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| Indicator | Attribute | Purpose | If restricted to taxa, list which ones | Ecosystem applicability | Identified capability | Biological classification level | Response variable | Drivers | Robustness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trait composition | Tropic shifts, community structure, population structure | fisheries | Should be applicable in all ecosystems | Aspirational | Ecosystem, Community, Population | species-based | anthropogenic | medium |
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It is now fairly widely accepted that fishing effects the life history traits of fished populations (Jennings and Kaiser 1998, Rochet 1998, Hall 1999, Rochet et al. 2000, Jennings et al. 2001, ICES 2002). Changes in the mean values of traits have been used to consider the effects of fishing, but consideration of the variance could also be useful (Rochet and Trenkel 2003). While past use in fisheries has usually concentrated on considering the change in traits of targeted species, it is being extended to consider communities (Jennings et al. 1999, ICES 2002). This is in keeping with its use in biomonitoring of freshwater (Hellawell 1986, Charvet et al. 2000) and marine benthic (Frid et al. 2000) communities, where biological and ecological traits (e.g. size, life span, diet and distribution) weighted by species abundance are analysed using a multivariate framework. Based on its success as an indicator of pollution, trait composition has a lot of potential as an indicator of the effects of fishing. A range of traits will need to be analysed though, as an application to data from the North Sea Scottish August Groundfish Survey data (ICES 2002) indicated that some traits (growth rates, length at maturity and von Bertalanffy L∞) may be relatively insensitive to increased levels of fishing if applied to areas that are already disturbed. That is, these traits could distinguish between low and medium levels of fishing, but beyond a threshold level of perturbation they failed to respond further (ICES 2002). Of the traits considered in this analysis of North Sea Scottish August Groundfish Survey data (growth rates, age and length at maturity and von Bertalanffy L∞), age at maturity showed the greatest promise as an indicator of the continuing effects of fishing (and its management) on the North Sea Scottish Groundfish community. Irrespective of the trait(s) under consideration, it will require the collection of more data to verify the potential of traits as indicators and to establish “reference-conditions” (Rochet and Trenkel 2003). The existence of reference areas would also be highly beneficial, as they would allow for the separation of the effects due to fishing from those due to other factors affecting the ecosystem.
Attribute
what is the ecological attribute(s) that is related to this indicator?
possible examples include (from Fulton et al 2004):
- ecosystem structure
- ecosystem function
- community structure
- community function
- Eutrophication
- trophic shifts
- trophic structure
- habitat quality
- discard availability
- population structure
- predator-prey balance
- community heterogeneity
- habitat condition
- efficiency of by-catch reduction measures
Just a list of which attribute(s) is sufficient unless there is other information that is of interest.
Purpose
Pick one or more of the following:
- fisheries
- seabirds/penguins
- mammals
- phytoplankton
- ....others??
trophic shifts, community structure, population structure
Purpose
fisheries
Taxa
Data required
The following is from Fulton et al 2004a -
- Catch biomass of pelagic fish species
- Mean trophic level in the catch
- Time series data of catch
Ecosystem applicability
The following is from Fulton et al 2004a -
Should be applicable to all ecosystems.
Identified capability
Is there any additional information that would be of interest in regards to the identified capability?
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The following is from Fulton et al 2004a -
Medium: The index has potential, but it requires further development and testing, due to its data requirements and the potential existence of thresholds of effectiveness.
Current status and trends
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Hyperlinks to organisations, databases, webportals, and ID books, that are associated with this indicator, if appropriate.
References
A list of references referred to on this page.
Background reading
Other references that would be useful to read in regard to the indicator referred to on this page.
Fulton, E.A., Smith, A.D.M., Webb, H., and Slater, J. (2004a) Ecological indicators for the impacts of fishing on non-target species, communities and ecosystems: Review of potential indicators. AFMA Final Research Report, report Number R99/1546.
References that Fulton et al uses for this indicator:
Charvet, S., B. Statzner, P. Usseglio-Polatera, and B. Dumont. 2000. Traits of benthic macroinvertebrates in semi-natural French streams: an initial application to biomonitoring in Europe (abstract) . Freshwater Biology 43, no. 2: pp 277-96.
Frid, C. L. J., K. G. Harwood, S. J. Hall, and J. A. Hall. 2000. Long-term changes in the benthic communities on North Sea fishing grounds. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57: pp 1302-9.
Hall, S.J. 1999. The effects of fishing on marine ecosystems and communities. Blackwell Science Ltd, Oxford.
Hellawell, J.M. 1986. Biological indicators of freshwater pollution and environmental management. Pollution Monitoring Series, Elsevier Applied Science: London.
ICES. 2002. Report of the Working Group on Ecosystem Effects of Fishing Activities. International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, CM 2001/ACE: 03, 189pp.
Jennings, S., and M.J. Kaiser. 1998. The effects of fishing on marine ecosystems. Advances in Marine Biology 34: pp 201-351.
Jennings, S., S.P.R. Greenstreet, J.D. Reynolds. 1999. Structural change in an exploited fish community: a consequence of differential fishing effects on species with contrasting life histories. Journal of Animal Ecology 68: 617-627.
Jennings, S., M.J. Kaiser, and J.D. Reynolds. 2001. Marine fisheries ecology.,. 417 p . London: Blackwell Science.
Rochet, M.-J., P.-A. Cornillon, R. Sabatier, and D. Pontier. 2000. Comparative analysis of phylogenetic and fishing effects in life history patterns of teleost fishes. Oikos 91: pp 255-70.
Rochet, M.-J., and V. M. Trenkel. 2003. Which community indicators can measure the impact of fishing? a review and proposals. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 60: pp 86-99.
Background reading
Fulton, E.A., Fuller,M., Smith, A.D.M., and Punt, A. (2004) Ecological indicators of the ecosystem effects of fishing: Final report. AFMA Final Research Report, report Number R99/1546.
Other references that can be used to update this page
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