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Change in the dominance structure of two marine‐fish assemblages over three decades
Author(s) -
Moyes Faye,
Magurran Anne E.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/jfb.13868
Subject(s) - overfishing , dominance (genetics) , biology , ecology , abundance (ecology) , fish stock , fishery , marine fish , climate change , marine conservation , ecosystem , fish <actinopterygii> , fishing , biochemistry , gene
Marine fish are an irreplaceable resource, but are currently under threat through overfishing and climate change. To date, most of the emphasis has been on single stocks or populations of economic importance. However, commercially valuable species are embedded in assemblages of many species and there is only limited understanding of the extent to which the structure of whole communities has altered in recent years. Most assemblages are dominated by one or a few species, with these highly abundant species underpinning ecosystem services and harvesting decisions. This paper shows that there have been marked temporal changes in the dominance structure of Scottish marine‐fish assemblages over the past three decades, where dominance is measured as the proportional numerical abundance of the most dominant species. We report contrasting patterns in both the identity of the dominant species and shifts in the relative abundance of the dominant in assemblages to the east and west of Scotland, UK. This result highlights the importance of multi‐species analyses of harvested stocks and has implications not only for fisheries management but also for consumer choices.