Depth as a fish refuge from spearfishing at Rapa Nui: Flight behaviour in the Pacific rudderfish <i>Kyphosus sandwicensis</i>

Petit, Ignacio J.; Gaymer, Carlos F.; Friedlander, Alan M.; Gusmao, Joao B.

doi:10.1002/aqc.3795

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(97 reference statements)

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“…FID has been used to measure the effects of fishing pressures on fish behavior, especially comparing protected and nonprotected areas (Benevides et al, 2018). In studies conducted along the coasts of Barbados, Brazil, and Rapa Nui fish in protected areas had lower FIDs than those in areas where fishing was allowed (Gotanda et al, 2009;Benevides et al, 2018;Petit et al, 2022). FIDs have begun to be used as a metric of the effectiveness of MPAs as they show behavioral characteristics associated with higher fitness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To our knowledge, this study is the first to use FID as a metric to evaluate the effectiveness of MPAs in fostering healthy fish populations in such a setting. FID has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of MPAs in Brazil and other countries (Gotanda et al, 2009;Benevides et al, 2018;Petit et al, 2022). It represents a tool to increase the scope of management strategies for protected areas in California.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Southern California marine protected areas promote bolder fish populations

Himes,

La Valle

2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Marine protected areas (MPAs) aim to protect habitats and ecosystems to promote the diversity and health of marine populations. To evaluate the health of fish populations within and outside of MPAs in Southern California, we used flight initiation distance (FID). FID is the distance at which an individual will flee from a perceived predator and is a direct measure of boldness. Lower FIDs are indicative of bolder populations. Lower FID values indicate that fish will have the opportunity to dedicate less energy to fleeing from predators which could then be used for increased foraging. Data was collected from eight locations along the Southern California coast, four in protected areas and four in non-protected areas. FIDs were measured with a sonar-based range finder. All fish species that recreational fishermen could catch were targeted, with a focus on six core species spearfishermen catch commonly. Results showed that all fish sampled in MPAs have significantly lower FIDs than those in non-protected areas. An ANOVA showed no significant difference between different locations of the same protected status. The six core species had lower average FIDs in protected areas, three species had significant differences between protected and non-protected populations, and there was no significant difference in FIDs between species. These results show that Southern California MPAs are promoting healthier fish communities with respect to boldness behavior. This data and methods can be implemented in future projects to expand the range of metrics measured to inform management tools for California’s MPAs and MPAs at large.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Southern California marine protected areas promote bolder fish populations

Himes,

La Valle

2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Escape behavior of rocky‐reef fish reveals the impact of spearfishing across different management regimes

Contreras‐Drey,

Godoy,

Smith

et al. 2024

Ecosphere

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Flight initiation distance (FID), the distance at which an organism begins to flee from an approaching threat, is a major component of antipredator escape behavior and a potential indicator of threat perception in fishes. In this study, we analyzed the FID of three important rocky‐reef fish species targeted by spearfishers, which are of commercial and recreational importance. We tested predictions that FID to a diver threat increases with the following factors: (1) fish body size, (2) less restricted access regimes, and (3) increased historical fishing pressure. We studied three size ranges of three rocky‐reef fish species, in three different access regimes (i.e., open access, territorial user rights for fishery areas, no‐take marine protected areas), and in two regions (northern and central region with different levels of fishing pressure depending on the species). We conducted an ANOVA to analyze pairwise interactions. We used the mean square criterion to select the models that best explained the variation of our response variable. Our findings indicate that FID can be distinctly elucidated by factors such as individual size, species, access regimes, and regions. Additionally, our models show that interactions involving regions and either species or size further contribute to explain FID variability. FID was higher in larger fishes and those of higher commercial value, outside marine reserves and in the region with the highest historical fishing pressures (based on landings data). This study supports the predictions that increased FID is associated with the threat posed by spearfishing activities. Furthermore, our findings indicate that spearfishing may already be altering the behavior of rocky‐reef fishes on the north‐central coast of Chile.

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