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Overfishing and evolution
July 21, 2009Fish fear their census-takers
Using snorkelers and SCUBA divers is not the best way to monitor fish populations, if we want to know the evolutionary effects of overfishing.
The fish population in coral reef areas is often assessed by snorkelers or SCUBA divers, but new research shows that these methods may misrepresent the number of fish.
A study from the University of Victoria shows that fish avoid the divers and snorkelers who try to count them. Not all types of fish are equally frightened by the divers, and Faculty of 1000 member Helen Yap, who recommended the study, explains that therefore "such methods may not provide an accurate picture of the actual diversity and abundance of fish communities."
Counting coral reef fish informs researchers about local ecological changes. However, accurate monitoring of fish populations in other parts of the ocean is also necessary. This is because overfishing has long-term, 'evolutionary' effects on fish population and breeding rates.
This was addressed by John Pandolfi in a recent article in Faculty of 1000 Reports. Accurate assessment of changes to fish populations depends on being able to count them. Pandolfi emphasized that fish populations must be monitored over several generations, saying "While the field is exciting and changing almost daily, we still have very little information of how species are affected by fisheries-induced evolution, and the extent to which various traits are vulnerable."
Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine
A study from the University of Victoria shows that fish avoid the divers and snorkelers who try to count them. Not all types of fish are equally frightened by the divers, and Faculty of 1000 member Helen Yap, who recommended the study, explains that therefore "such methods may not provide an accurate picture of the actual diversity and abundance of fish communities."
Counting coral reef fish informs researchers about local ecological changes. However, accurate monitoring of fish populations in other parts of the ocean is also necessary. This is because overfishing has long-term, 'evolutionary' effects on fish population and breeding rates.
This was addressed by John Pandolfi in a recent article in Faculty of 1000 Reports. Accurate assessment of changes to fish populations depends on being able to count them. Pandolfi emphasized that fish populations must be monitored over several generations, saying "While the field is exciting and changing almost daily, we still have very little information of how species are affected by fisheries-induced evolution, and the extent to which various traits are vulnerable."
Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine
Fish Populations Current Events and Fish Populations News RSSTropical regions to be hardest hit by fisheries shifts caused by climate change: UBC research
Major shifts in fisheries distribution due to climate change will affect food security in tropical regions most adversely, according to a study led by the Sea Around Us Project at The University of British Columbia.
University of Hawaii at Manoa oceanographers examine mercury levels of pelagic fish in Hawaii
In the open ocean, species of large predatory fish will swim and hunt for food at various depths, which leads to unique diets in these fish.
Sick fish may get sicker
Entire populations of North American fish already are being affected by several emerging diseases, a problem that threatens to increase in the future with climate change and other stresses on aquatic ecosystems, according to a noted U.S. Geological Survey researcher giving an invited talk on this subject today at the Wildlife Disease Association conference in Blaine, Wash.
Urban water ecology at the ESA annual meeting
Increasingly, human urban development overlaps with habitat for wild animals and plants, creating environments that degrade natural landscapes.
New hope for fisheries on the horizon?
Scientists have joined forces in a groundbreaking assessment on the status of marine fisheries and ecosystems.
Troubled waters: Low Apalachicola River flow may hurt gulf fisheries
Reductions in the flow of the Apalachicola River have far-reaching effects that could prove detrimental to grouper and other reef fish populations in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, according to a new Florida State University study that may provide new ammunition for states engaged in a nearly two-decade water war.
Help for climate-stressed corals
Banning or restricting the use of certain types of fishing gear could help the world's coral reefs and their fish populations survive the onslaughts of climate change according to a study by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and other groups.
Gear Bans
Banning or restricting the use of certain types of fishing gear could help the world's coral reefs and their fish populations survive the onslaughts of climate change.
Climate change is already having an impact in the midwest and across the US
Extreme weather, drought, heavy rainfall and increasing temperatures are a fact of life in many parts of the U.S. as a result of human-induced climate change.
Arctic governments and industry still unprepared for oil spills 20 years after Exxon Valdez
Two decades after the Exxon Valdez oil spill devastated a vast stretch of the Alaskan coast, governments and industry in the Arctic would be unable to effectively manage a large oil spill, according to a new report by World Wildlife Fund.
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Long-Term Variability of Pelagic Fish Populations and Their Environment: Proceedings of the International Symposium, Sendai, Japan, 14-18 November, 1 by Tsuyoshi Kawasaki (Author), Syoiti Tanaka (Author) In 1989 Japan hosted a symposium on the long-term variability of pelagic fish populations, a serious problem which has been facing the fisheries world. Scientists have been working to determine what effect human activity has on the marine environment and the effects of environmental factors such as climate, hydrography and fertility of the oceans. The proceedings present their findings, covering all aspects from fish to plankton, from the Pacific Ocean to the Barents Sea, and possible causes and effects from climatics to genetics. |
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