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MEPS 741:7-27 (2024)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14513

REVIEW
The role of small pelagic fish in diverse ecosystems: knowledge gleaned from food-web models

James Ruzicka1,*, Luciano Chiaverano2, Marta Coll3, Susana Garrido4, Jorge Tam5, Hiroto Murase6, Kelly Robinson7, Giovanni Romagnoni8,13, Lynne Shannon9, Alexandra Silva4,10, Dorota Szalaj10,11, Shingo Watari12

1Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI 96818, USA
2Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP), Mar del Plata, B7062HSA, Argentina
3Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) & Ecopath International Initiative (EII), Barcelona 08003, Spain
4Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), Lisbon 1749-077, Portugal
5Instituto del Mar del Perú, Lima 07021, Perú
6Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan
7University Louisiana, Lafayette, LA 70503, USA
8Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung, Bremen 28359, Germany
9University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7701, South Africa
10Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE), Lisbon 1749-016, Portugal
11Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona 08003, Spain
12Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan
13Present address: Center for Ocean and Society (CeOS), University Kiel, Kiel 24118, Germany
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Small pelagic fish (SPF) are important forage species and a target of major fisheries within diverse ecosystems. SPF are a critical link between plankton and higher trophic levels. Understanding the network of dependencies among species and fisheries supported by SPF is required for effective resource management and assessment of risks posed by environmental and anthropogenic stressors. Food-web models represent a synthesis of knowledge of these dependencies and are a platform for evaluating the consequences of change in SPF productivity. From Ecopath food-web models archived within EcoBase (www.ecobase.ecopath.org) and from peer-reviewed literature, we compiled physiological parameters, biomasses, diets, and fishery catch rates that define SPF characteristics. From 199 models, metrics characterizing demand on ecosystem production, contribution to predators and fisheries, and sensitivities to changes in SPF were calculated. Across all models, globally, SPF represented 43% of total fish production and were supported by 8% of total primary production (14% in open ocean and 10% in upwelling models). In turn, SPF represented 18% of total fish and invertebrate catch (53% in upwelling models). From a services perspective, considering all direct and indirect trophic pathways, SPF were major contributors to predators and fisheries. On average, SPF supported 22% of seabird production, 15% of mammal production, and 34% of total fisheries catch. Support to upper trophic levels was greater in upwelling models (33% of seabird, 41% of mammal, and 62% of fishery production). These analyses show the importance of accounting for direct and indirect support by SPF to predators and fisheries when making management decisions.


KEY WORDS: Forage fish · Mesopelagic fish · Food-web · Ecosystem services · EcoBase · Ecopath · ECOTRAN


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Cite this article as: Ruzicka J, Chiaverano L, Coll M, Garrido S and others (2024) The role of small pelagic fish in diverse ecosystems: knowledge gleaned from food-web models. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 741:7-27. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14513

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