@article {12084,
	title = {Spawning habitat and daily egg production of sardine (<i>Sardina pilchardus</i>) in the eastern Mediterranean},
	journal = {Fisheries OceanographyFisheries Oceanography},
	volume = {15},
	number = {4},
	year = {2006},
	note = {Times Cited: 0ArticleEnglishCited References Count: 45048nt},
	pages = {281-292},
	abstract = {Spawning habitats of two eastern Mediterranean sardine, Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792), stocks ( coastal waters of central Aegean and Ionian Seas) are characterized from daily egg production method (DEPM) surveys conducted during the peak of the spawning period. The latter occurs earlier in the Aegean Sea ( December) than in the less-productive Ionian Sea ( February). Single-parameter quotient analysis showed that the preferred bottom depth for spawning was 40-90 m in both areas but sardine selected sites of increased zooplankton in the Aegean Sea during December and increased fluorescence in the Ionian Sea during February. Estimates of daily egg production (P) and spawning stock biomass ( B) were about four times lower for the Ionian Sea (P 7.81 eggs m(-2), B = 3652 tonnes) than the Aegean Sea (P=27.52 eggs m(-2), B = 16 174 tonnes). We suggest that zooplankton biomass might not be sufficient to support sardine reproduction in the highly oligotrophic Ionian Sea where the very small sardine stock may rely on the late-winter phytoplankton bloom. Actively selecting sites with increased zooplankton or phytoplankton and feeding plasticity (the well-known switching from selective particle feeding to non-selective filter feeding in sardines) are interpreted as adaptations to grow and reproduce optimally at varying prey conditions. Despite differences in temperature and productivity regimes, reproductive performance of sardine in the Ionian Sea was very similar to that in the Aegean Sea during the peak of the spawning period. In comparing adult parameters from DEPM applications to Sardina and Sardinops stocks around the world, a highly significant linear relation emerged between mean batch fecundity ( F) and mean weight of mature female ( W, g) (F = 0.364W, r(2) = 0.98). The latter implies that, during the peak of the spawning period, mean relative batch fecundity (eggs g(-1)) of sardine is fairly constant in contrasting ecosystems around the world.},
	keywords = {anchovy, batch fecundity, biomass, eastern Mediterranean, Egg production, fish, Pisces, sagax, sardine, sea, single-parameter quotient analysis, walbaum, waters},
	author = {Somarakis, S. and Ganias, K. and Siapatis, A. and Koutsikopoulos, C. and Machias, A. and Papaconstantinou, C.}
}
@article {6896,
	title = {Interranual variability in horizontal patterns of larval fish assemblages in the northeastern Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean) during early summer},
	journal = {Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf ScienceEstuarine, Coastal and Shelf ScienceEstuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science},
	volume = {79},
	number = {4},
	year = {2008},
	note = {ISI Document Delivery No.: 358XSTimes Cited: 9Cited Reference Count: 53},
	month = {Sep},
	pages = {607-619},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {Larval fish community structure was studied in the northeastern Aegean Sea (NEA) over an area influenced by the advection of Black Sea water (BSW). Sampling was carried out in early summer during a period of 4 years (2003-2006). Taxonomic composition and abundance presented high variability in space that remained relatively constant among years. Tow depth and indicators of trophic conditions in the upper water column (i.e., zooplankton displacement volume, fluorescence) explained significantly the structure of larval assemblages during all surveys. The northern continental shelf (Thracian and Strymonikos shelo, where a large amount of enriched, low salinity BSW is retained, was dominated by larvae of epipelagic species, mainly anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus). Interannual changes in horizontal extension of the BSW seemed to match closely observed changes in the distribution of anchovy larvae. Mesopelagic fish larvae were particularly abundant beyond the continental shelf (over the North Aegean Trough) where a strong frontal structure is created between the low salinity waters of BSW origin and the high salinity waters of the Aegean Sea. Larvae of certain mesopelagic species (e.g., Ceratoscopelus maderensis) may occasionally be transported inshore when the prevailing current meanders towards the coast or feeds anticyclonic gyres over the continental shelf. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.},
	keywords = {advection, ANCHOVY ENGRAULIS-ENCRASICOLUS, community, composition, continental shelves, DAILY EGG-PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS, eastern Mediterranean, EUROPEAN ANCHOVY, fish larvae, Greece, habitat, HETEROGENEITY, horizontal distribution, ichthyoplankton, MESOSCALE, northeastern Aegean Sea, populations, sardinella-aurita, VERTICAL-DISTRIBUTION},
	isbn = {0272-7714},
	author = {Isari, S. and Fragopoulu, N. and Somarakis, S.}
}
