Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages
Abstract The absence of functional top predators has been proposed as a mechanism acting to shape fish assemblages in temperate marine ecosystems, with cascading effects on lower trophic levels. We explore this scenario by comparing the trophic and functional status of fish assemblages in Norwegian...
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crwiley:10.1002/ece3.10745 2024-06-02T08:03:09+00:00 Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages Synnes, Ann‐Elin Wårøy Olsen, Esben Moland Jorde, Per Erik Knutsen, Halvor Moland, Even Norges Forskningsråd 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.10745 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 13, issue 12 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 2024-05-03T11:32:47Z Abstract The absence of functional top predators has been proposed as a mechanism acting to shape fish assemblages in temperate marine ecosystems, with cascading effects on lower trophic levels. We explore this scenario by comparing the trophic and functional status of fish assemblages in Norwegian marine national parks, open to fishing, to a nearby coastal seascape that harbors a system of marine protected areas (MPAs) including a no‐take zone. Demersal fish assemblages were sampled using fyke nets over three consecutive seasons. Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) is potentially a dominant top predator in this ecosystem, and historically, this and other gadids have been targeted by the full range of former and present fisheries. In the present study, we find that average body size of the Atlantic cod was significantly larger in the zoned seascape compared to the unprotected areas (mean ± SD: 36.6 cm ± 14.38 vs. 23.4 ± 7.50; p < .001) and that the unprotected seascape was characterized by a higher abundance of mesopredator fish species. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the protection of top predators within MPAs aids to control the mesopredator populations and provides empirical support to the notion that the present state of many coastal fish assemblages is driven by mesopredator release linked to functional depletion of large top predators. Article in Journal/Newspaper atlantic cod Gadus morhua Wiley Online Library Ecology and Evolution 13 12 |
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English |
description |
Abstract The absence of functional top predators has been proposed as a mechanism acting to shape fish assemblages in temperate marine ecosystems, with cascading effects on lower trophic levels. We explore this scenario by comparing the trophic and functional status of fish assemblages in Norwegian marine national parks, open to fishing, to a nearby coastal seascape that harbors a system of marine protected areas (MPAs) including a no‐take zone. Demersal fish assemblages were sampled using fyke nets over three consecutive seasons. Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) is potentially a dominant top predator in this ecosystem, and historically, this and other gadids have been targeted by the full range of former and present fisheries. In the present study, we find that average body size of the Atlantic cod was significantly larger in the zoned seascape compared to the unprotected areas (mean ± SD: 36.6 cm ± 14.38 vs. 23.4 ± 7.50; p < .001) and that the unprotected seascape was characterized by a higher abundance of mesopredator fish species. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the protection of top predators within MPAs aids to control the mesopredator populations and provides empirical support to the notion that the present state of many coastal fish assemblages is driven by mesopredator release linked to functional depletion of large top predators. |
author2 |
Norges Forskningsråd |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Synnes, Ann‐Elin Wårøy Olsen, Esben Moland Jorde, Per Erik Knutsen, Halvor Moland, Even |
spellingShingle |
Synnes, Ann‐Elin Wårøy Olsen, Esben Moland Jorde, Per Erik Knutsen, Halvor Moland, Even Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages |
author_facet |
Synnes, Ann‐Elin Wårøy Olsen, Esben Moland Jorde, Per Erik Knutsen, Halvor Moland, Even |
author_sort |
Synnes, Ann‐Elin Wårøy |
title |
Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages |
title_short |
Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages |
title_full |
Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages |
title_fullStr |
Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages |
title_full_unstemmed |
Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages |
title_sort |
contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.10745 |
genre |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua |
genre_facet |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 13, issue 12 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
12 |
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1800747630790180864 |