580
Y. Sadovy de Mitcheson and P.L. Colin
The feasibility of using aggregations as’ indicators’ of fi shery condition should
•
be explored. This would highlight the importance of aggregations for fi sheries
and in their biological and ecosystem roles.
The benefi ts of and need for managing and protecting aggregations should be
•
communicated to stakeholder groups, policy makers, and the general public so
that consensus support and compliance for policies is obtained. Indeed, more
attention to education on the marine environment and marine resources is needed
at all levels, through to tertiary sectors.
General discovery phase work would expand both the species known to have
•
spawning aggregations and improve understanding of the broad geographic extent
of aggregations for single species, as well as possible intraspecifi c variations
associated with habitat, fi sh densities or other factors. It is important to apply
rigorous protocols for surveys and to carefully document methods used sufficiently rigorously to allow for replication.
Validation of existing traditional ecological knowledge and fi sher information is
•
also needed in many areas.
Detailed data on the environmental conditions at aggregation sites would allow
•
for geographic comparisons of conditions across geographic areas and identify
correlations of abiotic factors with aggregation and spawning. Instrumentation
of sites is important, even if this involves nothing more than recording thermographs. Mapping of sites allows for long term monitoring of status and
movement.
Knowledge of the dynamics of the early life history of planktonic larvae of reef
•
fi shes would aid understanding of the effects of temporally and spatially concentrated spawning on recruitment and determination of population parameters that
relate to the survival of larvae, dispersal distances after spawning and the ocean
environments where larvae grow prior to settlement.
The physiology associated with aggregation spawning, such as studies on the
•
hypothesis of possible maternal benefi ts from aggregation could provide insights
into why it occurs. It should be straightforward to develop testable hypotheses
regarding egg quality, hormone levels in adults, and other aspects that could be
comparable among transient, resident and non-aggregating species.
Determination of catchment areas and genetic population structuring would be
•
valuable for examining adult connectivity and spatial scales for conservation
and management initiatives. The determination of dispersal catchments of
propagules from spawning sites provides the counterpoint perspective on population structure and connectivity, and disparities between migration catchments
and dispersal catchments will have great importance in shaping genetic population structure.
To examine some of these questions, smaller fi shes, particularly those with
resident aggregations that are unexploited or important in subsistence fi sheries,
provide many opportunities to study the biology and oceanography of aggregations,
but such studies are rarely done. Instead, most effort is going to larger, commercially
important species, which are certainly important, but often much rarer and more
diffi cult to work with. Work on both types is needed.
Y. Sadovy de Mitcheson and P.L. Colin
The feasibility of using aggregations as’ indicators’ of fi shery condition should
•
be explored. This would highlight the importance of aggregations for fi sheries
and in their biological and ecosystem roles.
The benefi ts of and need for managing and protecting aggregations should be
•
communicated to stakeholder groups, policy makers, and the general public so
that consensus support and compliance for policies is obtained. Indeed, more
attention to education on the marine environment and marine resources is needed
at all levels, through to tertiary sectors.
General discovery phase work would expand both the species known to have
•
spawning aggregations and improve understanding of the broad geographic extent
of aggregations for single species, as well as possible intraspecifi c variations
associated with habitat, fi sh densities or other factors. It is important to apply
rigorous protocols for surveys and to carefully document methods used sufficiently rigorously to allow for replication.
Validation of existing traditional ecological knowledge and fi sher information is
•
also needed in many areas.
Detailed data on the environmental conditions at aggregation sites would allow
•
for geographic comparisons of conditions across geographic areas and identify
correlations of abiotic factors with aggregation and spawning. Instrumentation
of sites is important, even if this involves nothing more than recording thermographs. Mapping of sites allows for long term monitoring of status and
movement.
Knowledge of the dynamics of the early life history of planktonic larvae of reef
•
fi shes would aid understanding of the effects of temporally and spatially concentrated spawning on recruitment and determination of population parameters that
relate to the survival of larvae, dispersal distances after spawning and the ocean
environments where larvae grow prior to settlement.
The physiology associated with aggregation spawning, such as studies on the
•
hypothesis of possible maternal benefi ts from aggregation could provide insights
into why it occurs. It should be straightforward to develop testable hypotheses
regarding egg quality, hormone levels in adults, and other aspects that could be
comparable among transient, resident and non-aggregating species.
Determination of catchment areas and genetic population structuring would be
•
valuable for examining adult connectivity and spatial scales for conservation
and management initiatives. The determination of dispersal catchments of
propagules from spawning sites provides the counterpoint perspective on population structure and connectivity, and disparities between migration catchments
and dispersal catchments will have great importance in shaping genetic population structure.
To examine some of these questions, smaller fi shes, particularly those with
resident aggregations that are unexploited or important in subsistence fi sheries,
provide many opportunities to study the biology and oceanography of aggregations,
but such studies are rarely done. Instead, most effort is going to larger, commercially
important species, which are certainly important, but often much rarer and more
diffi cult to work with. Work on both types is needed.