High levels of recruitment underline the sustainability of octocoral populations to harvest

Climate change is reshaping marine ecosystems. In recent decades, octocorals have become dominant on many Caribbean reefs as scleractinian corals diminish due to rising ocean temperatures. Octocorals are now vital for maintaining habitat complexity and supporting biodiversity, but some species have...

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Vydané v:	Coral reefs Ročník 44; číslo 6; s. 1977 - 1989
Hlavní autori:	Castro-Sanguino, Carolina, Lasker, Howard R.
Médium:	Journal Article
Jazyk:	English
Vydavateľské údaje:	Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2025 Springer Nature B.V
Predmet:	Adults Biodiversity Biomedical and Life Sciences Climate change Coral reefs Corals Demographics Demography Dynamics Ecosystems Fisheries Fishery regulations Fishing Freshwater & Marine Ecology Habitats Harvesting Islands Life Sciences Marine ecosystems Marine invertebrates Migration Mortality Ocean temperature Oceanography Overexploitation Population Population dynamics Populations Recovery Recruitment Recruitment (fisheries) Regulations Risk reduction Bahamas Coral demography Fisheries management Compensatory growth Ecological modelling Density-dependent recruitment
ISSN:	0722-4028, 1432-0975
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Popis
Shrnutí:	Climate change is reshaping marine ecosystems. In recent decades, octocorals have become dominant on many Caribbean reefs as scleractinian corals diminish due to rising ocean temperatures. Octocorals are now vital for maintaining habitat complexity and supporting biodiversity, but some species have also been subject to harvesting. Thus, it is important to assess the impacts of their harvesting to reduce the risk of further destabilizing reef ecosystems. Here, we built a mechanistic individual-based model of Antillogorgia elisabethae population dynamics to evaluate the demographic consequences of long-term harvesting in The Bahamas. Our model explores different levels of recruitment, providing insights into the likely mechanisms by which populations are maintained, and evaluates whether the current harvest approach is sustainable and allows population recovery. We found that high levels of local recruitment were needed yearly to sustain repetitive harvests and avoid overexploitation. Demographic and harvest yield dynamics suggested that unregulated fisheries may lead to population collapse in the long term. Importantly, compensatory growth after harvest is key for population recovery. Knowledge of the early-life dynamics of these octocorals is limited. Yet, we demonstrate that by incorporating demographic dynamics into fishing assessments we can better inform fishing regulations to minimize ecological damage and support the long-term viability of their fisheries.
Bibliografia:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14
ISSN:	0722-4028 1432-0975
DOI:	10.1007/s00338-025-02757-z