Effects of human footprint and biophysical factors on the body-size structure of fished marine species

Authors

Nestor E. Bosch, University of Western Australia
Jacquomo Monk, University of Tasmania
Jordan Goetze, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
Shaun K. Wilson, University of Western Australia
Russell C. Babcock, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationFollow
Neville Barrett, University of Tasmania
Jock Clough, University of Western Australia
Leanne M. Currey-Randall, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Queensland
David Fairclough, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
Rebecca Fisher, University of Western Australia
Brooke A. Gibbons, The University of Western Australia
David Harasti, NSW Department of Primary Industries
Euan S. Harvey, The University of Western Australia
Michelle R. Heupel, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Queensland
Jamie Hicks, Department for Environment and Water, South Australia
Thomas H. Holmes, The University of Western Australia
Charlie Huveneers, Flinders University, South Australia
Daniel Ierodiaconou, Deakin University, Victoria
Alan Jordan, University of Tasmania, Australia
Nathan A. Knott, NSW Department of Primary Industries
Hamish A. Malcolm, NSW Department of Primary Industries
Dianne L. McLean, University of Western Australia
Mark G. Meekan, University of Western Australia
Stephen J. Newman, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
Ben Radford, University of Western Australia
Matthew J. Rees, University of Western Australia
Benjamin J. Saunders, Curtin University of Technology
Conrad W. Speed, University of Western Australia
Michael J. Travers, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
Corey Wakefield, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
Thomas Wernberg, University of Western Australia
Tim Langlois, University of Western Australia

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-27-2021

Journal Title

Conservation Biology

ISSN

Print: 0888-8892 Electronic: 1523-1739

Keywords

baited remote underwater stereo-video ecosystem functioning environmental reporting fishing human gravity no-take marine reserves funcionamiento ambiental gravedad humana pesca reporte ambiental reservas de protección total video estéreo subacuático remoto con cebo

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Marine Biology

Abstract

Marine fisheries in coastal ecosystems in many areas of the world have historically removed large-bodied individuals, potentially impairing ecosystem functioning and the long-term sustainability of fish populations. Reporting on size-based indicators that link to food-web structure can contribute to ecosystem-based management, but the application of these indicators over large (cross-ecosystem) geographical scales has been limited to either fisheries-dependent catch data or diver-based methods restricted to shallow waters (<20 m) that can misrepresent the abundance of large-bodied fished species. We obtained data on the body-size structure of 82 recreationally or commercially targeted marine demersal teleosts from 2904 deployments of baited remote underwater stereo-video (stereo-BRUV). Sampling was at up to 50 m depth and covered approximately 10,000 km of the continental shelf of Australia. Seascape relief, water depth, and human gravity (i.e., a proxy of human impacts) were the strongest predictors of the probability of occurrence of large fishes and the abundance of fishes above the minimum legal size of capture. No-take marine reserves had a positive effect on the abundance of fishes above legal size, although the effect varied across species groups. In contrast, sublegal fishes were best predicted by gradients in sea surface temperature (mean and variance). In areas of low human impact, large fishes were about three times more likely to be encountered and fishes of legal size were approximately five times more abundant. For conspicuous species groups with contrasting habitat, environmental, and biogeographic affinities, abundance of legal-size fishes typically declined as human impact increased. Our large-scale quantitative analyses highlight the combined importance of seascape complexity, regions with low human footprint, and no-take marine reserves in protecting large-bodied fishes across a broad range of species and ecosystem configurations.

Recommended Citation

Bosch, N E, Monk, J, Goetze, J, Wilson, S K, Babcock, R C, Barrett, N, Clough, J, Currey-Randall, L M, Fairclough, D, Fisher, R, Gibbons, B A, Harasti, D, Harvey, E S, Heupel, M R, Hicks, J, Holmes, T H, Huveneers, C, Ierodiaconou, D, Jordan, A, Knott, N A, Malcolm, H A, McLean, D L, Meekan, M G, Newman, S J, Radford, B, Rees, M J, Saunders, B J, Speed, C W, Travers, M J, Wakefield, C, Wernberg, T, and Langlois, T. (2021), Effects of human footprint and biophysical factors on the body-size structure of fished marine species. Conservation Biology, 36 (2), e13807.
https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/fr_fja/223