Effects of Fisheries on Complex Food Webs

Abstract

Vast scientific research has demonstrated that overfishing causes species extinctions, decreases the abundance and body size of target populations and accelerates their maturation. However, we still lack good understanding and predictive power on how these impacts propagate through the trophic network, affect other species and alter the structure and dynamics of the whole community. We help develop such understanding by computationally evaluating effects of fisheries on complex communities using concepts and tools from complex networks. I will first present our study on the effects of artisanal fisheries on the structure and dynamics of complex food webs of the intertidal and subtidal ecosystems of Central Chile. To study those effects, we compiled data on trophic interactions and commercial loads to build the food webs and then simulate their community dynamics including human exploitation using “Allometric Trophic Network” models. I will finish my talk by presenting our new theoretical research incorporating economic dynamics of fisheries into complex food web models.