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A central goal of ecology is to understand the forces driving the distribution and abundance of organisms. However, understanding the population dynamics of high-dispersal species, their conservation, and the connections between population dynamics and evolution remains difficult. It is in this context that marine organisms provide a particularly intriguing and challenging study system. Their population dynamics are often highly stochastic, most species have a great ability to disperse, and as the last group of wild species exploited commercially, their ecology and evolution can be strongly influenced by human behavior. By using population genetics, modeling, and meta-analysis, this thesis investigates the spatial ecology of reef fish and the causes and evolutionary consequences of global fisheries collapse. One of the first challenges in understanding spatial population dynamics is obtaining accurate measurements of dispersal abilities. This has been especially difficult for marine species with pelagic larvae. In Chapter 1, I apply a new approach to measuring single-generation dispersal kernels in Clark's anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii) in the central Philippines. After developing two methods for measuring the strength of local genetic drift, my results suggest that larval dispersal kernels in A. clarkii had a spread near 11 km (4-27 km). This study shows that ecologically relevant larval dispersal can be estimated with widely available genetic methods when effective density is measured carefully through cohort sampling and ecological censuses. In Chapter 2, I use dispersal kernels to develop a model for population openness. Openness refers to the degree to which populations are replenished by immigrants or by local production, a factor that has strong implications for population dynamics, species interactions, and response to exploitation. It is also a population trait that has been increasingly measured empirically, though we have until now lacked theory for predicting population openness. I show that considering habitat isolation elegantly explains the existence of surprisingly closed populations in high dispersal species, and that relatively closed populations are expected when patch spacing is more than twice the standard deviation of a species' dispersal kernel. In addition, empirical scales of habitat patchiness on coral reefs are sufficient to create both largely open and largely closed populations. We predict that habitat patchiness has strong control over population replenishment pathways for a wide range of marine and terrestrial species with a highly dispersive life stage. While the first tow chapters have strong implications for the design of regional marine protected areas, I turn to global conservation questions in Chapters 3 and 4. I first ask which marine fishes are most vulnerable to human impacts. Surveys of terrestrial species have suggested that large-bodied species and top predators are the most at risk, but there has been no global test of this hypothesis in the sea. Contrary to expectations, two datasets compiled from around the world suggest that up to twice as many fisheries for small, low trophic level species have collapsed as compared to those for large predators. I then show that collapsed and overfished species have lower genetic diversity than their close relatives. While the ecological and ecosystem impacts of harvesting wild populations have long been recognized, it has been controversial how widespread evolutionary impacts are. Using a meta-analytical approach across 37 taxonomically paired comparisons, I find on average 19% fewer alleles per locus in overfished species, but little difference in heterozygosity. I confirm with simulations that these results are consistent with a recent population bottleneck. These results suggest that the genetic impacts of overharvest are widespread, even among abundant species. A loss of allelic richness has implications for the long-term evolutionary potential of species.
The spotted seatrout is an important species not only for recreational and commercial fisheries, but also as an integral part of many estuarine ecosystems. As one of the few fishes that live its entire life within an estuarine system, the species has tremendous potential as a monitor or sentinel for estuarine conditions. Prepared by the foremost au
Ecology, Genetics and Evolution of Metapopulations is acollection of specially commissioned articles that looks at fragmented habitats, bringing together recent theoretical advances and empirical studies applying the metapopulation approach. Several chapters closely integrate ecology with genetics and evolutionary biology, and others illustrate how metapopulation concepts and models can be applied to answer questions about conservation, epidemiology, and speciation. The extensive coverage of theory from highly regarded scientists and the many substantive applications in this one-of-a-kind work make it invaluable to graduate students and researchers in a wide range of disciplines. - Provides a comprehensive and authoritative account of all aspects of metapopulation biology, integrating ecology, genetics, and evolution - Developed by recognized experts, including Hanski who won the Balzan Prize for Ecological Sciences - Covers novel applications of the metapopulation approach to conservation
This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. The Gulf of Mexico is an open and dynamic marine ecosystem rich in natural resources but heavily impacted by human activities, including agricultural, industrial, commercial and coastal development. The Gulf of Mexico has been continuously exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons for millions of years from natural oil and gas seeps on the sea floor, and more recently from oil drilling and production activities located in the water near and far from shore. Major accidental oil spills in the Gulf are infrequent; two of the most significant include the Ixtoc I blowout in the Bay of Campeche in 1979 and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010. Unfortunately, baseline assessments of the status of habitats and biota in the Gulf of Mexico before these spills either were not available, or the data had not been systematically compiled in a way that would help scientists assess the potential short-term and long-term effects of such events. This 2-volume series compiles and summarizes thousands of data sets showing the status of habitats and biota in the Gulf of Mexico before the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Volume 2 covers historical data on commercial and recreational fisheries, with an analysis of marketing trends and drivers; ecology, populations and risks to birds, sea turtles and marine mammals in the Gulf; and diseases and mortalities of fish and other animals that inhabit the Gulf of Mexico.
Techniques and theory for processing otoliths from tropical marine fish have developed only recently due to an historic misconception that these organisms could not be aged. Otoliths are the most commonly used structures from which daily, seasonal or annual records of a fish’s environmental history are inferred, and are also used as indicators of migration patterns, home range, spatial distribution, stock structure and life history events. A large proportion of projects undertaken on tropical marine organisms involve removal and processing of calcified structures such as otoliths, statoliths or vertebrae to retrieve biological, biochemical or genetic information. Current techniques and principles have evolved rapidly and are under constant modification and these differ among laboratories, and more particularly among species and within life history stages. Tropical fish otoliths: Information for assessment, management and ecology is a comprehensive description of the current status of knowledge about otoliths in the tropics. This book has contributions from leading experts in the field, encompassing a tropical perspective on daily and annual ageing in fish and invertebrates, microchemistry, interpreting otolith microstructure and using it to back-calculate life history events, and includes a treatise on the significance of validating periodicity in otoliths.
"The aim of this report is to define and review this "semi-aquaculture practice", which has been more accurately named "capture-based aquaculture." -- Preface.
Reef fish spawning aggregations, ranging from small groups to many tens of thousands of individuals, are spectacular but poorly known natural phenomena whereby fish assemble at specific times and locations to spawn. For some species these large groups may be the only form of reproduction, the high fish numbers briefly giving a false impression of stability and abundance—an ‘illusion of plenty’. They are often a focus for intensive seasonal fishing because of their predictability and because many important commercial fishes form them. Highly vulnerable to overexploitation, many aggregations and their associated fisheries, have disappeared or are in decline. Few are effectively managed or incorporated into protected areas. Aggregations are not well understood by fishery scientists, managers and conservationists and their significance little appreciated by fishers or the wider public. To ensure their persistence to replenish important fisheries in coral ecosystems, maintain their ecosystem function and continue to delight divers, a significant change in perspective is needed to foster protection and management. This book provides comprehensive and practical coverage of the biology, study and management of reef fish aggregations, exploring their how, when, where, and why. It explores ways to better protect, study, manage and conserve them, while identifying key data gaps and questions. The text is extensively illustrated with many unique, never before published, photographs and graphics. Case studies on over 20 interesting and important fishes are included, outlining their biology and fisheries and highlighting major concerns and challenges.
The Bad Bug Book 2nd Edition, released in 2012, provides current information about the major known agents that cause foodborne illness.Each chapter in this book is about a pathogen—a bacterium, virus, or parasite—or a natural toxin that can contaminate food and cause illness. The book contains scientific and technical information about the major pathogens that cause these kinds of illnesses.A separate “consumer box” in each chapter provides non-technical information, in everyday language. The boxes describe plainly what can make you sick and, more important, how to prevent it.The information provided in this handbook is abbreviated and general in nature, and is intended for practical use. It is not intended to be a comprehensive scientific or clinical reference.The Bad Bug Book is published by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.