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Ecosystem effects of contemporary life-history changes.pdf (366.66 kB)

Ecosystem effects of contemporary life-history changes are comparable to those of fishing

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-19, 08:51 authored by Asta AudzijonyteAsta Audzijonyte, Kuparinen, A, Elizabeth FultonElizabeth Fulton
Recent studies suggest that fishing and climate change can lead to a decrease in body size of fishes. While the effect of fishing on marine ecosystems has been widely explored, much less is known about the ecosystem effects of fish body size decrease. Here we used a marine ecosystem model to compare how fishing and small (<0.1% yr-1) but continuous (50 yr) decreases in the average body sizes of 5 Australian demersal fish species affect ecosystem indicators, biomasses and diets of different species. We found that decreasing growth rate of the 5 species had similar and comparable impact as the introduction of fishing of these 5 species at fishing mortality rate of F = 0.2 yr-1. The same applied when impacts of decrease in size were compared to those of increasing fishing from F = 0.2 to F = 0.4. This suggests that declines in body size alone can lead to ecosystem responses similar in magnitude to those caused by moderate fishing. On average, body size decrease alone caused more qualitative changes in diets of all species and larger changes in the predation mortality of slower growing species than the introduction or intensification of fishing. The overall ecosystem response to fishing and slower growth of fish was largely similar and additive, suggesting that decreasing sizes of harvested fishes are likely to amplify the effects of fishing.

History

Publication title

Marine Ecology Progress Series

Volume

495

Pagination

219-231

ISSN

0171-8630

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Inter-Research

Place of publication

Nordbunte 23, Oldendorf Luhe, Germany, D-21385

Rights statement

Copyright 2014 Inter-Research

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Marine biodiversity

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    University Of Tasmania

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