Allee effects and the Allee-effect zone in northwest Atlantic cod.

ABSTRACT: According to the theory of compensatory dynamics, depleted populations should recover when the threat responsible for their decline is removed because per capita population growth is assumed to be highest when populations are at their smallest viable sizes. Yet, many seriously depleted fish populations have failed to recover despite threat mitigation. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stocks off Newfoundland, despite 30 years of dramatically reduced fishing mortality and numerous fishery closures, have not recovered, suggesting that drivers other than fishing can regulate the growth of collapsed fish populations, inhibiting or preventing their recovery. Here, using Bayesian inference, we show strong evidence of Allee effects in a south Newfoundland cod population, based on data on

SUBMITTER: Perala T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8807053 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature