Skip to main content
Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (1): add | show Print this page

one publication added to basket [367074]
No evidence from long-term analysis of yellowfin tuna condition that drifting fish aggregating devices act as ecological traps
Dupaix, A.; Dagorn, L.; Duparc, A.; Guillou, A.; Deneubourg, J.-L.; Capello, M. (2023). No evidence from long-term analysis of yellowfin tuna condition that drifting fish aggregating devices act as ecological traps. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 711: 121-127. https://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps14313
In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. Inter-Research: Oldendorf/Luhe. ISSN 0171-8630; e-ISSN 1616-1599, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre, 1788) [WoRMS]
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    Indicator log · Relative condition factor · Thunnus albacares · Indian Ocean · Industrial tuna fisheries · Floating objects

Authors  Top 
  • Dupaix, A.
  • Dagorn, L.
  • Duparc, A.
  • Guillou, A.
  • Deneubourg, J.-L., more
  • Capello, M., more

Abstract
    Human-induced habitat modifications can severely impact the biology and behavior of wild species. Drifting fish aggregating devices (DFADs), used by industrial purse-seine tropical tuna fisheries, significantly increased the number of floating objects found in the open ocean, with which tropical tuna associate. This habitat change has raised concerns over the risk of modifying the behavior and altering the biology of tuna and other associated species (the so-called ecological trap hypothesis). Relying on a time-series from 1987-2019 of more than 25000 length-weight samples collected in the western Indian Ocean, we reject the hypothesis that the body condition (Le Cren’s relative condition factor, Kn) of yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares decreased concurrently with the increased number of DFADs. This result suggests the absence of negative long-term impacts of DFADs on the condition of tuna. As other factors may have counteracted possible negative effects of DFADs, we recommend long-term monitoring of the habitat along with biological and behavioral parameters of tunas to detect any critical change.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors