Population declines of tuna and relatives depend on their speed of life

Larger-bodied species in a wide range of taxonomic groups including mammals, fishes and birds tend to decline more steeply and are at greater risk of extinction. Yet, the diversity in life histories is governed not only by body size, but also by time-related traits. A key question is whether this si...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2015-07, Vol.282 (1811), p.20150322-20150322
Main Authors: Juan-Jordá, M. J., Mosqueira, I., Freire, J., Dulvy, N. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Body Size
Conservation of Natural Resources
Declines
Extinction, Biological
Fisheries
Fishes
Fishing Mortality
Life Histories
Longevity
Models, Biological
Population Dynamics
Scombrids
Temperature
Thunnus
Time Factors
Tuna - physiology
Vulnerability
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Summary:Larger-bodied species in a wide range of taxonomic groups including mammals, fishes and birds tend to decline more steeply and are at greater risk of extinction. Yet, the diversity in life histories is governed not only by body size, but also by time-related traits. A key question is whether this size-dependency of vulnerability also holds, not just locally, but globally across a wider range of environments. We test the relative importance of size- and time-related life-history traits and fishing mortality in determining population declines and current exploitation status in tunas and their relatives. We use high-quality datasets of half a century of population trajectories combined with population-level fishing mortalities and life-history traits. Time-related traits (e.g. growth rate), rather than size-related traits (e.g. maximum size), better explain the extent and rate of declines and current exploitation status across tuna assemblages, after controlling for fishing mortality. Consequently, there is strong geographical patterning in population declines, such that populations with slower life histories (found at higher cooler latitudes) have declined most and more steeply and have a higher probability of being overfished than populations with faster life histories (found at tropical latitudes). Hence, the strong, temperature-driven, latitudinal gradients in life-history traits may underlie the global patterning of population declines, fisheries collapses and local extinctions.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2015.0322