Selection drivers of life-history traits in marine coastal fishes

Abstract

Humans can induce contemporary evolution through harvesting wild animals. This thesis provides evidence of this process for recreational fishing at surprisingly small geographical scales. Marine fish populations are characterized by high variability in heritable individual life?history traits which are exposed to biased fishing mortality. The life histories strategies of actual populations, which collectively reduce adult body size, mirror such biased mortality in populations exposed to limited gene flow. Because the relationship between life history and behaviour, it is very likely that fishing also induces adaptive responses in behavioural traits. Due the potential negative effects of fishing selection the productivity and quality of the fishery, this thesis recommend considering the evolutionary impacts of fishing in the management plans of species exploited by the recreational fishing