Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Nature Communications
Volume
15
Issue
1
PubMed ID
39030209
Publisher
Nature
School
Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research / School of Science
Funders
Australian Research Council / NERC ENVISION / Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship / Royal Society
Grant Number
NE/L002604/1, URF\R\201029, URF\R1\231087
Abstract
Fish fecundity scales hyperallometrically with body mass, meaning larger females produce disproportionately more eggs than smaller ones. We explore this relationship beyond the species-level to estimate the “reproductive potential” of 1633 coral reef sites distributed globally. We find that, at the site-level, reproductive potential scales hyperallometrically with assemblage biomass, but with a smaller median exponent than at the species-level. Across all families, modelled reproductive potential is greater in fully protected sites versus fished sites. This difference is most pronounced for the important fisheries family, Serranidae. When comparing a scenario where 30% of sites are randomly fully protected to a current protection scenario, we estimate an increase in the reproductive potential of all families, and particularly for Serranidae. Such results point to the possible ecological benefits of the 30 × 30 global conservation target and showcase management options to promote the sustainability of population replenishment.
DOI
10.1038/s41467-024-50367-0
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Hadj-Hammou, J., Cinner, J. E., Barneche, D. R., Caldwell, I. R., Mouillot, D., Robinson, J. P., ... & Graham, N. A. (2024). Global patterns and drivers of fish reproductive potential on coral reefs. Nature Communications, 15(1), 6105. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50367-0