New Theoretical Ecology Paper: Interactive effects of climate change and fisheries management

We are excited to share our new paper, titled Modeling the interactive effects of sea surface temperature, fishing effort, and spatial closures on reef fish populations, published in Theoretical Ecology.

In this study, we described how fishing effort and management strategies like spatial closures can influence the extent to which rising water temperatures affect reef fish populations and harvest. Specifically, we found that the inclusion of spatial closures or fishing reduction can help mitigate detrimental effects of rising water temperature without sacrificing fisheries harvest.

This paper was led by graduate student Annie Innes-Gold, advised by PI Elizabeth Madin, and included work done by two previous undergraduate interns in the Madin Lab, Seaenna Correa-Garcia and Kaci Stokes. It was also part of a collaoration with the Hawai’i Dept. of Aquatic Resources (DAR). Check out the full article!