According to Bernal Casasola (2009) referring to the fishing activity in Alboran,
which in the waters of the Fretum Gaditanum were carried out ostriculture and the
elaboration of fishmeal and other by-products, all during the Late Antiquity. This
author also underlines that Opiano in his Haliéutica, explains with many details the
capture of cetaceans in this region meaning an explicit reference to the presence of
whales in western waters of the Mediterranean. Opiano refers to this fishing as a
collective action, which is compared to the attack on a city (V, 115–120).
The limits Alboran Sea depend of the geological, geomorphological, hydrological, or biogeographical criteria used (Talamo and Riera 2019), so do not correspond
to each other, when using different criteria. According to the International Hydrographic Organization (1953), the limit of the Alboran Sea on the West is a line
joining from the tip (Europa Point) of Cap Gibraltar in Europe to the tip of the
Península de Almina of Ceuta in Africa (35
54
0 N 5
18
0 W), and limit of the East is a
line joining from Cabo de Gata (South of Iberian Peninsula, Europe) to Cap Fegalo,
near Oran, in Algeria, Africa (35
36
0 N 1
12
0 W). However, in a broad sense from a
biogeographical point of view the Alboran Sea could include the entire channel of
the Strait of Gibraltar to the south of Cabo de Palos in the East (details in Chaps. 2, 6,
and 11).
This sea and the related sedimentary basins have been developed by extensional
processes in the inner part of an arcuated orogeny, the Betics-Rif ranges, extended
both in southern Spain and northern Morrocco in relation to the tectonic movements
between the African and Eurasian plates. The current tectonic activity is evidenced
by the high number of seismic events (Galindo Zaldivar et al. 2018).
Seismotectonics and related processes as submarine slides and potential tsunami
waves should therefore be considered as several important geohazard factors in this
region (Álvarez-Gómez et al. 2011; Macías et al. 2015). Tectonics has generated a
complex physiography (Vázquez et al. 2015), which has influenced the circulation of
the water masses and the development of an important depositional contouritic
system (Ercilla et al. 2016), an example worldwide given the character of this sea
as a connection area between different water mass systems.
In a macroecological context, the Alboran Sea is a marine bridge that connects the
Mediterranean and Atlantic populations, from microscopic plankton to the big
marine mammals. The geological history has determined the presence of several
endemisms. Currently, a unique mix of Mediterranean endemisms, boreal, and
tropical organisms inhabits this transition zone. The main circulation of the Surface
Atlantic Water in the Alboran Sea, characterized by two mesoscale anticyclonic
gyres, represents an important hydrodynamic obstacle between its north and south
shores. While this oceanographic pattern favors downstream connectivity, i.e., in the
west-to-east direction, it constrains the cross-basin shore-to-shore connection. The
surface circulation, however, shows frequent instabilities, involving the shedding of
submesoscale eddies and filaments, which have realistic chances to cross the sea
north to south, transporting biological material from one shore to the other, acting
then as a conveyor band. In this context, the Alboran Sea shows rich biodiversity and
productivity and, for many decades has been considered as a miniature ocean to
study and understand marine structures, processes, and threats. The Alboran Sea
2
J. C. Báez et al.
which in the waters of the Fretum Gaditanum were carried out ostriculture and the
elaboration of fishmeal and other by-products, all during the Late Antiquity. This
author also underlines that Opiano in his Haliéutica, explains with many details the
capture of cetaceans in this region meaning an explicit reference to the presence of
whales in western waters of the Mediterranean. Opiano refers to this fishing as a
collective action, which is compared to the attack on a city (V, 115–120).
The limits Alboran Sea depend of the geological, geomorphological, hydrological, or biogeographical criteria used (Talamo and Riera 2019), so do not correspond
to each other, when using different criteria. According to the International Hydrographic Organization (1953), the limit of the Alboran Sea on the West is a line
joining from the tip (Europa Point) of Cap Gibraltar in Europe to the tip of the
Península de Almina of Ceuta in Africa (35
54
0 N 5
18
0 W), and limit of the East is a
line joining from Cabo de Gata (South of Iberian Peninsula, Europe) to Cap Fegalo,
near Oran, in Algeria, Africa (35
36
0 N 1
12
0 W). However, in a broad sense from a
biogeographical point of view the Alboran Sea could include the entire channel of
the Strait of Gibraltar to the south of Cabo de Palos in the East (details in Chaps. 2, 6,
and 11).
This sea and the related sedimentary basins have been developed by extensional
processes in the inner part of an arcuated orogeny, the Betics-Rif ranges, extended
both in southern Spain and northern Morrocco in relation to the tectonic movements
between the African and Eurasian plates. The current tectonic activity is evidenced
by the high number of seismic events (Galindo Zaldivar et al. 2018).
Seismotectonics and related processes as submarine slides and potential tsunami
waves should therefore be considered as several important geohazard factors in this
region (Álvarez-Gómez et al. 2011; Macías et al. 2015). Tectonics has generated a
complex physiography (Vázquez et al. 2015), which has influenced the circulation of
the water masses and the development of an important depositional contouritic
system (Ercilla et al. 2016), an example worldwide given the character of this sea
as a connection area between different water mass systems.
In a macroecological context, the Alboran Sea is a marine bridge that connects the
Mediterranean and Atlantic populations, from microscopic plankton to the big
marine mammals. The geological history has determined the presence of several
endemisms. Currently, a unique mix of Mediterranean endemisms, boreal, and
tropical organisms inhabits this transition zone. The main circulation of the Surface
Atlantic Water in the Alboran Sea, characterized by two mesoscale anticyclonic
gyres, represents an important hydrodynamic obstacle between its north and south
shores. While this oceanographic pattern favors downstream connectivity, i.e., in the
west-to-east direction, it constrains the cross-basin shore-to-shore connection. The
surface circulation, however, shows frequent instabilities, involving the shedding of
submesoscale eddies and filaments, which have realistic chances to cross the sea
north to south, transporting biological material from one shore to the other, acting
then as a conveyor band. In this context, the Alboran Sea shows rich biodiversity and
productivity and, for many decades has been considered as a miniature ocean to
study and understand marine structures, processes, and threats. The Alboran Sea
2
J. C. Báez et al.