Spawning season and temperature relationships for sardine (Sardina pilchardus) in the eastern North Atlantic

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Coombs, SH, Smyth, TJ, Conway, DVP, Halliday, NC, Bernal, M, Stratoudakis, Y, Alvarez, P
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1492/; http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1492/1/1245.PDF; http://www.journals.cambridge.org/jid_MBI; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315406014251

Spawning temperature preferences for sardine (Sardina pilchardus) in the eastern North Atlantic were determined from field data. These were compared with climatological temperature cycles (1986-2002) derived from satellite data by geographical region, to predict spawning seasons. Optimum spawning temperatures were determined as 14.0-15.0oC from the English Channel to Portugal and 16.0–18.0oC for all north-west African regions. Spawning seasons were closely related to the general latitudinal trend of the annual temperature cycle, with modification by upwelling in the western Iberian and north-west African regions. Some differences between temperature-based spawning season predictions and field observations were related to variations in seasonal plankton production. Correlations in the annual time-series of favourable spawning temperatures suggested relatively strong linkages between the southern areas from Portugal to Senegal. There was no consistent relationship between annual variations in duration of temperature-predicted spawning seasons and observed field abundance of eggs.