Scientists from the University have led calls for new research to enhance habitat protection
The viability of fish populations relies on healthy habitats where juveniles can spawn, feed and develop. A cornerstone of sustainable fisheries management, these habitats are facing increased pressure from coastal development, climate change, pollution and a number of other factors.
It means there is an urgent need for better tools to understand which habitats really matter for both juvenile and adult fish populations so they can be conserved and managed. However, there are a number of challenges around how the quality of juvenile habitats is measured.
To try and address this, members of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Working Group on the Value of Coastal Habitats for Exploited Species (WGVHES) – including Dr Benjamin Ciotti from the University of Plymouth – undertook a comprehensive review to evaluate the approaches being used to assess juvenile habitat quality.
They reviewed almost 900 studies from the past five decades covering juvenile fishes, crustaceans, and molluscs in marine and estuarine systems, with the goal being to evaluate how current science assesses habitat quality.
The resulting study, published in the Biological Reviews journal, highlights that despite widespread recognition of the ecological importance of juvenile habitats, the majority of existing studies employed relatively few metrics.
Around 85% of the research focused on measuring juvenile abundance, typically using methods like net surveys or diver-based visual counts. While this provides some information on whether a habitat is being used by a fish species, it does necessarily mean they are thriving in these areas.
Posted On: 01/09/2025
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