Ecological change alters the evolutionary response to harvest in a freshwater fish
Authored by Jenilee Gobin, Nigel P Lester, Michael G Fox, Erin S Dunlop
Date Published: 2018
DOI: 10.1002/eap.1805
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Mathematical description
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Abstract
Harvesting can induce rapid evolution in animal populations, yet the
role of ecological change in buffering or enhancing that response is
poorly understood. Here, we developed an eco-genetic model to examine
how ecological changes brought about by two notorious invasive species,
zebra and quagga mussels, influence harvest-induced evolution and
resilience in a freshwater fish. Our study focused on lake whitefish
(Coregonus clupeaformis) in the Laurentian Great Lakes, where the
species supports valuable commercial and subsistence fisheries, and
where the invasion of dreissenid (zebra and quagga) mussels caused
drastic shifts in ecosystem productivity. Using our model system, we
predicted faster rates of evolution of maturation reaction norms in lake
whitefish under pre-invasion ecosystem conditions when growth and
recruitment of young to the population were high. Slower growth rates
that occurred under post-invasion conditions delayed when fish became
vulnerable to the fishery, thus decreasing selection pressure and
lessening the evolutionary response to harvest. Fishing with gill nets
and traps nets generally selected for early maturation at small sizes,
except when fishing at low levels with small mesh gill nets under
pre-invasion conditions; in this latter case, evolution of delayed
maturation was predicted. Overall, the invasion of dreissenid mussels
lessened the evolutionary response to harvest, while also reducing the
productivity and commercial yield potential of the stock. These results
demonstrate how ecological conditions shape evolutionary outcomes and
how invasive species can have a direct effect on evolutionary responses
to harvest and sustainability.
Tags
Individual-based model
Management
population
invasion
Recruitment
Size
Eco-evolutionary dynamics
Life-history evolution
Density-dependent growth
Selectivity
Contemporary evolution
Fisheries-induced
evolution
Lake huron
Probabilistic maturation
reaction norm
Regime change
Sea lamprey
Stock-recruitment
relationship
Lake whitefish