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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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e72ed732fc9d422690ff055e383c420b 2024-01-28T10:04:23+01:00 Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages Ann‐Elin Wårøy Synnes Esben Moland Olsen Per Erik Jorde Halvor Knutsen Even Moland 2023-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 https://doaj.org/article/e72ed732fc9d422690ff055e383c420b EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.10745 https://doaj.org/article/e72ed732fc9d422690ff055e383c420b Ecology and Evolution, Vol 13, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2023) atlantic cod functional status marine protected areas top predator trophic cascade Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 2023-12-31T01:40:10Z 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 Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Ecology and Evolution 13 12 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
atlantic cod functional status marine protected areas top predator trophic cascade Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
atlantic cod functional status marine protected areas top predator trophic cascade Ecology QH540-549.5 Ann‐Elin Wårøy Synnes Esben Moland Olsen Per Erik Jorde Halvor Knutsen Even Moland Contrasting management regimes indicative of mesopredator release in temperate coastal fish assemblages |
topic_facet |
atlantic cod functional status marine protected areas top predator trophic cascade Ecology QH540-549.5 |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ann‐Elin Wårøy Synnes Esben Moland Olsen Per Erik Jorde Halvor Knutsen Even Moland |
author_facet |
Ann‐Elin Wårøy Synnes Esben Moland Olsen Per Erik Jorde Halvor Knutsen Even Moland |
author_sort |
Ann‐Elin Wårøy Synnes |
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 |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 https://doaj.org/article/e72ed732fc9d422690ff055e383c420b |
genre |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua |
genre_facet |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 13, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.10745 https://doaj.org/article/e72ed732fc9d422690ff055e383c420b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10745 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
12 |
_version_ |
1789330065966759936 |