Sardine potential habitat and environmental forcing off western Portugal

Zwolinski, J. P., Oliveira, P. B., Quintino, V., and Stratoudakis, Y. 2010. Sardine potential habitat and environmental forcing off western Portugal. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1553–1564. Relationships between sardine (Sardina pilchardus) distribution and the environment off western Portu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:ICES journal of marine science 2010-11, Vol.67 (8), p.1553-1564
Main Authors: Zwolinski, Juan P., Oliveira, Paulo B., Quintino, Victor, Stratoudakis, Yorgos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic surveying
acoustic surveys
Acoustics
Chlorophylls
continental shelf
Density
Habitats
Marine
Mathematical models
mesoscale circulation
pelagic habitat
Sardina pilchardus
Sardines
Sardinops
Springs
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Zwolinski, J. P., Oliveira, P. B., Quintino, V., and Stratoudakis, Y. 2010. Sardine potential habitat and environmental forcing off western Portugal. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1553–1564. Relationships between sardine (Sardina pilchardus) distribution and the environment off western Portugal were explored using data from seven acoustic surveys (spring and autumn of 2000, 2001, 2005, and spring 2006). Four environmental variables (salinity, temperature, chlorophyll a, and acoustic epipelagic backscatter other than fish) were related to the acoustic presence and density of sardine. Univariate quotient analysis revealed sardine preferences for waters with high chlorophyll a content, low temperature and salinity, and low acoustic epipelagic backscatter. Generalized additive models depicted significant relationships between the environment and sardine presence but not with sardine density. Maps of sardine potential habitat (SPH) built upon the presence/absence models revealed a clear seasonal effect in the across-bathymetry and alongshelf extension of SPH off western Portugal. During autumn, SPH covered a large part of the northern Portuguese continental shelf but was almost absent from the southern region, whereas in spring SPH extended farther south but was reduced to a narrow band of shallow coastal waters in the north. This seasonal pattern agrees with the spatio-temporal variation of primary production and oceanic circulation described for the western Iberian shelf.
ISSN:1054-3139
1095-9289
DOI:10.1093/icesjms/fsq068