There is an increasing need to evaluate the links between the social and ecological dimensions of human vulnerability to climate change. We use an empirical case study of 12 coastal communities and associated coral reefs in Kenya to assess and compare five key ecological and social components of the vulnerability of coastal social-ecological systems to temperature induced coral mortality [speci...

By analysing data sets from different world regions we add evidence to documented changes in demersal fish community structure that may be related to fishing. Changes are analysed by community properties that might be expected to capture relevant overall changes – size spectra slopes and intercepts, Shannon-Wiener diversity, and dominance. Cross-system differences in the shape of the integrated...

The size structure of fish-communities is an emergent high-level property of marine food webs responsive to changes in structure and function. To measure this food web property using data arising from routine fisheries surveys, a simple metric known as Typical Length has been proposed as more suitable than the Large Fish Indicator, which has been highly engineered to be responsive to fishing pr...

Reduced fishing pressure and weak predator-prey interactions within marine reserves can create trophic cascades that increase the number of grazing fishes and reduce the coverage of macroalgae on coral reefs. Here, we show that the impacts of reserves extend beyond trophic cascades and enhance the process of coral recruitment. Increased fish grazing, primarily driven by reduced fishing, was str...

Ecological studies have rarely been performed at the community level across a large biogeographic region. Sponges are now the primary habitat-forming organisms on Caribbean coral reefs. Recent species-level investigations have demonstrated that predatory fishes (angelfishes and some parrotfishes) differentially graze sponges that lack chemical defenses, while co-occurring, palatable species hea...

The objective of this paper was to study angling from September, 2002 to September, 2004 in the Lobo-Broa Reservoir, Itirapina, SP (22 degrees 15' S and 47 degrees 49' W). Interviews (total 1,027) with sport fishers were accomplished in the three main fishing sites (Horto, Píer and Praia). This fishing was practiced with a simple fishing rod and reel, mainly in Horto, where the catches and fish...

Biodiverse coastal zones are often areas of intense fishing pressure due to the high relative density of fishing capacity in these nearshore regions. Although overcapacity is one of the central challenges to fisheries sustainability in coastal zones, accurate estimates of fishing pressure in coastal zones are limited, hampering the assessment of the direct and collateral impacts (e.g., habitat ...

Despite threats to human wellbeing from ecological degradation, public engagement with this issue remains at low levels. However, studies have shown that crafting messages to resonate with people's personal experiences can enhance engagement. Recreational fishing is one of the principal ways in which people interact with aquatic environments, but long-term data from this perspective are conside...

The studies were conducted during 2008–2010 to evaluate Fishery status and its bearing on socio-economic condition of Fishers Community of undivided Goalpara district of Assam. A total of 97 species belongs to 56 genera of 26 families were recorded from various fish landing centers of the region during study period. Fishers catch fish in the river throughout the year. However, fishing intensity...