The behavioural ecology toolkit for fish management and conservation

Abstract

Fishes include some of the most threatened vertebrate species globally. As such, efforts to effectively conserve and manage fish populations and their habitats are vast. Here, we present conceptual tools from behavioural ecology to establish a framework for studies of fish conservation and management, connecting questions relevant to managers and practitioners with behavioural theories and methodologies. We apply predictions developed from a theory to diet choice, patch use, habitat selection, movement, and social behaviours. We present questions and issues in fisheries management and conservation for which theory, hypotheses, and methodologies would be both novel and complementary to current assessment strategies or conservation efficacy studies. In each case, theory approaches the ecological trade-offs associated with a given behavioural trait through the lens of adaptations and fitness implications—the foundational principles of behavioural ecology. We show key methodologies used to effectively apply behavioural theory to specific hypotheses relevant to a given management question. We then compile the conceptual and methodological approaches to assemble a toolkit through which fisheries managers may assess, for example, habitat selection behaviours via novel study designs and/or new ways of interpreting commonly collected data (e.g., distribution and abundance relative to habitat type). Finally, we propose training of aquatic and marine natural resource specialists and conservation agency fish biologists be complemented with behavioural ecology theories and methodologies.