Bodey, T. W., Jessopp, M. J., Votier, S. C., Gerritsen, H. D., Cleasby, I. R., Hamer, K. C., Patrick, S. C., Wakefield, E. D. and Bearhop, S. (2014) Seabird movement reveals the ecological footprint of fishing vessels. Current Biology, 24(11), R514-R515. (doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.04.041)
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Abstract
Exploitation of the seas is currently unsustainable, with increasing demand for marine resources placing intense pressure on the Earth’s largest ecosystem [1]. The scale of anthropogenic effects varies from local to entire ocean basins 1, 2 and 3. For example, discards of commercial capture fisheries can have both positive and negative impacts on scavengers at the population and community-level 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, although this is driven by individual foraging behaviour 3 and 7. Currently, we have little understanding of the scale at which individual animals initiate such behaviours. We use the known interaction between fisheries and a wide-ranging seabird, the Northern gannet Morus bassanus [3], to investigate how fishing vessels affect individual birds’ behaviours in near real-time. We document the footprint of fishing vessels’ (≥15 m length) influence on foraging decisions (≤11 km), and a potential underlying behavioural mechanism, by revealing how birds respond differently to vessels depending on gear type and activity. Such influences have important implications for fisheries, including the proposed discard ban [8]), and wider marine management.
Item Type: | Articles |
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Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Wakefield, Dr Ewan |
Authors: | Bodey, T. W., Jessopp, M. J., Votier, S. C., Gerritsen, H. D., Cleasby, I. R., Hamer, K. C., Patrick, S. C., Wakefield, E. D., and Bearhop, S. |
College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine |
Journal Name: | Current Biology |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
ISSN: | 0960-9822 |
ISSN (Online): | 1879-0445 |
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