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

ABSTRACT: 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), r

SUBMITTER: Juan-Jorda MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4528538 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature