Marine fish population collapses: Consequences for recovery and extinction risk

Jeffrey A. Hutchings, John D. Reynolds

Résultat de recherche: Review articleexamen par les pairs

588 Citations (Scopus)

Résumé

Rapid declines threaten the persistence of many marine fish. Data from more than 230 populations reveal a median reduction of 83% in breeding population size from known historic levels. Few populations recover rapidly; most exhibit little or no change in abundance up to 15 years after a collapse. Reductions in fishing pressure, although clearly necessary for population recovery, are often insufficient. Persistence and recovery are also influenced by life history, habitat alteration, changes to species assemblages, genetic responses to exploitation, and reductions in population growth attributable to the Allee effect, also known as depensation. Heightened extinction risks were highlighted recently when a Canadian population of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) was listed as endangered, on the basis of declines as high as 99.9% over 30 years. Unprecedented reductions in abundance and surprisingly low rates of recovery draw attention to scientists' limited understanding of how fish behavior, habitat, ecology, and evolution affect population growth at low abundance. Failure to prevent population collapses, and to take the conservation biology of marine fishes seriously, will ensure that many severely depleted species remain ecological and numerical shadows in the ecosystems that they once dominated.

Langue d'origineEnglish
Pages (de-à)297-309
Nombre de pages13
JournalBioScience
Volume54
Numéro de publication4
DOI
Statut de publicationPublished - avr. 2004

Note bibliographique

Funding Information:
Most of the analyses presented here were supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada research grant to J. A. H. The United Kingdom’s Natural Environment Research Council supported J. D. R.’s research. The compilation of abundance data on Canadian populations of Atlantic cod was funded by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. It is a pleasure to acknowledge Ransom Myers for having the foresight to compile abundance and biomass data for commercially exploited fish worldwide and for his professional generosity in making these data available on the Web. We thank Julia Baum and three anonymous referees for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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