Q1010.pdf (1.09 MB)
Macro-ecological patterns in fish biodiversity and survey abundance
conference contribution
posted on 2024-02-06, 09:18 authored by Henrik Gislason, Brian R. MacKenzie, Fátima Cardador, Corina Chaves, Andrey Dolgov, Jakov Dulčić, Heino Fock, Jan Geert Hiddink, Remment ter Hofstede, Igor Isajlović, Jónas Páll Jonasson, Ole Jørgensen, Kristján Kristinsson, Gudrun Marteinsdottir, Sanja Matić-Skoko, Melita Peharda, Jakup Reinert, Jón Solmundsson, Lilja Stefansdottir, Kaj Sünksen, Francisco Velasco, Nedo VrgočNo abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.
Previous work has identified maximum body size as an important functional life-history trait for marine fish species influencing their growth, natural mortality, recruitment, and resilience to exploitation. We use data from a large number of scientific bottom trawl surveys from West Greenland to the Adriatic Sea to compare the distribution of species richness and average number of individuals caught per hour of trawling across different fish communities. Although highly variable the data reveal several overall patterns. Going from north to south the total species richness and the total number of individuals caught per hour of trawling increase, while the average log maximum length of the individuals shows a consistent decrease. In contrast the average log maximum length of the species recorded remains stable throughout the area. The mesh size in the codend and the total number of hauls are significant covariates. We briefly discuss to what extent these patterns reflect differences in fish community structure with latitude or are generated by differences in levels of exploitation