Survival variability and population density in fish populations

Coilín Minto (), Ransom A. Myers and Wade Blanchard
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Coilín Minto: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4J1, Canada
Wade Blanchard: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3J5, Canada

Nature, 2008, vol. 452, issue 7185, 344-347

Abstract: Fish numbers: feel the noise Population sizes of insects, fish, birds and mammals vary greatly from year to year. This variability has often been seen as mere 'noise', an obstacle to unravelling the underlying abundance patterns. This has lead to divergent theories as to whether population growth will decrease at large numbers because of limited resources. Minto et al. adopt a novel approach to the problem by focusing on the very patterns of variability that were previously thought of as an obstacle. There should be patterns discernible in the variable data, the thinking goes, if populations are regulated according to their size. The assumption is supported by a study of a global database of fish species. The predictions relate to all population sizes and reveal, in particular, that variance continues to increase the lower the population size becomes. Focusing solely on the average numbers of a population will miss this fact, and increase the risk of numbers plummeting to extinction.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06605

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