Lecture: Willian J. Lindberg
Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida USA
wjl@ufl.edu
Applications of Ecological Theory to Artificial Reefs for Spatial Management in Fisheries
The configurations of artificial reefs and harvest of fishes alter ecological processes that operate across spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, the science addressing practical reef issues is germane to contemporary ecological theories, and those theories should inform the design and use of reef systems to meet fisheries management objectives. As an example, habitat selection theory has an extensive ecological literature, some of which includes applications to fisheries science.
This body of theory, which has several variants (e.g. ideal free distribution, density-dependent habitat selection, ontogenetic habitat shifts, the basin model and foraging arena theory), is directly relevant to artificial reefs in the context of fisheries management, including issues such as attraction-production, essential fish habitat, life history bottlenecks and regulatory mechanisms in population dynamics. The relevance of habitat selection will be illustrated using examples from recent and ongoing artificial reef projects.
However, this is not the only theoretical framework of consequence to using artificial reefs for spatial management in fisheries; others include food web dynamics, top-down and bottom-up community interactions, and landscape connectivity. Habitat selection is mechanistically nested within these theories, and also helps to explain spatial variation in fishing mortality. As such, a holistic concept of artificial reefs best serves the effective use of habitat enhancement across spatial and temporal scales. I further contend that ecologically effective use of artificial reefs is not a substitute for the effective management of direct and indirect fishing mortality.
James H Cowen - 
