Mason, J. G. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2025

The nutritional value of invertebrate aquatic foods

Aquatic invertebrates are a diverse, nutrient-dense, and socio-ecologically important food whose contribution to human nutrition is frequently overlooked. We quantify their contribution to global nutrient supplies and estimate the nutrient content of >50,000 macroinvertebrate species. Current aquatic invertebrate production supplies the equivalent annual requirement for >6 billion people in terms of vitamin B12 and selenium; >1 billion people for copper, omega 3 fatty acids, iodine and zinc; and >100 million people for nutrients such as vitamins B2 and B3, iron, manganese, and magnesium. Nutrient composition differs among taxonomic groups, consumption patterns, and environmental and life-history factors. Our study highlights the benefits of integrating aquatic invertebrates into dietary portfolios across global societies, mainstreaming their nutritional importance in development projects, sustainability assessments and food policy.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Projecting climate-driven shifts in demersal fish habitat in Iceland's waters

As climate change shifts marine species distribution and abundance worldwide, projecting local changes over decadal scales may be a valuable adaptive strategy for managers and industry. In Iceland, one of the top fish-producing nations in the world, long-term monitoring enables model simulations of groundfish species habitat distribution. We used generalized additive models to characterize suitable thermal habitat for 47 fish species in Icelands waters. We then projected changes in thermal habitat by midcentury with an ensemble of five general circulation models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Program 6 (CMIP6) and NOAA (CM2.6) and two scenarios (SSP 5-8.5 and SSP 2-4.5). We find a general northward shift in centroids of habitat distribution, with variable regional dynamics among species. Species thermal affinity was the most significant predictor of future habitat change, with warmer-water species more likely to see projected increases in suitable habitat. We present spatially explicit habitat change projections for commercially and culturally important species. These projections might serve as guideposts to inform long-term management decisions about regional and species-specific suitability for Icelands fisheries, infrastructure investment, and risk evaluation under climate change.

ecology↗