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Stable isotopes reveal the effect of trawl fisheries on the diet of commercially exploited species.

ABSTRACT: Bottom trawling can change food availability for benthivorous demersal species by (i) changing benthic prey composition through physical seabed impacts and (ii) by removing overall benthic consumer biomass increasing the net availability of benthic prey for remaining individuals. Thus trawling may both negatively and positively influence the quantity and quality of food available. Using ? 13C and ? 15N we investigated potential diet changes of three commercially exploited species across trawling gradients in the Kattegat (plaice, dab and Norway lobster (Nephrops)) and the Irish Sea (Nephrops). In the Kattegat, trawling affected primarily the biomass of benthic consumers, lowering competition. Nephrops showed significant positive relationships for ? 13C and a domed relationship for ? 15N with trawling. In the Irish Sea, intense trawling had a negative effect on benthic prey. ? 13C and ? 15N thus showed the inverse relationships to those observed in the Kattegat. Plaice from the Kattegat, showed a significant relationship with trawling intensity for ? 13C, but not for ? 15N. No relationship was found for dab. Changes of ? 13C and ? 15N correlated with changes in condition of species. The results show that the removal of demersal competitors and benthos by trawling can change the diets of commercial species, ultimately affecting their body condition.

SUBMITTER: Hinz H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5524968 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Stable isotopes reveal the effect of trawl fisheries on the diet of commercially exploited species.

Hinz Hilmar H Moranta Joan J Balestrini Stephen S Sciberras Marija M Pantin Julia R JR Monnington James J Zalewski Alex A Kaiser Michel J MJ Sköld Mattias M Jonsson Patrik P Bastardie Francois F Hiddink Jan Geert JG

Scientific reports 20170724 1

Bottom trawling can change food availability for benthivorous demersal species by (i) changing benthic prey composition through physical seabed impacts and (ii) by removing overall benthic consumer biomass increasing the net availability of benthic prey for remaining individuals. Thus trawling may both negatively and positively influence the quantity and quality of food available. Using δ <sup>13</sup>C and δ <sup>15</sup>N we investigated potential diet changes of three commercially exploited s ...[more]

PMID: 28740093

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Project description:Fatal entanglement in fishing gear is the leading cause of population decline for albatross globally, a consequence of attraction to bait and fishery discards of commercial fishing operations. We investigated foraging strategies of Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), as inferred from nitrogen and carbon isotope values of primary feathers, to determine breeding-related, seasonal, and historic factors that may affect the likelihood of association with Alaskan or Hawaiian longline fisheries. Feather samples were collected from live birds monitored for breeding status and breeding success on Midway Atoll in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, birds salvaged as fisheries-bycatch, and birds added to museum collections before 1924. During the chick-rearing season (sampled April-May), means and variances of stable isotope values of birds with the highest, most consistent reproductive success were distinct from less productive conspecifics and completely different from birds caught in Hawaiian or Alaskan longline fisheries, suggesting birds with higher multi-annual reproductive success were less likely to associate with these fisheries. Contemporary birds with the highest reproductive success had mean values most similar to historic birds. Values of colony-bound, courting prebreeders were similar to active breeders but distinct from prebreeders caught in Alaskan longline fisheries. During the breeding season, δ15N values were highly variable for both contemporary and historic birds. Although some historic birds exhibited extremely low δ15N values unmatched by contemporary birds (< 11.2‰), others had values as high as the highest fishery-associated contemporary birds. During the non-breeding season (sampled July-September), isotopic variability coalesced into a more narrow set of values for both contemporary and historic birds. Our results suggest that foraging strategies of Laysan albatross are a complex function of season, breeding status, and multi-annual breeding success, factors that likely affect the probability of association with fisheries.

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Stable isotopes reveal the effect of trawl fisheries on the diet of commercially exploited species.

Publications

Stable isotopes reveal the effect of trawl fisheries on the diet of commercially exploited species.

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