour. We selected wavelets since this representation allow the identifications of zones or single...

Biological invasions have become major players in the current biodiversity crisis, but realistic tools to predict which species will establish successful populations are still unavailable. Here we present a novel approach that requires only a morphometric characterisation of the species. Using fish invasions of the Mediterranean, we show that the a...

In 2003 was created AFORO (http://aforo.cmima.csic.es), an interactive system to deal with shape analysis of fish otoliths and a classification system based on the mathematical properties of the one-dimensional curves describing the otolith contours. The system is connected to a database of complete morphometric (measures and morphological indexes)...

The 3D otolith shapes recently included in the AFORO database are defined by means of clouds of 286 points of their 3D surfaces. Automatic retrieval and classification of 3D natural objects becomes a difficult task when the number of the elements in the database increases because of the great amount of information involved in the description of eac...

The sagittae otolith morphology of marine fishes has been used in many ecomorphological studies to explain certain ecological adaptations of species to habitat. Our study compares the sagittal otolith shapes of ten species of snappers (Family Lutjanidae) inhabiting the Persian Gulf. We used a morphometric analysis of the otolith measurements (lengt...

Morphology of fishes plays a very important role in the ecosystem biodiversity to show the different evolutionary strategies. The morphological variations among species can be graphically represented in a morphospace and be analysed using different methods. In this study we used different assemblages of mesopelagic fishes living in the Canary Islan...

Analysis of pellets of European Shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii collected at a non-breeding roost site in southern Mallorca identified 36 species of fish prey, belonging to 27 genera and to 16 families. This diversity is higher than in the diet of P. a. aristotelis in the Atlantic, and higher than in the previous literature for P. a. de...

There is a considerable lack of information concerning marine invertebrate sensitivity to sound exposure. However, recent findings on cuttlefish and octopi showed that exposure to artificial noise had a direct consequence on the functionality and physiology of the statocysts, sensory organs, which are responsible for their equilibrium and movements...

Many anthropogenic noise sources are nowadays contributing to the general noise budget of the oceans. The extent to which sound in the sea impacts and affects marine life is a topic of considerable current interest both to the scientific community and to the general public. Cepaholopods potentially represent a group of species whose ecology may be...

The otolith was used to investigate the variability between Aphanopus carbo and Aphanopus intermedius inhabiting the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean. The results indicate a high degree of morphological affinity between species and areas; a noticeable metabolic change in the otolith shape was noted in the specimens of A. carbo, which may be related to...

2012): Comparison of different otolith shape descriptors and morphometrics for the identification of closely related species of Lutjanus spp. from the Persian Gulf, Marine Biology Research, 8:9, 802-814 This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling,...