REVIEW: Potential effects of kelp species on local fisheries

Summary 1. Kelp species are ecosystem engineers in temperate coasts, where they provide valuable services to humans. Evidence of the declines of kelp forests exists from several regions, but their effects on fisheries still need to be elucidated. More effective management strategies for sustainable fisheries require a synthesis of research findings and an assessment of how research could be improved to fill current gaps. 2. This review aimed to: (i) summarize the available evidence on the influence of changes in kelp density and/or area on the abundance and diversity of associated fisheries and (ii) examine how research on kelp–fisheries interactions could better support effective management. 3. Most studies (67%) reported data ascribable, directly or indirectly, to a positive relationship between kelp and fishery-relevant variables, 11% provided evidence of a negative relationship, 15% indicated species-specific findings and the remaining found unclear or ‘neutral’ relationships. 4. Important shortcomings were identified, including the paucity of experimental studies suitable to test for unequivocal cause–effect relationships, the disproportion between North America, which is well-studied, and other regions and between the large number of fish-based investigations and the small number of those focusing on other commercially important organisms, and the general lack of studies carried out over spatial and temporal scales comparable to those of global processes driving patterns of distribution of both kelps and fisheries. 5. Synthesis and applications. The consistency of most studies in showing a positive kelp–fishery relationship supports the protection of kelp habitats stated by current environmental directives. However, achieving their goals requires that the limitations we detect are addressed through better connections between research, management practice and policy. This would require the following: (i) researchers to combine multiple approaches (large-scale experimental studies and modelling) for the analysis of kelp–fisheries relationships; (ii) funding agencies to provide resources needed to fill the existing gaps; and (iii) researchers and institutions from less studied regions to strengthen collaborations with those from regions where there have been more investigations into kelp–fishery systems. This is essential under present and predicted environmental changes, with the ultimate aim of conserving and allowing the sustainable use of critically important habitats and of fishery resources relying on these.

[1]  Paul Upham,et al.  Prospects for the Use of Macro-Algae for Fuel in Ireland and the UK: An Overview of Marine Management Issues , 2012 .

[2]  T. Anderson.  Role of macroalgal structure in the distribution and abundance of a temperate reef fish , 1994 .

[3]  D. Schiel,et al.  The Population Biology of Large Brown Seaweeds: Ecological Consequences of Multiphase Life Histories in Dynamic Coastal , 2006 .

[4]  Hartvig Christie,et al.  fish–macrofauna interactions in a kelp (laminaria hyperborea) forest , 2005, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

[5]  Alexander Proelß,et al.  Rebuilding fish stocks no later than 2015: will Europe meet the deadline? , 2010 .

[6]  P. Gagnon,et al.  KELP PATCH DYNAMICS IN THE FACE OF INTENSE HERBIVORY: STABILITY OF AGARUM CLATHRATUM (PHAEOPHYTA) STANDS AND ASSOCIATED FLORA ON URCHIN BARRENS 1 , 2005 .

[7]  M. Austen,et al.  Economic valuation for the conservation of marine biodiversity. , 2008, Marine pollution bulletin.

[8]  R. Scheibling,et al.  Destructive grazing, epiphytism, and disease: the dynamics of sea urchin - kelp interactions in Nova Scotia , 1999 .

[9]  M. Blanchard,et al.  Reduction of flatfish habitat as a consequence of the proliferation of an invasive mollusc , 2011 .

[10]  A. W. Ebeling,et al.  FOOD, ACTIVITY, AND HABITAT OF THREE "PICKER·TYPE" MICROCARNIVOROUS FISHES IN THE KELP FORESTS OFF SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA , 1975 .

[11]  K. Davidson,et al.  Culture, yield and bioremediation potential of Palmaria palmata (Linnaeus) Weber Mohr and Saccharina latissima (Linnaeus) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl G.W. Saunders adjacent to fish farm cages in northwest Scotland , 2012 .

[12]  M. Foster.  Organization of macroalgal assemblages in the Northeast Pacific: the assumption of homogeneity and the illusion of generality , 1990, Hydrobiologia.

[13]  S. Holbrook,et al.  Ontogeny of prey selection by black surfperch. Embiotoca jacksoni (Pisces Embiotocidae): the roles of fish morphology, foraging behavior, and patch selection , 1984 .

[14]  Céline Rebours,et al.  Seaweeds: an opportunity for wealth and sustainable livelihood for coastal communities , 2014, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[15]  G. Kendrick,et al.  Decreasing resilience of kelp beds along a latitudinal temperature gradient: potential implications for a warmer future. , 2010, Ecology letters.

[16]  S. Kennelly,et al.  Effects of kelp canopies on understorey species due to shade and scour , 1989 .

[17]  A. W. Ebeling,et al.  Predator-prey relationships in surfperches , 1983, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[18]  A. Pullin,et al.  Guidelines for Systematic Review in Conservation and Environmental Management , 2006, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[19]  P. Dayton.  Experimental Evaluation of Ecological Dominance in a Rocky Intertidal Algal Community , 1975 .

[20]  Christopher M. Dewees,et al.  Spatial Variation in Red Sea Urchin Reproduction and Morphology: Implications for Harvest Refugia , 1995 .

[21]  L. Airoldi,et al.  Loss, status and trends for coastal marine habitats of Europe , 2007 .

[22]  G. Kendrick,et al.  Biogenic habitat structure of seaweeds change along a latitudinal gradient in ocean temperature , 2011 .

[23]  W. Herrnkind,et al.  Factors regulating postlarval settlement and juvenile microhabitat use by spiny lobsters Panulirus argus , 1986 .

[24]  K. Bjorndal,et al.  Historical Overfishing and the Recent Collapse of Coastal Ecosystems , 2001, Science.

[25]  H. Wennhage,et al.  Ecological value of coastal habitats for commercially and ecologically important species , 2014 .

[26]  Michael T Burrows,et al.  Threats and knowledge gaps for ecosystem services provided by kelp forests: a northeast Atlantic perspective , 2013, Ecology and evolution.

[27]  Philip E. Hulme,et al.  Practitioner’s perspectives: introducing a different voice in applied ecology , 2011 .

[28]  A. Richardson,et al.  Under-Resourced, Under Threat , 2008, Science.

[29]  J. Caselle,et al.  Scale-dependent changes in the importance of larval supply and habitat to abundance of a reef fish. , 2008, Ecology.

[30]  N. Queiroz,et al.  Do distributional shifts of northern and southern species of algae match the warming pattern? , 2007 .

[31]  Michel Loreau,et al.  Food-web constraints on biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships , 2003, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[32]  N. Dulvy,et al.  Extinction vulnerability in marine populations , 2003 .

[33]  D. Schiel,et al.  The structure of subtidal algal stands in temperature waters , 1986 .

[34]  M. Graham,et al.  Effects of Local Deforestation on the Diversity and Structure of Southern California Giant Kelp Forest Food Webs , 2004, Ecosystems.

[35]  R. Scheibling,et al.  Detrital production in Nova Scotian kelp beds: patterns and processes , 2011 .

[36]  J. Shaffer.  Seasonal Variation in Understory Kelp Bed Habitats of the Strait of Juan de Fuca , 2000 .

[37]  Jonathan P. Williams,et al.  Kelp forest habitat restoration has the potential to increase sea urchin gonad biomass , 2013 .

[38]  J. Estes,et al.  Magnification of Secondary Production by Kelp Detritus in Coastal Marine Ecosystems , 1989, Science.

[39]  Daniel Pauly,et al.  Systematic distortions in world fisheries catch trends , 2001, Nature.

[40]  S. Lorentsen,et al.  Multi-trophic consequences of kelp harvest. , 2010 .

[41]  F. P. Ojeda,et al.  Diversity , Abundance , and Spatial Distribution of Fishes and Crustaceans in the Rocky Subtidal Zone of the Gulf of Maine * , 2008 .

[42]  J. Horwood,et al.  Evaluation of closed areas for fish stock conservation , 2008 .

[43]  Andreas Oschlies,et al.  Global Patterns of Predator Diversity in the Open Oceans , 2005, Science.

[44]  D. Roberts,et al.  Effects of giant kelp (Macrocystis) on the density and abundance of fishes in a cobble-bottom kelp forest , 1990 .

[45]  A. Parma,et al.  Alien algae Undaria pinnatifida causes habitat loss for rocky reef fishes in north Patagonia , 2010, Biological Invasions.

[46]  Larry B. Crowder,et al.  Essential ecological insights for marine ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning , 2008 .

[47]  Robert S. Steneck,et al.  Kelp forest ecosystems: biodiversity, stability, resilience and future , 2002, Environmental Conservation.

[48]  M. Bertness,et al.  Ecosystem Engineering across Environmental Gradients: Implications for Conservation and Management , 2006 .

[49]  S. Lorentsen,et al.  Annual Variation in Diet of Breeding Great Cormorants: Does it Reflect Varying Recruitment of Gadoids? , 2004 .

[50]  Trine Bekkby,et al.  What is the impact of kelp forest density and/or area on fisheries? , 2013, Environmental Evidence.

[51]  Hej Webb.  Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management: a systems approach , 2006 .

[52]  P. Petitgas,et al.  The selection process from larval to juvenile stages of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) in the Bay of Biscay investigated by Lagrangian simulations and comparative otolith growth , 2003 .

[53]  T. Anderson,et al.  Positive indirect effects of reef fishes on kelp performance: the importance of mesograzers. , 2007, Ecology.

[54]  K. Gao,et al.  Use of macroalgae for marine biomass production and CO2 remediation: a review , 1994, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[55]  Shaun K Wilson,et al.  Critical thresholds and tangible targets for ecosystem-based management of coral reef fisheries , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[56]  Michael R. Roman,et al.  Eutrophication of Chesapeake Bay: historical trends and ecological interactions , 2005 .

[57]  Zeng Chengkui.  Phycological research in the development of the Chinese seaweed industry , 1984, Hydrobiologia.

[58]  B. Gillanders,et al.  Local complexity in patterns of canopy–benthos associations produces regional patterns across temperate Australasia , 2004 .

[59]  K. O’Connor,et al.  Consequences of habitat disturbance and recovery to recruitment and the abundance of kelp forest fishes , 2010 .

[60]  Charles A. Simenstad,et al.  Indirect food web interactions: sea otters and kelp forest fishes in the Aleutian archipelago , 2005, Oecologia.

[61]  J. Manderson,et al.  Ecosystem-based fisheries management in the Northwest Atlantic , 2011 .

[62]  Gary A. Kendrick,et al.  Impacts of climate change in a global hotspot for temperate marine biodiversity and ocean warming , 2011 .

[63]  Colin Brownlee,et al.  The future of the northeast Atlantic benthic flora in a high CO2 world , 2014, Ecology and evolution.

[64]  G. Bianchi,et al.  The ecosystem approach to fisheries , 2008 .

[65]  A. E. Howard.  Substrate controls on the size composition of lobster (Homarus gammarus) populations , 1980 .

[66]  R. Steneck,et al.  Kelp beds as habitat for American lobster Homarus americanus , 1993 .

[67]  J. Pearse,et al.  Abalones and sea urchins in an area inhabited by sea otters , 1973 .

[68]  P. Dayton,et al.  Ecology of Kelp Communities , 1985 .

[69]  Ceridwen I. Fraser,et al.  Is bull-kelp kelp? The role of common names in science , 2012 .

[70]  C. Ryer,et al.  Differential effects of turbidity on prey consumption of piscivorous and planktivorous fish , 2003 .

[71]  S. Rosenfeld,et al.  Egg masses of the Patagonian squid Doryteuthis (Amerigo) gahi attached to giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) in the sub-Antarctic ecoregion , 2014 .

[72]  R. J. Schmitt,et al.  Variation in surfperch diets between allopatry and sympatry: circumstantial evidence for competition , 1983, Oecologia.

[73]  J. Lubchenco,et al.  Inter-hemispheric comparison of bottom-up effects on community structure: Insights revealed using the comparative-experimental approach , 2002, Ecological Research.

[74]  A. Pullin,et al.  Support for decision making in conservation practice: an evidence-based approach , 2003 .

[75]  E. Barbier,et al.  Response to Comments on "Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services" , 2007, Science.

[76]  D. Siegel,et al.  Wave disturbance overwhelms top-down and bottom-up control of primary production in California kelp forests. , 2011, Ecology.

[77]  D. Eggleston,et al.  Patterns and processes of habitat-specific demographic variability in exploited marine species , 2014 .

[78]  R. Jacobson,et al.  Parasitic infection: Hunger tolerance and Leishmania in sandflies , 2001, Nature.

[79]  Andrew Rassweiler,et al.  Biomass rather than growth rate determines variation in net primary production by giant kelp. , 2008, Ecology.

[80]  H. Lenihan,et al.  Depletion, Degradation, and Recovery Potential of Estuaries and Coastal Seas , 2006, Science.

[81]  J. Bolton.  The biogeography of kelps (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae): a global analysis with new insights from recent advances in molecular phylogenetics , 2010, Helgoland Marine Research.

[82]  E. David Ford,et al.  Scientific Method for Ecological Research , 2000 .

[83]  T. Wernberg,et al.  A decade of climate change experiments on marine organisms: procedures, patterns and problems , 2012 .

[84]  Trophic structure in natural habitats of the abalone Haliotis discus hannai with distinct algal vegetation of kelp and crustose coralline algae: implication of ontogenetic niche shifts , 2012, Fisheries Science.