Studying Abroad With A Bahamian Coastal Fish

This blog post tells the #StoryBehindThePaper from the perspective of one author, Matt Jenkins, for the article “Natural and anthropogenic sources of habitat variation influence exploration behaviour, stress response and brain morphology in a coastal fish” by Matt Jenkins, Jack Cummings, Alex Cabe, Kaj Hulthén, Nils Peterson, and Brian Langerhans, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. As the human population continuously … Continue reading Studying Abroad With A Bahamian Coastal Fish

Effects of sea temperature on wild fish behaviour

This blog post is provided by Carla Freitas, David Villegas‐Ríos, Even Moland and Esben Moland Olsen and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for their article “Sea temperature effects on depth use and habitat selection in a marine fish community“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. A cod rests between two rocks at the bottom of a southern Norwegian fjord. It is a sunny summer … Continue reading Effects of sea temperature on wild fish behaviour

Divergent Migration in Lake Sturgeon

Studying aquatic animals has never been easy. Hidden from view beneath the water surface, they can be hard to find let-alone study in terms of their long-range movements. A recent paper published in the Journal of Animal Ecology investigated migratory behaviour in lake sturgeon. Lead author Steven Kessel from the Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research at the John G. Shedd Aquarium is here to … Continue reading Divergent Migration in Lake Sturgeon

Salmon smolts find safety in numbers

JAE-2015-00769.R2This post is a press release from the authors of Journal of Animal Ecology paper “Predator swamping reduces predation risk during nocturnal migration of juvenile salmon in a high-mortality landscape” by Nathan B. Furey et al. Press release issued by The University of British Colombia

Using tags surgically implanted into thousands of juvenile salmon, University of British Colombia researchers have discovered that many fish die within the first few days of migration from their birthplace to the ocean. Continue reading “Salmon smolts find safety in numbers”

Baby fish breathe easier around large predators

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Small – hungry mesopredator common on coral reefs. Photo: C.E. Mirbach

This blog post is a press release from the authors of Journal of Animal Ecology paper “Top predators negate the effect of mesopredators on prey physiology” by Maria M. Palacios et al. Press release issued by by James Cook University & ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral reef Studies

Scientists have discovered that the presence of large fish predators can reduce stress on baby fish.

The researchers – from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University and the University of Glasgow- have found that physiological stress on baby fish can be reduced by more than a third if large predatory fish are around to scare off smaller, hungry predators, known as mesopredators. Continue reading “Baby fish breathe easier around large predators”

When does ecology of fishes became fisheries research?

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World fisheries day, celebrated today aims to draw attention to the poor status of many fished species as a consequence of overfishing, habitat degradation, global warming, and pollution. Clearly, we stand far from the key objective of fisheries management, that is, to regulate fishing such that in the long term harvesting is sustainable. Less political and more science-based management has frequently been called upon as a solution and ‘ecosystem-based fisheries management’ is a term often repeated, but rarely implemented. In fact, a recent study by Skern-Mauritzen et al. (2015) showed that out of 1200 reviewed fisheries, ecosystem-based drivers were only accounted for in 24 cases. Continue reading “When does ecology of fishes became fisheries research?”