Abundance of early stages of mesopelagic fish through the water column and diel patterns in the western Mediterranean in winter and summer

This file contains data on numerical abundance of early stages of fishes (mostly larvae) in winter (December 2009) and summer (July 2010) in the Balearic Islands region. A relatively small area was repeatedly sampled throughout the day. Samples were obtained by means of a 0.25 m2 MultiNet HYDRO-BIOS (Weikert and John, 1981) in winter, and a Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System (Wiebe et al., 1985), MOCNESS-1 m2, in summer. Hauls were performed both day and night, discriminating different layers and mainly in the epipelagic zone. Samples were fixed on board and stored in a 5% buffered formalin and seawater for later sorting and identification in the laboratory. These data were obtained within the project: "Estructura y dinámica del ecosistema bentopelágico de talud en dos zonas oligotróficas del Mediterráneo: una aproximación multidisciplinar y a distintas escalas temporales en las Islas Baleares", financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CTM2007-65844-C03.