The evolutionary legacy of size-selective harvesting extends from genes to populations

Size‐selective harvesting is assumed to alter life histories of exploited fish populations, thereby negatively affecting population productivity, recovery, and yield. However, demonstrating that fisheries‐induced phenotypic changes in the wild are at least partly genetically determined has proved notoriously difficult. Moreover, the population‐level consequences of fisheries‐induced evolution are still being controversially discussed. Using an experimental approach, we found that five generations of size‐selective harvesting altered the life histories and behavior, but not the metabolic rate, of wild‐origin zebrafish (Danio rerio). Fish adapted to high positively size selective fishing pressure invested more in reproduction, reached a smaller adult body size, and were less explorative and bold. Phenotypic changes seemed subtle but were accompanied by genetic changes in functional loci. Thus, our results provided unambiguous evidence for rapid, harvest‐induced phenotypic and evolutionary change when harvesting is intensive and size selective. According to a life‐history model, the observed life‐history changes elevated population growth rate in harvested conditions, but slowed population recovery under a simulated moratorium. Hence, the evolutionary legacy of size‐selective harvesting includes populations that are productive under exploited conditions, but selectively disadvantaged to cope with natural selection pressures that often favor large body size.

• Publication year

  2015

• Venue

  Evolutionary Applications

• Publication date

  2015-05-27

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1111/eva.12268PMID 26136825PMCID 4479515
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Opposite selection on behavioural types by active and passive fishing gears in a simulated guppy Poecilia reticulata fishery.

  2015influential reference
• Recreational angling intensity correlates with alteration of vulnerability to fishing in a carnivorous coastal fish species

  2015influential reference
• Bioeconomic consequences of fishing-induced evolution: a model predicts limited impact on net present value

  2015influential reference
• Recreational angling intensity correlates with alteration of vulnerability to fishing in a carnivorous coastal fish species

  2015cited by this paper
• Food for thought BOFFFFs: on the importance of conserving old-growth age structure in fishery populations

  2014influential reference
• Evolutionary Consequences of Nonselective Harvesting in Density-Dependent Populations

  2014cited by this paper
• Fisheries-induced neutral and adaptive evolution in exploited fish populations and consequences for their adaptive potential

  2014cited by this paper
• Selective exploitation of spatially structured coastal fish populations by recreational anglers may lead to evolutionary downsizing of adults

  2014cited by this paper
• What can selection experiments teach us about fisheries‐induced evolution?

  2014influential reference
• Managing wildlife for ecological, socioeconomic, and evolutionary sustainability

  2014cited by this paper
• Explorative behavior increases vulnerability to angling in hatchery-reared brown trout (Salmo trutta)

  2014cited by this paper
• Contribution to the Symposium: 'Gadoid Fisheries: The Ecology of Management and Rebuilding' Original Article Ghosts of fisheries-induced depletions: do they haunt us still?

  2014cited by this paper
• Fundamental population–productivity relationships can be modified through density-dependent feedbacks of life-history evolution

  2014cited by this paper
• Species-specific preferences of German recreational anglers for freshwater fishing experiences, with emphasis on the intrinsic utilities of fish stocking and wild fishes.

  2014cited by this paper
• Can fisheries-induced evolution shift reference points for fisheries management?

  2013influential reference
• Ecological consequences of body size decline in harvested fish species: positive feedback loops in trophic interactions amplify human impact

  2013influential reference
• A large-scale zebrafish gene knockout resource for the genome-wide study of gene function

  2013cited by this paper
• Disentangling genetic change from phenotypic response in reproductive parameters of Flemish Cap cod Gadus morhua

  2013cited by this paper
• Experimental harvesting of fish populations drives genetically based shifts in body size and maturation

  2013influential reference
• The importance of social dimension and maturation stage for the probabilistic maturation reaction norm in Poecilia reticulata

  2013cited by this paper
• Economic repercussions of fisheries-induced evolution

  2013influential reference
• How fast is fisheries-induced evolution? Quantitative analysis of modelling and empirical studies

  2013influential reference
• Resilience and Recovery of Overexploited Marine Populations

  2013cited by this paper
• Ocean conservation: A big fight over little fish

  2013cited by this paper
• Natural mortality: Its ecology, how it shapes fish life histories, and why it may be increased by fishing☆

  2013cited by this paper
• Evolutionary impact assessment: accounting for evolutionary consequences of fishing in an ecosystem approach to fisheries management

  2012influential reference
• The role of ecological context and predation risk-stimuli in revealing the true picture about the genetic basis of boldness evolution in fish

  2012cited by this paper
• Standardizing Selection Strengths to Study Selection in the Wild: A Critical Comparison and Suggestions for the Future

  2012cited by this paper
• Consequences of fisheries-induced evolution for population productivity and recovery potential

  2012influential reference
• Consistent Selection towards Low Activity Phenotypes When Catchability Depends on Encounters among Human Predators and Fish

  2012cited by this paper
• Differential Allocation by Female Zebrafish (Danio rerio) to Different-Sized Males – An Example in a Fish Species Lacking Parental Care

  2012cited by this paper
• Brain-wide neuronal dynamics during motor adaptation in zebrafish

  2012cited by this paper
• The response of correlated traits following cessation of fishery-induced selection

  2012cited by this paper
• Comparing rates of contemporary evolution in life-history traits for exploited fish stocks

  2012influential reference
• The effect of variation in boldness and aggressiveness on the reproductive success of zebrafish

  2012cited by this paper
• Fishing‐induced evolution of growth: concepts, mechanisms and the empirical evidence

  2012influential reference
• Recreational fishing selectively captures individuals with the highest fitness potential

  2012cited by this paper
• Paternal body size affects reproductive success in laboratory-held zebrafish (Danio rerio)

  2012influential reference
• Assessing evolutionary consequences of size-selective recreational fishing on multiple life-history traits, with an application to northern pike (Esox lucius)

  2011influential reference
• Experimental assessment of the probabilistic maturation reaction norm: condition matters

  2011cited by this paper
• Genetic correlations between adults and larvae in a marine fish: potential effects of fishery selection on population replenishment

  2011cited by this paper
• Differential Calcium Signaling by Cone Specific Guanylate Cyclase-Activating Proteins from the Zebrafish Retina

  2011cited by this paper
• Fates beyond traits: ecological consequences of human-induced trait change

  2011cited by this paper
• Strain differences in zebrafish (Danio rerio) social roles and their impact on group task performance.

  2011cited by this paper
• Harvest-induced maturation evolution under different life-history trade-offs and harvesting regimes.

  2011cited by this paper
• Population genomics of wild and laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio)

  2011cited by this paper
• Comparison of FST outlier tests for SNP loci under selection

  2011cited by this paper
• Temporal genetic stability and high effective population size despite fisheries‐induced life‐history trait evolution in the North Sea sole

  2011cited by this paper
• The Light Responsive Transcriptome of the Zebrafish: Function and Regulation

  2011cited by this paper
• Size-dependent reproductive success of wild zebrafish Danio rerio in the laboratory.

  2010cited by this paper
• The conservation and fishery benefits of protecting large pike Esox lucius L. by harvest regulations in recreational fishing

  2010cited by this paper
• Personality traits and dispersal tendency in the invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)

  2010cited by this paper
• Current knowledge on the melatonin system in teleost fish.

  2010cited by this paper
• Do consistent individual differences in metabolic rate promote consistent individual differences in behavior?

  2010cited by this paper
• Physiological mechanisms underlying a trade-off between growth rate and tolerance of feed deprivation in the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

  2010cited by this paper
• Dominance Hierarchies in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Their Relationship with Reproductive Success

  2010influential reference
• Modelling fishing-induced adaptations and consequences for natural mortality

  2010cited by this paper
• Modeling Evolution: An Introduction to Numerical Methods

  2010cited by this paper
• Reproductive behaviour of wild zebrafish (Danio rerio) in large tanks

  2010cited by this paper
• Defining Overfished Stocks: Have We Lost the Plot?

  2010cited by this paper
• Large effective population size and temporal genetic stability in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

  2010cited by this paper
• Fisheries-induced evolution in growth, maturation and reproductive investment of the sexually dimorphic North Sea plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.)

  2010cited by this paper
• Quantifying selection differentials caused by recreational fishing: development of modeling framework and application to reproductive investment in pike (Esox lucius)

  2009cited by this paper
• Avoidance of fisheries-induced evolution: management implications for catch selectivity and limit reference points

  2009cited by this paper
• Toward Darwinian fisheries management

  2009influential reference
• Human predators outpace other agents of trait change in the wild

  2009cited by this paper
• Size-selective fishing gear and life history evolution in the Northeast Arctic cod

  2009cited by this paper
• Reversal of evolutionary downsizing caused by selective harvest of large fish

  2009influential reference
• Implications of fisheries-induced evolution for stock rebuilding and recovery

  2009cited by this paper
• Selection for Vulnerability to Angling in Largemouth Bass

  2009influential reference
• Expected rate of fisheries-induced evolution is slow

  2009influential reference
• Life history change in commercially exploited fish stocks: an analysis of trends across studies

  2009influential reference
• The role of experiments in understanding fishery-induced evolution

  2009cited by this paper
• Rebuilding Global Fisheries

  2009cited by this paper
• Eco-genetic modeling of contemporary life-history evolution.

  2009influential reference
• The role of fisheries-induced evolution.

  2008cited by this paper
• Fisheries-Induced Changes in Growth Rates in Marine Fisheries: Are they Significant?

  2008cited by this paper
• Are animal personality traits linked to life-history productivity?

  2008cited by this paper
• Fishery-induced selection on an Alpine whitefish: quantifying genetic and environmental effects on individual growth rate

  2008cited by this paper
• Fitness consequences of personality: a meta-analysis

  2008cited by this paper
• The impact of fishing-induced mortality on the evolution of alternative life-history tactics in brook charr

  2008cited by this paper
• Bridging the gap between the genotype and the phenotype: linking genetic variation, selection and adaptation in fishes

  2008cited by this paper
• Rapid depletion of genotypes with fast growth and bold personality traits from harvested fish populations

  2008cited by this paper
• The nature of fisheries‐ and farming‐induced evolution

  2008influential reference
• Fisheries-induced evolution of body size and other life history traits: the impact of gear selectivity

  2008cited by this paper
• Genetic effects of harvest on wild animal populations.

  2008cited by this paper
• LOSITAN: A workbench to detect molecular adaptation based on a Fst-outlier method

  2008cited by this paper
• A behavioral perspective on fishing-induced evolution.

  2008cited by this paper
• The Role of Fisheries-Induced Evolution

  2008cited by this paper
• Growth-mortality tradeoffs and 'personality traits' in animals.

  2007cited by this paper
• Localization of corticotropin‐releasing factor, urotensin I, and CRF‐binding protein gene expression in the brain of the zebrafish, Danio rerio

  2007cited by this paper
• Phylogenetic relationships and gene expression pattern of three different cathepsin L (Ctsl) isoforms in zebrafish: Ctsla is the putative yolk processing enzyme.

  2007cited by this paper
• Detecting and managing fisheries-induced evolution.

  2007cited by this paper
• Fisheries-induced evolution: present status and future directions

  2007influential reference
• Ecology: Managing Evolving Fish Stocks

  2007cited by this paper
• Probabilistic maturation reaction norms: their history, strengths, and limitations

  2007cited by this paper
• Basin‐Wide Effects of Game Harvest on Vertebrate Population Densities in Amazonian Forests: Implications for Animal‐Mediated Seed Dispersal

  2007cited by this paper
• Managing Evolving Fish Stocks

  2007influential reference
• DENSITY DEPENDENCE AND DENSITY INDEPENDENCE IN THE DEMOGRAPHY AND DISPERSAL OF PIKE OVER FOUR DECADES

  2007cited by this paper
• Conservation and divergence of gene families encoding components of innate immune response systems in zebrafish

  2007cited by this paper

• Influences of Size-Selective Harvesting on Growth Characteristics and Associated Gene Expression Patterns in Marine Medaka (Oryzias melastigma)

  2026cites this paper
• Size-selective mortality evolutionarily alters collective behaviour in response to predation risk in a zebrafish (Danio rerio) harvest-induced selection model.

  2026cites this paper
• Thermal stress has greater impact on the zebrafish skin microbiota than host genotype.

  2026cites this paper
• Consequences of differing definitions of maturity for management regulations of a gastropod fishery

  2025cites this paper
• The Effects of Latitudinal Gradients, Climatic Anomalies, and Size‐Selective Harvesting on the Adaptive Potential of an Intertidal Gastropod

  2025cites this paper
• No evidence of evolutionary impact from size‐selective harvesting on epigenetic and reproductive molecular markers in zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) gonads

  2025cites this paper
• Genomic evidence for fisheries-induced evolution in Eastern Baltic cod

  2025cites this paper
• Genomic Adaptation of Marine Medaka (Oryzias melastigma) Under Artificial Life‐History Selection

  2025cites this paper
• Citizen science reveals relationships between human hunting pressure and the abundance and behaviour of invasive lionfish (Pterois spp.)

  2025cites this paper
• Bioeconomic and dynamical study of a predator–prey model with age-selective removal of prey during growth according to the Richards type

  2025cites this paper
• Genomic Insights into the Population Genetics and Adaptive Evolution of Yellow Seabream (Acanthopagrus latus) with Whole-Genome Resequencing

  2025cites this paper
• Size-Selective Harvesting Effects on Reproductive Investment in Marine Medaka (Oryzias melastigma)

  2025cites this paper
• Hierarchical Multi‐Dimensional Maturation Modeling to Isolate the Effects of Commercial Closure on a Great Lakes Fishery

  2025cites this paper
• Comparison of Striped Bass growth between the native and nonnative range through time

  2025cites this paper
• Deep quantile regression for growth and maturation reaction norms

  2025cites this paper
• Does size‐selective harvesting erode adaptive potential to thermal stress?

  2024cites this paper
• Life-history of invasive common carp, Cyprinus carpio, within a natural lake (Groenvlei), South Africa

  2024cites this paper
• Fisheries-induced life-history changes recover in experimentally harvested fish populations

  2024influential citation
• Rising temperatures, falling fisheries: causes and consequences of crossing the tipping point in a small-pelagic community

  2024cites this paper
• Fish with slow life‐history cope better with chronic manganese exposure than fish with fast life‐history

  2024cites this paper
• Size‐selective harvesting drives genomic shifts in a harvested population

  2024cites this paper
• Body length changes for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) over five decades exhibit weak spatial synchrony over a broad latitudinal gradient

  2024cites this paper
• Directional selection, not the direction of selection, affects telomere length and copy number at ribosomal RNA loci

  2024cites this paper
• Temporal allele frequency changes in large‐effect loci reveal potential fishing impacts on salmon life‐history diversity

  2024cites this paper
• Learning, thinking, sharing, and working across boundaries in fisheries science

  2024cites this paper
• Individual behaviour, growth, survival and vulnerability to hunting in a large mammal

  2024cites this paper
• Increasing trammel mesh size reduces biomass removal, mitigates discards and increases economic revenue in artisanal fisheries

  2024cites this paper
• Within-species variation in the gut microbiome of medaka (Oryzias latipes) is driven by the interaction of light intensity and genetic background

  2023cites this paper
• Effects of hunting on mating, relatedness, and genetic diversity in a puma population

  2023cites this paper
• Large females connect Atlantic cod spawning sites

  2023cites this paper
• Size-dependent harvest mortality indirectly affects boldness, feeding rate, and behaviour-linked gene expression in a decade-long selection experiment on guppies

  2023cites this paper
• Size-selection drives genomic shifts in a harvested population

  2023cites this paper
• Different mechanisms underpin the decline in growth of anchovies and sardines of the Bay of Biscay

  2023cites this paper
• Why do some fish grow faster than others?

  2023cites this paper
• Size-selective harvesting alters biological traits of marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma)

  2023cites this paper
• Life history optimisation drives latitudinal gradients and responses to global change in marine fishes

  2023cites this paper
• Size-selective harvesting impacts learning and decision-making in zebrafish, Danio rerio

  2023cites this paper
• Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Markers with Applications in Conservation and Exploitation of Aquatic Natural Populations

  2023cites this paper
• Capture Is Predicted by Behavior and Size, Not Metabolism, in Muskellunge

  2023cites this paper
• Limited effects of size-selective harvesting and harvesting-induced life-history changes on the temporal variability of biomass dynamics in complex food webs

  2023cites this paper
• Evolutionary implications of size-selective mortality on the ontogenetic development of shoal cohesion: a neurochemical approach using a zebrafish, Danio rerio, harvest selection experiment

  2022influential citation
• Bibliometric investigation of the integration of animal personality in conservation contexts

  2022cites this paper
• The Harvest Effect on Dynamics of Northern Fur Seal Population: Mathematical Modeling and Data Analysis Results

  2022cites this paper
• Size-selective harvesting affects the immunocompetence of guppies exposed to the parasite Gyrodactylus

  2022cites this paper
• Five decades of change in somatic growth of Pacific hake from Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia

  2022cites this paper
• Are there plenty of fish in the sea? How life history traits affect the eco-evolutionary consequences of population oscillations

  2022cites this paper
• Size-selective mortality fosters evolutionary changes in collective learning across ontogeny and decision-making in zebrafish, Danio rerio

  2022cites this paper
• Length‐weight relationships of nine endemic fish species from the trans‐border river in the southern slope of the Himalaya, China

  2022cites this paper
• Simulated trapping and trawling exert similar selection on fish morphology

  2022cites this paper
• Impacts of temperature on O2 consumption of the Pyrenean brook newt (Calotriton asper) from populations along an elevational gradient.

  2022cites this paper
• Towards evolutionary predictions: Current promises and challenges

  2022cites this paper
• Effects of hunting on genetic diversity, inbreeding and dispersal in Finnish black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix)

  2022cites this paper
• Selection on fish personality differs between a no‐take marine reserve and fished areas

  2021cites this paper
• Changes in age and maturity of anadromous whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) in the northern Baltic Sea from 1998 to 2014

  2021cites this paper
• Age is not just a number – senescence affects how fish populations respond to different fishing regimes

  2021cites this paper
• “Hidden” natural selection and the evolution of body size in harvested stocks

  2021cites this paper
• Multigenerational exposure to warming and fishing causes recruitment collapse, but size diversity and periodic cooling can aid recovery

  2021cites this paper
• Consequences of trait-selective fisheries on population reproductive potential: An experimental approach

  2021cites this paper
• The battle between harvest and natural selection creates small and shy fish

  2021cites this paper
• Size Selective Harvesting Does Not Result in Reproductive Isolation among Experimental Lines of Zebrafish, Danio rerio: Implications for Managing Harvest-Induced Evolution

  2021cites this paper
• Age is not just a number—Mathematical model suggests senescence affects how fish populations respond to different fishing regimes

  2021cites this paper
• Ecological ramifications of adaptation to size-selective mortality

  2021cites this paper
• Density influences the heritability and genetic correlations of fish behaviour under trawling‐associated selection

  2021cites this paper
• Size-selective mortality fosters ontogenetic changes in collective risk-taking behaviour in zebrafish, Danio rerio

  2021cites this paper
• Genomic prediction of growth in a commercially, recreationally, and culturally important marine resource, the Australian snapper (Chrysophrys auratus)

  2021cites this paper
• R A F T Evolutionary impact of size-selective harvesting on shoaling behavior: Individual-level mechanisms and possible consequences for natural and fishing mortality

  2021influential citation
• Evolutionary Impact of Size-Selective Harvesting on Shoaling Behavior: Individual-Level Mechanisms and Possible Consequences for Natural and Fishing Mortality

  2021influential citation
• Marine food web perspective to fisheries‐induced evolution

  2021cites this paper
• Synergistic effects of harvest and climate drive synchronous somatic growth within key New Zealand fisheries

  2021cites this paper
• Maturation in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, Salmonidae): a synthesis of ecological, genetic, and molecular processes

  2020cites this paper
• Behavioural effects in juvenile brown trout in response to parental angling selection

  2020cites this paper
• Unexpected harvesting-induced evolution of collective behavior in a fish

  2020influential citation
• Unidirectional response to bidirectional selection on body size II. Quantitative genetics

  2020cites this paper
• Unidirectional response to bidirectional selection on body size. I. Phenotypic, life‐history, and endocrine responses

  2020cites this paper
• Size-dependent eco-evolutionary feedback loops in exploited ecosystems

  2020cites this paper
• Behavioral phenotype does not predict habitat occupancy or angling capture of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

  2020cites this paper
• Genetic Diversity and Connectivity of Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis) Found in the Brazil and Chile–Peru Wintering Grounds and the South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur) Feeding Ground

  2020cites this paper
• Size does matter — the eco-evolutionary effects of changing body size in fish

  2020cites this paper
• Implications of size‐selective fisheries on sexual selection

  2020cites this paper
• Does harvest affect genetic diversity in grey wolves?

  2020cites this paper
• Genetic Diversity and Connectivity of Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis) Found in the Brazil and Chile–Peru Wintering Grounds and the South Georgia (Islas

  2020cites this paper
• Local adaptation of antipredator behaviors in populations of a temperate reef fish

  2020cites this paper
• Size-selective mortality may trigger maladaptive changes of shoaling behaviour in a fish

  2020influential citation
• Size-selective mortality induces evolutionary changes in group risk-taking behavior and the circadian system in a fish.

  2020influential citation
• Density-dependent consequences of size-selective induced life-history changes to population fitness in medaka (Oryzias latipes)

  2020cites this paper
• Potential sources of bias in the climate sensitivities of fish otolith biochronologies

  2020cites this paper
• Interacting forces of predation and fishing affect species’ maturation size

  2020cites this paper
• Declining female size at onset of maturity in Nephrops norvegicus in long-term surveys (1997–2016)

  2020cites this paper
• Indicators of body size variability in a highly developed small-scale fishery: Ecological and management implications

  2020cites this paper
• Harvest is associated with the disruption of social and fine‐scale genetic structure among matrilines of a solitary large carnivore

  2020cites this paper
• Climate change will render size‐selective harvest of cold‐water fish species unsustainable in Mediterranean freshwaters

  2020cites this paper
• Anthropogenic forcing of fish boldness and its impacts on ecosystem structure

  2020cites this paper
• Fisheries-induced evolution of the circadian system and collective personality traits

  2019influential citation
• Angling selects against active and stress-resilient phenotypes in rainbow trout

  2019cites this paper
• Life history variation across four decades in a diverse population complex of Atlantic salmon in a large subarctic river

  2019cites this paper
• Different growth trends of whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) forms in the northern Baltic Sea

  2019cites this paper
• Experimental Size‐Selective Harvesting Affects Behavioral Types of a Social Fish

  2019cites this paper
• OP-ICES180187 410..417

  2019cites this paper
• Human-induced reductions in fish predator boldness decrease their predation rates in kelp forests

  2019cites this paper
• The impact of size-selective fisheries on the consistency of personality traits in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

  2019cites this paper