Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T17:58:18.521Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - Overexploitation of marine species and its consequences for terrestrial biodiversity along coasts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2014

By
Lawrence J. Niles ,
Amanda D. Dey  and
Brooke Maslo
Edited by
Brooke Maslo  and
Julie L. Lockwood
Lawrence J. Niles
Affiliation:
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ, USA
Amanda D. Dey
Affiliation:
109 Market Lane, Greenwich, NJ 08323, USA
Brooke Maslo
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Jersey
Brooke Maslo
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Jersey
Julie L. Lockwood
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Jersey
Get access

Summary

Overexploitation, trophic skew, and the crossover between marine and terrestrial systems

The overexploitation of marine species for resource consumption is one of the most serious threats to coastal biodiversity. Examples of historic fisheries collapse are numerous (e.g. Boreman et al., 1997; Myers et al., 1997; Liu & De Mitcheson, 2008), and the unsustainable harvest of many species continues today (Coll et al., 2008). Nearly 60% of global fishery stocks are collapsed or overexploited, with another ~33% fully exploited (Froese et al., 2012), and the demand for fish for dietary protein is ever increasing (Pauly et al., 2002). Species losses appear biased toward higher trophic levels, with total biomass of marine predatory fish reduced by at least 80% in many marine ecosystems (Pauly et al., 1998, Worm & Duffy, 2003). This phenomenon is largely due to increased body mass and low reproductive rate (Byrnes et al., 2007). However, recent analyses suggest that fisheries collapse is biased toward small, low trophic-level species (Pinsky et al., 2011). In either case, overharvesting has severe direct impacts on targeted species.

The non-random loss of marine species also has several indirect impacts on marine ecosystems, including habitat loss and altered food webs (Botsford et al., 1997; Jackson et al., 2001). Prior research has focused on the top-down effects of the loss of marine predators. Reductions of top consumers can skew the distribution of biodiversity toward lower trophic-level species, affecting ecosystem function in several ways (Reynolds & Bruno, 2012). For example, in the Gulf of Maine, the loss of predator diversity in seagrass beds increased organic sediment loads (Duffy et al., 2003). In addition, the overharvesting of top and intermediate consumers, combined with the introduction of lower trophic-level non-native species, has suppressed the recruitment of many native fish species (Levin et al., 2002).

Type
Chapter
Information
Coastal Conservation , pp. 347 - 368
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andres, B. A. (2003). Delaware Bay Shorebird–Horseshoe Crab Assessment Report: Biological Assessment. Shorebird Technical Committee, US Fish and Wildlife Service.Google Scholar
ASMFC, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. (1998). Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab. Fishery Management Report no. 32. Arlington, VA: ASMFC.Google Scholar
ASMFC, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. (2002). 2001 Review of the Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus). April 2002. 10 pages.
ASMFC, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. (2012). 2012 Review of the Fishery Management Plan in 2011 for Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus). Report to the Horseshoe Crab Management Board. Arlington, VA: ASMFC.Google Scholar
Baker, A. J., Gonzalez, P. M., Piersma, T., et al. (2004). Rapid population decline in red knot: Fitness consequences of decreased refueling rates and late arrival in Delaware Bay. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences, 25, 125–129.Google Scholar
Bart, J., Brown, S., Harrington, B. & Morrison, R. I. G. (2007). Survey trends of North American shorebirds: Population declines or shifting distributions?Journal of Avian Biology, 38, 73–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkson, J. & Shuster, Jr., C. N. (1999). The horseshoe crab: The battle for a true multiple-use resource. Fisheries, 24, 6–10.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boreman, J., Nakashima, B. S., Wilson, J. A. & Kendall, R. L. (1997). Northwest Atlantic Groundfish: Perspectives on a Fishery Collapse. Baltimore, MD: American Fisheries Society.Google Scholar
Botsford, L. W., Castilla, J. C. & Peterson, C. H. (1997). The management of fisheries and marine ecosystems. Science, 277, 509–515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Botton, M. L., Loveland, R. E. & Jacobsen, T. R. (1994). Site selection by migratory shorebirds in Delaware Bay and its relationship to beach characteristics and abundance of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) eggs. Auk, 111, 605–616.Google Scholar
Brockman, H. J. (2003). Male competition and satellite behavior. In Schuster, Jr. C. N., Barlow, R. B. & Brockman, H. J. (eds.), The American Horseshoe Crab. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 50–82.Google Scholar
Burger, J., Niles, L. J., Porter, R. R., et al. (2012a). Migration and over-wintering of red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) along the Atlantic coast of the United States. Condor, 114, 1–12.Google Scholar
Burger, J., Niles, L. J., Porter, R. R., et al. (2012b). Using a shore bird (red knot) fitted with geolocators to evaluate a conceptual risk model focusing on offshore wind. Renewable Energy, 43, 370–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burger, J., Niles, L. J., Porter, R. R. & Dey, A. D. (2012c). Using geolocator data to reveal incubation periods and breeding biology in red knots Calidris canutus rufa. Wader Study Group Bulletin, 119, 26–36.Google Scholar
Byrnes, J. E., Reynolds, P. L. & Stachowicz, J. J. (2007). Invasions and extinctions reshape coastal marine food webs. PLoS ONE, 2, e295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Castro, G. & Myers, J. P. (1993). Shorebird predation on eggs of horseshoe crabs during spring stopover on Delaware Bay. Auk, 110, 927–930.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, K., Niles, L. & Burger, J. (1993). Abundance and distribution of shorebirds migrating on Delaware Bay, 1986–1992. Condor, 95, 694–705.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coll, M., Libralato, S., Tudela, S., Palomera, I. & Pranovi, F. (2008). Ecosystem overfishing in the ocean. PLoS ONE, 3, e3881.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, M. L., Berkson, J. & Kelly, M. (2006). A production modeling approach to the assessment of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) population in Delaware Bay. Fishery Bulletin, 104, 215–225.Google Scholar
Delaware Bay Shorebird Working Group. (1992). Report of the Delaware Bay Working Group. Report to New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Dey, A., Kalasz, K. & Hernandez, D. (2012). Delaware Bay Egg Survey: 2005–2012. Report to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Duffy, J. E., Richardson, J. P. & Canuel, E. A. (2003). Grazer diversity effects on ecosystem functioning in seagrass beds. Ecology Letters, 6, 637–645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Froese, R., Zeller, D., Kleisner, K. & Pauly, D. (2012). What catch data can tell us about the status of global fisheries. Marine Biology, 159, 1283–1292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillings, S., Atkinson, P. W., Bardsley, S. L., et al. (2007). Shorebird predation of horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay: Species contrasts and availability constraints. Journal of Animal Ecology, 76, 503–514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gresh, T., Lichatowich, J. & Schoonmaker, P. (2000). An estimation of historic and current levels of salmon production in the Northeast Pacific ecosystem: Evidence of a nutrient deficit in the freshwater systems of the Pacific Northwest. Fisheries, 25, 15–21.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haramis, M. G. (2003). Use of Stable Isotopes to Determine the Relative Importance of Horseshoe Crab Eggs in the Diet of Long-distance Migrant Shorebirds in Delaware Bay. Science Brief PWRC 2003–33, Laurel, MD: United States Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.Google Scholar
Haramis, M. G., Link, W. A., Osenton, P. C., et al. (2007). Stable isotope and pen feeding trial studies confirm the value of horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus eggs to spring migrant shorebirds in Delaware Bay. Journal of Avian Biology, 38, 367–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrington, B. A. (2001). Red knot (Calidris canutus). In Poole, A. (ed.), The Birds of North America Online. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. .Google Scholar
Hata, D. & Hallerman, E. (2013). Results of the 2012 Horseshoe Crab Trawl Survey. Report to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Horseshoe Crab and Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committees.
Hernandez, D. (2012). Report on Horseshoe Crab Egg Surveys in New Jersey for 2012. Stone Harbor, NJ: The Wetlands Institute.Google Scholar
Heyman, W. D., Graham, R. T., Kjerfve, B. & Johannes, R. E. (2001). Whale sharks Rhincodon typus aggregate to feed on fish spawn in Belize. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 215, 275–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurton, L., Berkson, J. & Smith, S. (2009). The effect of hemolymph extraction volume and handling stress on horseshoe crab mortality. In Tancredi, J. T., Botton, M. L. & Smith, D. R. (eds.), Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs. New York, NY: Springer, pp. 331–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, J. B. C., Kirby, M. X., Berger, W. H., et al. (2001). Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science, 293, 629–637.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jackson, N. L., Nordstrom, K. F. & Smith, D. R. (2002). Geomorphic–biotic interactions on beach foreshores in estuaries. Journal of Coastal Research, 36, 414–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jehl, Jr., J. R. (2007). Disappearance of breeding semipalmated sandpipers from Churchill, Manitoba: More than a local phenomenon. Condor, 109, 351–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leschen, A. & Correia, S. J. (2010). Mortality in female horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) from biomedical bleeding and handling: Implication for fishery management. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology, 43, 135–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levin, P. S., Coyer, J. A., Petrik, R. & Good, T. P. (2002). Community-wide effects of nonindigenous species on temperate rocky reefs. Ecology, 83, 3182–3193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, M. & De Mitcheson, Y. S. (2008). Profile of a fishery collapse: Why mariculture failed to save the large yellow croaker. Fish and Fisheries, 9, 219–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGowan, C. P., Hines, J. E., Nichols, J. D., et al. (2011). Demographic consequences of migratory stopover: Linking red knot survival to horseshoe crab spawning abundance. Ecosphere, 2, art. 69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mizrahi, D. S. & Peters, K. A. (2009). Relationships between sandpipers and horseshoe crab in Delaware Bay: A synthesis. In Tanacredi, J. T., Botton, M. L. & Smith, D. R. (eds.), Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs. New York, NY: Springer, pp. 65–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, R. I. G. & Harrington, B. A. (1992). The migration system of the red knot Calidris cannutus rufa in the New World. Wader Study Group Bulletin, 64(S), 71–84.Google Scholar
Morrison, R. I. G., McCaffery, B. J., Gill, R. E., et al. (2006). Population estimates of North American shorebirds. Wader Study Group Bulletin, 111, 67–85.Google Scholar
Myers, J. P. (1986). Sex and gluttony on Delaware Bay. Natural History, 95, 68–77.Google Scholar
Myers, R. A. & Mertz, G. (1997). Maximum population growth rates and recovery time for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Fishery Bulletin, 95, 762–772.Google Scholar
Myers, R. A., Hutchings, J. A. & Barrowman, N. J. (1997). Why do fish stocks collapse? The example of cod in Atlantic Canada. Ecological Applications, 7, 91–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niles, L. J., Sitters, H. P., Dey, A. D., et al. (2007). Status of the Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa) in the Western Hemisphere. Prepared for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, Region 5, NJ Field Office, Pleasantville, NJ 08232, USA.Google Scholar
Niles, L. J., Sitters, H. P., Dey, A. D., et al. (2008). Status of the Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa) in the Western Hemisphere. Studies in Avian Biology, 36.Google Scholar
Niles, L. J., Bart, J., Sitters, H. P., et al. (2009). Effects of horseshoe crab harvest in Delaware Bay on red knots: Are harvest restrictions working?Bioscience, 59, 153–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niles, L. J., Burger, J., Porter, R. R., et al. (2010). First results using light level geolocators to track red knots in the western hemisphere show rapid and long intercontinental flights and new details of migration pathways. Wader Study Group Bulletin, 117, 123–130.Google Scholar
NJDEP, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. (2012). Wildlife Populations: Horseshoe Crab. Environmental Trends Report, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Science. .Google Scholar
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Dalsgaard, J., Froese, R. & Torres, J. F. (1998). Fishing down marine food webs. Science, 279, 860–863.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Guenette, S., et al. (2002). Towards sustainability in world fisheries. Nature, 418, 689–695.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piatt, J. F. (1990). The aggregative response of common murres and Atlantic puffins to schools of capelin. Studies in Avian Biology, 14, 36–51.Google Scholar
Piersma, T., Roger, D. I., Gonzalez, P. M., et al. (2005). Fuel storage rates before northward flights in red knots worldwide: Facing the severest ecological constraint in tropical intertidal environments. In Greenberg, R. & Marra, P. P. (eds.), Birds of Two Worlds: The Ecology and Evolution of Migration. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 262–273.Google Scholar
Pinsky, M. L., Jensen, O. P., Ricard, D. & Palumbi, S. R. (2011). Unexpected patterns of fisheries collapse in the world’s oceans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108, 8317–8322.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reynolds, P. L. & Bruno, J. F. (2012). Effects of trophic skewing of species richness on ecosystem functioning in a diverse marine community. PLoS ONE, 7, e36196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, R. A., Atkinson, P. & Clark, N. A. (2003). Arrival and Weight Gain of Knot Calidris canutus, Turnstone Arenaria interpres and Sanderling Calidris alba Staging in Delaware Bay in Spring. BTO Research Report, 307. Thetford, Norfolk: British Trust for Ornithology.Google Scholar
Rudkin, D. M., Young, G. M. & Nowlan, G. S. (2008). The oldest horseshoe crab: A new xiphosurid from Late Ordovician Konservat-Lagerstätten deposits, Manitoba, Canada. Palaeontology, 51, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schindler, D. E., Scheuerell, M. D., Moore, J. W., et al. (2003). Pacific salmon and the ecology of coastal ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Enviornment, 1, 31–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Senner, S. E. & Howe, M. A. (1984). Conservation of Nearctic shorebirds. In Burger, J. & Olla, B. L. (eds.), Behavior of Marine Animals, vol. 5. New York, NY: Plenum Press, pp. 379–421.Google Scholar
Shuster, Jr., C. N. (1996). Abundance of adult horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus, in Delaware Bay, 1850–1990. In Farrell, J. & Martin, C. (eds.), Proceedings of the Horseshoe Harvest of Limulus polyphemus 187 Crab Forum: Status of the Resource. Lewes, DE: University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program, pp. 5–14.Google Scholar
Silliman, B. R. & Bertness, M. D. (2002). A trophic cascade regulates salt marsh primary production. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 99, 10500–10505.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, D. R. (2007). Effect of horseshoe crab spawning density on nest disturbance and exhumation of eggs: A simulation study. Estuaries and Coasts, 30, 287–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, D. R., McGowan, C. P., Daily, J. P.Nichols, J. D., Sweka, J. A.& Lyons, J. E. (2013). Evaluating a multispecies adaptive management framework: Must uncertainty impede effective decision-making?Journal of Applied Ecology, 50, 1431–1440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swan, B. L. (2005). Migrations of adult horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus, in the Middle Atlantic Bight: A 17-year tagging study. Estuaries and Coasts, 28, 28–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swan, B. L., Hall, W. R. & Shuster, Jr., C. N. (1996). Annual Survey of Horseshoe Crab Spawning Activity Along the Shores of Delaware Bay: 1990–1995 Summary. Lewes, DE: University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program.Google Scholar
Sullivan, P. J., Acheson, J. M., Angermeier, P. L., et al. (2006). Defining and implementing best available science for fisheries and environmental science, policy, and management. Fisheries, 31, 460–465.Google Scholar
Taylor, S. G. & Lum, J. L. (2005). Auke Creek Weir 2004: Annual Report, Operations, Fish Counts, and Historical Summaries. National Marine Fisheries Service, Auke Bay Laboratory, 22305 Glacier Hwy, Juneau AK.Google Scholar
Tsipoura, N. & Burger, J. (1999). Shorebird diet during spring migration stopover on Delaware Bay. Condor, 101, 633–644.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vsevolod, A. (2004). A miniature daylight level and activity data recorder for tracking animals over long periods. Memoirs of the National Institute of Polar Research, SI58, 227–233.Google Scholar
WHSRN, Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. (2011). WHSRN List of Sites. .
Willson, M. F. & Womble, J. N. (2006). Vertebrate exploitation of pulsed marine prey: A review and the example of spawning herring. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 16, 183–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willson, M. F., Gende, S. M. & Marston, B. H. (1998). Fishes and the forest. Bioscience, 48, 455–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Womble, J. N., Willson, M. F., Sigler, M. F., Kelly, B. P. & Van Blaricom, G. R. (2005). Distribution of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in relation to spring-spawning prey species in Southeastern Alaska. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 294, 271–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Worm, B. & Duffy, J. E. (2003). Biodiversity, productivity and stability in real food webs. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 18, 628–632.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, L. H. (2004). Periodical cicadas as resource pulses in North American forests. Science, 306, 1565–1567.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zimmerman, J., Michels, S., Smith, D. & Bennett, S. (2013). Horseshoe Crab Spawning Activity in Delaware Bay: 1999–2012. Report to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Horseshoe Crab Technical Committee.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×