What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the direct and indirect impacts of intense fishing pressure on coral reef fish abundance, species richness, and community structure following the loss of marine reserve protection.

January 1, 1989Marine Ecology Progress SeriesOpen Access

Effects of intense fishing pressure on an assemblage of coral reef fishes

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

GRGR RussAustralian Research Council AAAC AlcalaSilliman University

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Natural experiment reveals widespread declines in fish density and species richness following reserve reopening, indicating broad ecological disruption beyond target species.

Key Points

To evaluate the direct and indirect impacts of intense fishing pressure on coral reef fish abundance, species richness, and community structure following the loss of marine reserve protection.
Documented a natural experiment in a 750 m marine reserve protected for 10 years (1974–1984) that was reopened to up to 100 municipal fishers using traps, hand-lines, gill-nets, spears, explosives, and drive nets.
Conducted visual censuses inside the reserve and across three fished control sites before fishing began (1983) and after 18 months of intensive exploitation.
Significant reductions in overall fish density and species richness occurred within the reserve after 18 months of fishing, whereas assemblages at the three control sites remained stable.
Abundances of targeted species (serranids, lutjanids, lethrinids) decreased, but non-target species drove overall community structural shifts, marked by significant decreases in small schooling planktivores and benthic chaetodontids alongside increases in small labrids and large scarids.
Habitat destruction from non-selective methods, such as explosives and drive nets, substantially contributed to both direct fish mortality and indirect community-wide restructuring.

Cite This Study

Russ et al. (1989) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aad0aa70ccb6fcc5ea872fc https://doi.org/10.3354/meps056013

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Implication

Natural experiment reveals widespread declines in fish density and species richness following reserve reopening, indicating broad ecological disruption beyond target species.

Effects of intense fishing pressure on an assemblage of coral reef fishes

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Effects of intense fishing pressure on an assemblage of coral reef fishes

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider