Functional responses and scaling in predator-prey interactions of marine fishes : contemporary issues and emerging concepts

• Predatorprey interactions are a primary structuring force vital to the resilience of marine communities and sustainability of the worlds oceans. Human influences on marine ecosystems mediate changes in species interactions. This generality is evinced by the cascading effects of overharvesting top predators on the structure and function of marine ecosystems. It follows that ecological forecasting, ecosystem management, and marine spatial planning require a better understanding of food web relationships. Characterising and scaling predatorprey interactions for use in tactical and strategic tools (i.e. multi-species management and ecosystem models) are paramount in this effort. Here, we explore what issues are involved and must be considered to advance the use of predatorprey theory in the context of marine fisheries science. We address pertinent contemporary ecological issues including (1) the approaches and complexities of evaluating predator responses in marine systems; (2) the scaling up of predatorprey interactions to the population, community, and ecosystem level; (3) the role of predatorprey theory in contemporary fisheries and ecosystem modelling approaches; and (4) directions for the future. Our intent is to point out needed research directions that will improve our understanding of predatorprey interactions in the context of the sustainable marine fisheries and ecosystem management.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Ecosystem models

individual-based models

marine fisheries

multi-species model

predator responses

predation

population regulation

scaling

Publication and Content Type

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