Hypothesis 3: Winter harshness
Milder winters were expected to contribute to higher functional diversity (H) in May. The data provided only modest support to this hypothesis, as in the open sea area, the higher functional diversity was observed with warmer winters (Fig. 9d). In coastal sea, the link with winter air temperature was unimodal; highest during ‘average’ winters (Fig. 9c). Correlation between the functional diversity and water temperature was not consistent with our expectation; negative in coastal area, unimodal in open gulf (Figs. 9e, f).