The importance of spawning behavior in understanding the vulnerability of exploited marine fishes in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

PeerJ

article

Christopher R. Biggs¹  William D. Heyman²  Nicholas A. Farmer³  Shin’ichi Kobara⁴  Derek G. Bolser¹  Jan Robinson⁶  Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri⁷  Brad E. Erisman¹ 

[1] Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin;LGL Ecological Research Associates, Inc.;Southeast Regional Office, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service;Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station;Current Affiliation: Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University;Australian Research Council ,(ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University;Fisheries and Aquatic Science Program, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida;Current Affiliation: Fisheries Resources Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

关键词: Spawning aggregations;    Reproductive resilience;    Marine conservation;    Marine fisheries;    Fisheries management;    Vulnerability;    Spawning behavior;    Life history;    Gulf of Mexico;    Reef fishes;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.11814

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

The vulnerability of a fish stock to becoming overfished is dependent upon biological traits that influence productivity and external factors that determine susceptibility or exposure to fishing effort. While a suite of life history traits are traditionally incorporated into management efforts due to their direct association with vulnerability to overfishing, spawning behavioral traits are seldom considered. We synthesized the existing biological and fisheries information of 28 fish stocks in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to investigate relationships between life history traits, spawning behavioral traits, management regulations, and vulnerability to fishing during the spawning season. Our results showed that spawning behavioral traits were not correlated with life history traits but improved identification of species that have been historically overfished. Species varied widely in their intrinsic vulnerability to fishing during spawning in association with a broad range of behavioral strategies. Extrinsic vulnerability was high for nearly all species due to exposure to fishing during the spawning season and few management measures in place to protect spawning fish. Similarly, several species with the highest vulnerability scores were historically overfished in association with spawning aggregations. The most vulnerable species included several stocks that have not been assessed and should be prioritized for further research and monitoring. Collectively, the results of this study illustrate that spawning behavior is a distinct aspect of fish ecology that is important to consider for predictions of vulnerability and resilience to fisheries exploitation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY