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).