Synergy of turbulence and fishing reduce aquatic biomass

McKerral, J. C.; Seymour, J. R.; Lavery, T. J.; Rogers, P. J.; Jeffries, T. C.; Paterson, J. S.; Roudnew, B.; Huveneers, C.; Newton, K.; van Dongen-Vogels, V.; Cribb, N. P.; Winn, K. M.; Smith, R. J.; Beckmann, C. L.; Prime, E.; Charlton, C. M.; Kleshnina, M.; Grigson, S. R.; Takeuchi, M.; Seuront, L.; Mitchell, J. G.

doi:10.1101/2021.10.04.459351

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.10.04.459351

Synergy of turbulence and fishing reduce aquatic biomass

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Abstract

A universal scaling relationship exists between organism abundance and body size1,2. Within ocean habitats this relationship deviates from that generally observed in terrestrial systems2-4, where marine macro-fauna display steeper size-abundance scaling than expected. This is indicative of a fundamental shift in food-web organization, yet a conclusive mechanism for this pattern has remained elusive. We demonstrate that while fishing has partially contributed to the reduced abundance of larger organisms, a larger effect comes from ocean turbulence: the energetic cost of movement within a turbulent environment induces additional biomass losses among the nekton. These results identify turbulence as a novel mechanism governing the marine size-abundance distribution, highlighting the complex interplay of biophysical forces that must be considered alongside anthropogenic impacts in processes governing marine ecosystems.

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McKerral, J. C., Seymour, J. R., Lavery, T. J., Rogers, P. J., Jeffries, T. C., Paterson, J. S., Roudnew, B., Huveneers, C., Newton, K., van Dongen-Vogels, V., Cribb, N. P., Winn, K. M., Smith, R. J., Beckmann, C. L., Prime, E., Charlton, C. M., Kleshnina, M., Grigson, S. R., Takeuchi, M., Seuront, L., Mitchell, J. G.. 2021-10-05. Synergy of turbulence and fishing reduce aquatic biomass. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.04.459351

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