The historical ecology of coastal California

Scarborough, Courtney; Welch, Zoë S.; Wilson, Jono R.; Gleason, Mary; Saccomanno, Vienna R.; Halpern, Benjamin S.

doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106352

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Historical ecology is a valuable tool that can increase our understanding of the factors influencing fluctuations in populations and consequently improve our ability to evaluate a population’s potential for decline and recovery (Scarborough et al 2022). In this study, when considered collectively, the historical accounts of BSB that we gathered also served to validate the results of our quantitative analysis; that is, periods of reportedly higher and lower BSB population abundance were associated with decadal-scale fluctuations in ocean temperature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recruitment limitation increases susceptibility to fishing-induced collapse in a spawning aggregation fishery

Mason,

Riecke,

Bellquist

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Aggregation-based fisheries are notorious for booms and busts driven by aggregation discovery and subsequent fishing-induced collapse. However, environment-driven sporadic recruitment in some since-protected populations has delayed recovery, suggesting recruitment-limitation may be a key driver of their population dynamics and fishery recovery potential. To glean insight into this dynamic, we focused on an overexploited temperate aggregate spawner (Barred Sand Bass;Paralabrax nebulifer) and leveraged a long-term mark-recapture data set spanning different oceanographic and harvest histories in a custom Bayesian capture-mark-reencounter modeling framework. We coupled this demographic analysis with long-term trends in sea surface temperature, harvest, adult and juvenile densities, and historical accounts in the literature. Our results point to a history of multidecadal windows of fishing opportunity and fishing-induced collapse that were largely driven by sporadic, warm water recruitment events, which may be externally sourced. Nevertheless, we found that environment-driven sporadic recruitment was not a factor impeding recovery following the last collapse, as recruitment remained elevated due to novel, anomalously warm conditions. Despite signs of incipient population recovery, spawning aggregations remain absent, indicating other potential factors (e.g., continued fishing during spawning season, residual Allee effects) have delayed fishery recovery to date. Aggregate spawner populations that are dependent on sporadic recruitment, especially those at their geographic margins, are thus highly susceptible to sudden and potentially extended periods of collapse, making them ill-suited to high CPUE fishing that occurs on spawning grounds. If the goal is to balance the protection of spawning aggregations with long-term fishery sustainability, then limiting aggregation-based fishing during spawning season may be the best insurance policy against collapse and recovery failure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recruitment limitation increases susceptibility to fishing-induced collapse in a spawning aggregation fishery

Mason,

Riecke,

Bellquist

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Local records kept by individuals and groups, including through structured citizen science activities, can increase the spatial and temporal scale of studies to span continents and decades, and provide access to locations and times that may be out of reach of traditional scienti c research (Dickinson et al 2010). They are also an important source for coupled systems research, such as is required to understand social-ecological systems (Lepczyk et al 2009;Scarborough et al 2022).…”

Section: ; Thurstan 2022)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Humans have impacted ecosystems for far longer than we have effectively monitored them (Cushing, 1988;Jackson et al 2001). Historical ecology studies provide a potential solution to this gap, allowing us to retrospectively understand ecosystem changes that pre-date formal scienti c studies (Balée 2006;McClenachan et al 2012) and inform conservation and sustainability decision-making (Scarborough et al 2022). Marine historical ecology emerged in the late 20th century and has been used to study timescales from years to centuries and spatial scales from single sites to thousands of km 2 (Beller et al…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical marine ecology using non-traditional data sources reveals the impact of local and global processes over half a century

Turnbull,

Booth,

Vergés

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Human impacts on earth span centuries, yet scientific studies cover a fraction of this time. Historical records and citizen scientist data are a useful resource for the long-term studies needed to understand and respond to pressures on nature, yet their quality and validity have been challenged. To explore how such non-traditional sources can be used to understand historical ecological change, we studied a site (Shiprock) with long-term citizen science activity in the Sydney, Australia region. We analysed approximately 6000 taxonomic records and reports revealing substantial ecological changes between 1965 and 2020, including the local disappearance of some fish and invertebrate species and declines in the abundance of many taxa including kelp. We found indications of potential range extensions more frequently from the north than the south, consistent with patterns expected from the global processes of climate change. We compared the relative advantages and limitations of the two main citizen science data collection modes: structured surveys and opportunistic presence records. Structured surveys provided broadly scientifically useful ecological information including species richness, populations, community structure and temporal change. Opportunistic data had the potential to provide long-term retrospective community information and species presence, but were limited in the ability to provide species absence, biomass, populations, community structure and coverage of remote areas. Our study allowed the development of scientifically- and managerially-relevant insights encompassing foundation, threatened, protected and invasive species, community shifts and the impacts of local and global processes over historical timescales.

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Lost and found coastal wetlands: Lessons learned from mapping estuaries across the USA

Endris,

Shull,

Woolfolk

et al. 2024

Biological Conservation

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The historical ecology of coastal California

Cited by 6 publications

References 64 publications

Recruitment limitation increases susceptibility to fishing-induced collapse in a spawning aggregation fishery

Recruitment limitation increases susceptibility to fishing-induced collapse in a spawning aggregation fishery

Historical marine ecology using non-traditional data sources reveals the impact of local and global processes over half a century

Lost and found coastal wetlands: Lessons learned from mapping estuaries across the USA

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