Predatory fish depletion and recovery potential on Caribbean reefs.

ABSTRACT: The natural, prehuman abundance of most large predators is unknown because of the lack of historical data and a limited understanding of the natural factors that control their populations. Determining the supportable predator biomass at a given location (that is, the predator carrying capacity) would help managers to optimize protection and would provide site-specific recovery goals. We assess the relationship between predatory reef fish biomass and several anthropogenic and environmental variables at 39 reefs across the Caribbean to (i) estimate their roles determining local predator biomass and (ii) determine site-specific recovery potential if fishing was eliminated. We show that predatory reef fish biomass tends to be higher in marine reserves but is strongly negatively related to huma

SUBMITTER: Valdivia A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5332153 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature