Fréon Pierre auteur aut IRD El Khattabi M. auteur aut IRD Mendoza J. auteur aut IRD Guzman R. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Biological sampling of Spanish sardine (Sardinella aurita Valenciennes, 1847) off the coast of Venezuela from 1956 to 1989 was used to study the reproductive strategy and migration pattern of the population. Whereas in many pelagic fishes the energy re-allocation necessary for reproduction usually occurs optimally at the end of the upwelling season when planktonic production reaches a maximum, in the present study a 5 mo delay was observed. This suggests that energy was stored as lipids early in the season and released later via metabolism for gamete production. Major reproduction did not occur in an area and at a time when offshore transport and turbulence were low, which is also unusual for a pelagic fish species. These results are discussed in terms of the life cycle of the Spanish sardine and its possible migratory patterns. The reproductive strategy of this population apparently gives priority to optimising food availability for the offspring and not to preventing eggs and larvae being transported offshore. The presence of "retention" areas could explain this unexpected strategy. (Résumé d'auteur) specialized SARDINELLE DYNAMIQUE DE POPULATION REPRODUCTION SEXUEE MIGRATION UPWELLING VARIATION SPATIALE VARIATION TEMPORELLE VENEZUELA 036MILMAR01 128 363-372 1997 0025-3162 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010014157 0025-3162 [F B010014157] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010014157 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/b_fdi_49-50/010014157.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 1998-07-24 2020-08-03 fdi:010014157 fre