ArticlePDF Available

Abstract and Figures

Human activities are a major evolutionary force affecting wild populations. Selective pressure from harvest has mainly been documented for life‐history and morphological traits. The probability for an individual to be harvested, however, may also depend on its behaviour. We report empirical studies that examined whether harvesting can exert selective pressures on behavioural traits. We show that harvest‐induced selection on behavioural traits is not specific to a particular harvest method and can occur throughout the animal kingdom. Synthesis and applications . Managers need to recognize that artificial selection caused by harvesting is possible. More empirical studies integrating physiological, behavioural, and life‐history traits should be carried out to test specific predictions of the potential for harvest‐induced selection on heritable traits using models developed in fisheries. To limit selective pressure on behaviour imposed by harvesting, managers could reduce harvest quotas or vary harvest regulations over time and/or space to reduce the strength of selection on a particular phenotype.
Content may be subject to copyright.
COMMENTARY
Harvesting as a potential selective pressure on
behavioural traits
Martin Leclerc*
,1
, Andreas Zedrosser
2,3
and Fanie Pelletier
1
1
Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Demography and Conservation & Centre for Northern Studies, D
epartement
de biologie, Universit
e de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K2R1, Canada;
2
Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences
and Maritime Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, University College of Southeast
Norway, N-3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway; and
3
Department of Integrative Biology, Institute of Wildlife Biology and
Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Gregor Mendel Str. 33,
A1180 Vienna, Austria
Summary
1. Human activities are a major evolutionary force affecting wild populations. Selective pres-
sure from harvest has mainly been documented for life-history and morphological traits. The
probability for an individual to be harvested, however, may also depend on its behaviour.
2. We report empirical studies that examined whether harvesting can exert selective pressures
on behavioural traits.
3. We show that harvest-induced selection on behavioural traits is not specific to a particular
harvest method and can occur throughout the animal kingdom.
4. Synthesis and applications. Managers need to recognize that artificial selection caused by
harvesting is possible. More empirical studies integrating physiological, behavioural, and life-
history traits should be carried out to test specific predictions of the potential for harvest-
induced selection on heritable traits using models developed in fisheries. To limit selective
pressure on behaviour imposed by harvesting, managers could reduce harvest quotas or vary
harvest regulations over time and/or space to reduce the strength of selection on a particular
phenotype.
Key-words: angling, evolutionary consequences, exploitation, fisheries, gillnet, harvest-
induced selection, hunting, passive and active gear, vulnerability
Introduction
Humans are considered as one of the major selective forces
shaping traits of species (Palumbi 2001) and may cause faster
phenotypic changes than many natural drivers (Hendry,
Farrugia & Kinnison 2008; Darimont et al. 2009). Pheno-
typic changes are particularly drastic when humans act as
predators and harvest wild populations (Darimont et al.
2009). Harvesting can induce selective pressures on wild ani-
mal populations by increasing mortality and by non-random
removal of specific phenotypes. Harvesting has been shown
to induce selective pressure in several species (Allendorf
et al. 2008) that may ultimately result in evolutionary
responses (Jørgensen et al. 2007; Pigeon et al. 2016).
Selective pressure caused by human harvest, hereafter
referred to as harvest-induced selection, has mostly been
documented for life-history and morphological traits and
can be caused by size-selective harvesting. For example,
trophy hunting of male bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis)
selected for smaller horn size (Coltman et al. 2003; Pigeon
et al. 2016), and size-selective fishing affected the evolu-
tion of life histories in zebra fish (Danio rerio) (Uusi-
Heikkil
aet al. 2015). In size-selective harvesting, typically
a specific phenotype is targeted leading to harvest-induced
selection. Harvest-induced selection on behavioural traits,
however, can be due to behavioural differences between
individuals affecting their probability of being harvested
(Heino & Godø 2002; Uusi-Heikkil
aet al. 2008). This
pattern was observed in behavioural studies showing that
the probability of capturing or sampling (for scientific
research instead of harvesting) a specific individual in a
population could be biased due to consistent individual
differences in behaviour, i.e. animal personality (Biro &
Dingemanse 2009; Carter et al. 2012; Biro 2013). These
individual behavioural differences are often heritable
(Postma 2014; Dochtermann, Schwab & Sih 2015).
*Correspondence author. E-mail: martin.leclerc2@usherbrooke.ca
©2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology ©2017 British Ecological Society
Journal of Applied Ecology 2017, 54, 1941–1945 doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12893
Humans can therefore, consciously or not, modulate the
evolution of animal behaviour by removing (harvesting)
or reproducing (breeding) specific individuals within a
population (Price 1984). Although important for wildlife
management and conservation, much less attention has
been devoted to harvest-induced selection on behavioural
traits compared to life-history or morphological traits
(Uusi-Heikkil
aet al. 2008; Heino, D
ıaz Pauli & Dieck-
mann 2015) and to whether this selection may lead to
evolution of behaviours that are different from those
favoured by natural selection (e.g. Olsen & Moland 2011
for morphological traits).
Harvesting as a selective pressure on
behavioural traits
Most of the theoretical work and predictions for beha-
vioural harvest-induced selection are derived from the
fisheries literature. Arlinghaus et al. (2016) suggested that
harvest should select for shyer and more vigilant individ-
uals. In fisheries, predictions made on harvest-induced
selection often depend on the gear type used, and Al
os,
Palmer & Arlinghaus (2012) predicted that passive gear
should select for individuals with lower activity levels. In
sport hunting, a hunter must see an individual of the
species of interest before she/he can select a target ani-
mal based on a morphological trait or a sex/age class.
Therefore, we hypothesize that behavioural traits that
increase vulnerability or visibility, such as selection of
open areas, more active individuals during hunting
hours, or boldness, should have a strong effect on the
probability that an individual will present itself as a pos-
sible target.
Here, we report studies where harvest-induced selection
of behavioural traits was clearly investigated. We searched
the scientific literature database Scopus
Ò
for peer-
reviewed papers using different combinations of the fol-
lowing seven keywords: harvesting, hunting, fisheries,
behaviour, vulnerability, exploitation and selective pres-
sure. The literature contains numerous studies on the
immediate effects of harvesting on behaviour (i.e. plastic
response or ‘learning’) (e.g. Raat 1985; Ordiz et al. 2012)
or studies showing behavioural differences between high
and low vulnerability fish strains (e.g. Nannini et al. 2011;
Sutter et al. 2012), or studies showing behavioural differ-
ences between fish caught with different methods or lures
(e.g. Wilson et al. 2015), which suggests that harvesting
might induce a selective pressure on behaviours. Here,
however, we only retained studies that directly examined
whether harvesting acted as a selective pressure on beha-
vioural traits. The limited amount of literature examining
harvest-induced selection on behaviour likely reflects the
difficulties in collecting quantitative information on beha-
vioural traits expressed by harvested and non-harvested
individuals necessary to investigate behavioural harvest-
induced selection. This is particularly true for fish,
because it is rarely possible to make observations on fish
that are not captured (H
ark
onen et al. 2016, but see
Olsen et al. 2012), and longitudinal behavioural time-ser-
ies data from wild populations hardly exist (Jørgensen &
Holt 2013). We categorized the 13 retained studies in two
groups: experimental studies in the laboratory or natural
conditions, and observational studies in the wild.
Experimental studies
We found seven experimental studies showing that harvest
can act as a selective pressure on behavioural traits
(Table 1; but see Vainikka, Tammela & Hyv
arinen 2016).
From the seven studies showing harvest-induced selection
of behavioural traits, six were conducted in fishes and one
in a crustacean. Individuals showed different vulnerability
to angling in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)
(Philipp et al. 2009) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
(Klefoth, Pieterek & Arlinghaus 2013), and traps removed
bolder guppies (Poecilia reticulata) and common yabby
(Cherax destructor) (Biro & Sampson 2015; Diaz Pauli
et al. 2015). Trawling removed shyer guppies (Diaz Pauli
et al. 2015) and minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) with lower
swim speed (Killen, Nati & Suski 2015). These studies
suggest that harvesting can act as a selective pressure on a
behavioural trait and that passive gear should select
against boldness and more explorative individuals, while
active gear should select against shyness, and angling
selects against more aggressive, bold and vulnerable indi-
viduals (Heino & Godø 2002; Arlinghaus et al. 2016).
Harvest-induced selection patterns obtained in laboratory
experiments appear to be consistent with those observed
in experiments conducted in natural settings (Biro & Post
2008), suggesting that harvesting can act as a selective
pressure in the wild.
Observational studies
We found six studies showing harvest-induced selection
on different behavioural traits in the wild, ranging from
the timing of migration to boldness and defensiveness
(Table 1). These studies involved fishes, snakes, birds and
mammals in Japan, Norway, United Kingdom, Canada
and the USA. Similar to experimental studies, observa-
tional studies showed that harvest-induced selection was
caused by different harvest methods (shotgun, rifle hunt-
ing, passive gear, angling), and that behavioural traits
under selection may vary in relation to the harvest
method used (Table 1). In sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus
nerka) harvesting selected against individuals that
migrated later in the season in a population where
exploitation rates vary systematically over the course of
the fishing season (Quinn et al. 2007). In this population,
migration timing became earlier over the years (Quinn
et al. 2007). Such temporal behavioural changes could be
caused by environmental factors, but could also be, at
least partly, a response to harvest-induced selection if
migration timing is heritable (Quinn et al. 2007).
©2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology ©2017 British Ecological Society, Journal of Applied Ecology,54, 1941–1945
1942 M. Leclerc, A. Zedrosser & F. Pelletier
Consequences of behavioural harvest-induced
selection
Behavioural traits under harvest-induced selection can
only evolve if they are heritable (Postma 2014; Dochter-
mann, Schwab & Sih 2015). In addition to the changes in
migration timing of sockeye salmon discussed above
(Quinn et al. 2007), two studies suggested that harvest
might have been important in the evolution of a genetic
locus related to habitat use of Atlantic cod (Gadus mor-
hua) in Iceland (
Arnason, Hernandez & Kristinsson 2009;
Jakobsdottir et al. 2011). However, we found no observa-
tional studies that could unequivocally show evolution in
behaviour caused by harvesting. Absence of evidence for
harvest-induced evolution of behavioural traits in the
wild, however, does not imply that such evolution is unli-
kely or uncommon. Instead, it may reflect the difficulties
to obtain the necessary longitudinal data on behaviours in
harvested populations (Clutton-Brock & Sheldon 2010;
Jørgensen & Holt 2013). Even when adequate data are
available, it remains challenging to show that harvest is
the driver of evolutionary change and to disentangle phe-
notypic plasticity from genetic change (Meril
a & Hendry
2014). Although they have not been documented in the
wild, evolutionary changes in behavioural traits due to
harvest have been shown in experimental studies (Philipp
et al. 2009). Laboratory experiments are useful to evaluate
the potential for harvest-induced selection and
evolutionary response in behavioural traits, but extrapola-
tion of results to natural systems is difficult, as some rela-
tionships observed in the laboratory might not persist in
the wild (Wilson et al. 2011).
Conclusions
Humans have harvested wild animals for millennia and
human evolution is strongly linked with harvesting. How-
ever, technological developments have increased our effi-
ciency to harvest, with many consequences (Milner,
Nilsen & Andreassen 2007; Allendorf et al. 2008; Fenberg
& Roy 2008). Morphological, life-history and behavioural
traits form the phenotype of an individual and thus affect
its vulnerability to harvest (Uusi-Heikkil
aet al. 2008).
There is increasing evidence that behavioural traits are
correlated with physiological and life-history traits (Biro
& Stamps 2008; R
eale et al. 2010). Therefore, even if har-
vesting specifically targets a behavioural trait, changes in
life-history, morphological, and/or physiological traits can
be observed. For example, changes in behaviours were
observed due to size-selective harvesting in zebra fish
(Uusi-Heikkil
aet al. 2015), and size-selective harvesting
of Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) resulted in lower
larval growth rate, food consumption rate and conversion
efficiency, and vertebrae number (Walsh et al. 2006;
Duffy et al. 2013). If individuals with certain life-history,
morphological and behavioural phenotypes are heavily
Table 1. Examples of experimental and observational studies showing that harvest can act as a selective pressure on behaviour
Species Harvest method Trait
Direction of the selective effect
ReferenceHarvest selects against individual that are:
Experimental studies in the laboratory or in natural conditions
Poecilia reticulata Trap BoldShy Bolder Diaz Pauli et al. (2015)
Trawl BoldShy Shyer Diaz Pauli et al. (2015)
Phoxinus phoxinus Trawl Swim speed Slower Killen, Nati & Suski
(2015)
Salmo trutta Fly-fishing Exploration More explorative H
ark
onen et al. (2014)
Cyprinus carpio Angling Vulnerability More vulnerable Klefoth, Pieterek &
Arlinghaus (2013)
Micropterus salmoides Angling Vulnerability More vulnerable Philipp et al. (2009)
Oncorhynchus mykiss Gillnet Bold/ShyFast/Slow Faster-bolder Biro & Post (2008)
Cherax destructor Trap BoldShy Bolder Biro & Sampson (2015)
Observational studies
Oncorhynchus nerka Angling Migration timing Migrated later in season Quinn et al. (2007)
Gadus morhua Passive gear Habitat use Use more shallow water Olsen et al. (2012)
Passive gear Vertical migration Have a strong diel vertical migration Olsen et al. (2012)
Passive gear Horizontal movement Have a predictable movement pattern Olsen et al. (2012)
Gloydius blomhoffii Not mentioned Flight distance Have lower flight distance Sasaki, Fox & Duvall
(2009)
Not mentioned Defensiveness More defensive Sasaki, Fox & Duvall
(2009)
Phasianus colchicus Shotgun hunting BoldShy Bolder Madden & Whiteside
(2014)
Cervus elaphus Rifle hunting Habitat use Use habitat with less concealing cover Lone et al. (2015)
Rifle hunting Habitat use Use open areas Ciuti et al. (2012)
Rifle hunting Habitat use Closer to roads and use flatter terrain Ciuti et al. (2012)
Rifle hunting Movement rate Have higher movement rate Ciuti et al. (2012)
©2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology ©2017 British Ecological Society, Journal of Applied Ecology,54, 1941–1945
Behavioural harvest-induced selection 1943
harvested, selection may quickly lead to the evolution of a
population with a lower harvest yield (Conover & Munch
2002), because this population will now mostly be com-
posed of individuals with lower growth rate (Conover &
Munch 2002; Biro & Sampson 2015) that are also more
difficult to harvest (Philipp et al. 2009). In many cases,
selective pressures imposed by harvesting oppose natural
selection (Conover 2007; Olsen & Moland 2011). While
some traits can genetically recover after harvest-induced
selection ceases (Conover, Munch & Arnott 2009), some
traits may not (Salinas et al. 2012; Pigeon et al. 2016),
which can impair population recovery after harvest has
ceased (Laugen et al. 2014).
Recommendations
Even though behaviours are often easier to observe and
quantify in terrestrial ecosystems, most of the literature
and predictions on behavioural harvest-induced selection
come from fisheries. Despite differences in the harvest
methods used in fisheries and hunting, behavioural data
from terrestrial harvested populations can be complemen-
tary to fisheries data and could offer an opportunity to
test predictions developed for fisheries in terrestrial
ecosystems. For example, predictions made for passive
gear in fisheries could be applied to ‘still hunting’ or ‘bait
hunting’, but might not be appropriate for ‘stalking’.
Therefore, we suggest a synergistic approach and recom-
mend to increase discussions and collaborations between
researchers studying harvest-induced selection in fisheries
and terrestrial ecosystems.
Integrating genetic and evolutionary effects of harvest-
ing into management and conservation is central for
achieving sustainable harvesting (Conover & Munch 2002;
Allendorf et al. 2008). Acknowledging that harvest is
selective by nature is the first step towards that goal. Even
if harvest is random regarding phenotypes, it increases
mortality and therefore selects for faster growing and ear-
lier reproducing individuals (rlife-history strategy) rather
than slow growing and late reproducing individuals (K
life-history strategy) (Pianka 1970). Ideally, in harvested
populations, monitoring programs should be introduced
to detect and monitor potential harvest-induced selection
and its consequences. Such programs would require longi-
tudinal data on multiple phenotypic traits, including
behavioural traits, of harvested and non-harvested indi-
viduals in the population. This would allow evaluating the
direction and strength of harvest-induced selection in
comparison to natural selection. When required, different
mitigation measures could be implemented in manage-
ment plans to reduce the impacts of harvest-induced
selection. For example, reducing harvest quotas should
reduce the strength of selection or managers could estab-
lish harvest regimes that mimic natural selection (Milner,
Nilsen & Andreassen 2007).
Such monitoring programs are challenging tasks requir-
ing a considerable amount of time and money. In the
meantime, we suggest using a precautionary approach
when harvesting natural populations. Harvest quotas
should not be based on maximum yield but rather aim at
preserving natural variation shaped by natural selection
(Fenberg & Roy 2008). We suggest, based on our results,
to vary harvest regulations (e.g. based on sex, age or
phenotypes harvested and harvest methods used) spatio-
temporally to reduce the strength of selection on a
particular phenotype.
Authors’ contributions
All authors conceived the idea; M.L. conducted the literature search and
the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed critically to the
drafts and gave final approval for publication.
Acknowledgements
We thank M. Festa-Bianchet and two anonymous reviewers for com-
ments on an earlier version of this manuscript. M.L. was supported
financially by NSERC and FRQNT. F.P. was funded by NSERC
discovery grant and by the Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary
Demography and Conservation. A.Z. acknowledges funding from the
Polish-Norwegian Research Program operated by the National Center
for Research and Development under the Norwegian Financial Mecha-
nism 2009-2014 in the frame of project contract no. POL-NOR/198352/
85/2013. This is paper no. 229 of the Scandinavian Brown Bear Research
Project.
Data accessibility
Data have not been archived because this article does not contain data.
References
Allendorf, F.W., England, P.R., Luikart, G., Ritchie, P.A. & Ryman, N.
(2008) Genetic effects of harvest on wild animal populations. Trends in
Ecology & Evolution,23, 327337.
Al
os, J., Palmer, M. & Arlinghaus, R. (2012) Consistent selection towards
low activity phenotypes when catchability depends on encounters among
human predators and fish. PLoS ONE,7, e48030.
Arlinghaus, R., Al
os, J., Klefoth, T., Laskowski, K., Monk, C.T.,
Nakayama, S. & der Schr
o, A. (2016) Consumptive tourism causes
timidity, rather than boldness, syndromes: a response to Geffroy et al.
Trends in Ecology & Evolution,31,9294.
Arnason, E., Hernandez, U.B. & Kristinsson, K. (2009) Intense
habitat-specific fisheries-induced selection at the molecular Pan I locus pre-
dicts imminent collapse of a major cod fishery. PLoS ONE,4, e5529.
Biro, P.A. (2013) Are most samples of animals systematically biased? Con-
sistent individual trait differences bias samples despite random sam-
pling. Oecologia,171, 339345.
Biro, P.A. & Dingemanse, N.J. (2009) Sampling bias resulting from animal
personality. Trends in Ecology & Evolution,24,6667.
Biro, P.A. & Post, J.R. (2008) Rapid depletion of genotypes with fast
growth and bold personality traits from harvested fish populations. Pro-
ceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America,105, 29192922.
Biro, P.A. & Sampson, P. (2015) Fishing directly selects on growth rate
via behaviour: implications of growth-selection that is independent of
size. Proceedings of the Royal Society B,282, 20142283.
Biro, P.A. & Stamps, J.A. (2008) Are animal personality traits linked to life-
history productivity? Trends in Ecology & Evolution,23, 361368.
Carter, A.J., Heinsohn, R., Goldizen, A.W. & Biro, P.A. (2012) Boldness,
trappability and sampling bias in wild lizards. Animal Behaviour,83,
10511058.
Ciuti, S., Muhly, T.B., Paton, D.G., McDevitt, A.D., Musiani, M. &
Boyce, M.S. (2012) Human selection of elk behavioural traits in a land-
scape of fear. Proceedings of the Royal Society B,279, 44074416.
©2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology ©2017 British Ecological Society, Journal of Applied Ecology,54, 1941–1945
1944 M. Leclerc, A. Zedrosser & F. Pelletier
Clutton-Brock, T. & Sheldon, B.C. (2010) Individuals and populations:
the role of long-term, individual-based studies of animals in ecology and
evolutionary biology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution,25, 562573.
Coltman, D.W., O’Donoghue, P., Jorgenson, J.T., Hogg, J.T., Strobeck,
C. & Festa-Bianchet, M. (2003) Undesirable evolutionary consequences
of trophy hunting. Nature,426, 655658.
Conover, D.O. (2007) Nets versus nature. Nature,450, 179180.
Conover, D.O. & Munch, S.B. (2002) Sustaining fisheries yields over evo-
lutionary time scales. Science,297,9496.
Conover, D.O., Munch, S.B. & Arnott, S.A. (2009) Reversal of evolution-
ary downsizing caused by selective harvest of large fish. Proceedings of
the Royal Society B,276, 20152020.
Darimont, C.T., Carlson, S.M., Kinnison, M.T., Paquet, P.C., Reimchen,
T.E. & Wilmers, C.C. (2009) Human predators outpace other agents of
trait change in the wild. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America,106, 952954.
Diaz Pauli, B., Wiech, M., Heino, M. & Utne-Palm, A.C. (2015) Opposite
selection on behavioural types by active and passive fishing gears in a
simulated guppy Poecilia reticulata fishery. Journal of Fish Biology,86,
10301045.
Dochtermann, N.A., Schwab, T. & Sih, A. (2015) The contribution of
additive genetic variation to personality variation: heritability of person-
ality. Proceedings of the Royal Society B,282, 20142201.
Duffy, T.A., Picha, M.E., Borski, R.J. & Conover, D.O. (2013) Circulating
levels of plasma IGF-I during recovery from size-selective harvesting in
Menidia menidia.Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A,
166, 222227.
Fenberg, P.B. & Roy, K. (2008) Ecological and evolutionary consequences
of size-selective harvesting: how much do we know? Molecular Ecology,
17, 209220.
H
ark
onen, L., Hyv
arinen, P., Paappanen, J., Vainikka, A. & Tierney, K.
(2014) Explorative behavior increases vulnerability to angling in hatch-
ery-reared brown trout (Salmo trutta). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and
Aquatic Sciences,71, 19001909.
H
ark
onen, L., Hyv
arinen, P., Niemel
a, P.T. & Vainikka, A. (2016) Beha-
vioural variation in Eurasian perch populations with respect to relative
catchability. Acta Ethologica,19,2131.
Heino, M., D
ıaz Pauli, B. & Dieckmann, U. (2015) Fisheries-induced evolu-
tion. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics,46, 461480.
Heino, M. & Godø, O.R. (2002) Fisheries induced selection pressures in the
context of sustainable fisheries. Bulletin of Marine Science,70, 639656.
Hendry, A.P., Farrugia, T.J. & Kinnison, M.T. (2008) Human influences
on rates of phenotypic change in wild animal populations. Molecular
Ecology,17,2029.
Jakobsdottir, K.B., Pardoe, H., Magnusson, A., Bj
ornsson, H., Pampoulie,
C., Ruzzante, D.E. & Marteinsdottir, G. (2011) Historical changes in
genotypic frequencies at the Pantophysin locus in Atlantic cod (Gadus
morhua) in Icelandic waters: evidence of fisheries-induced selection? Evo-
lutionary Applications,4, 562573.
Jørgensen, C. & Holt, R.E. (2013) Natural mortality: its ecology, how it
shapes fish life histories, and why it may be increased by fishing. Journal
of Sea Research,75,818.
Jørgensen, C., Enberg, K., Dunlop, E.S. et al. (2007) Managing evolving
fish stocks. Science,318, 12471248.
Killen, S.S., Nati, J.J.H. & Suski, C.D. (2015) Vulnerability of individual
fish to capture by trawling is influenced by capacity for anaerobic meta-
bolism. Proceedings of the Royal Society B,282, 20150603.
Klefoth, T., Pieterek, T. & Arlinghaus, R. (2013) Impacts of domestication
on angling vulnerability of common carp, Cyprinus carpio: the role of
learning, foraging behaviour and food preferences. Fisheries Manage-
ment and Ecology,20, 174186.
Laugen, A.T., Engelhard, G.H., Whitlock, R. et al. (2014) Evolutionary
impact assessment: accounting for evolutionary consequences of fishing
in an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. Fish and Fisheries,
15,6596.
Lone, K., Loe, L.E., Meisingset, E.L., Stamnes, I. & Mysterud, A. (2015)
An adaptive behavioural response to hunting: surviving male red deer
shift habitat at the onset of the hunting season. Animal Behaviour,102,
127138.
Madden, J.R. & Whiteside, M.A. (2014) Selection on behavioural traits
during ‘unselective’ harvesting means that shy pheasants better survive a
hunting season. Animal Behaviour,87, 129135.
Meril
a, J. & Hendry, A.P. (2014) Climate change, adaptation, and pheno-
typic plasticity: the problem and the evidence. Evolutionary Applications,
7,114.
Milner, J.M., Nilsen, E.B. & Andreassen, H.P. (2007) Demographic side
effects of selective hunting in ungulates and carnivores. Conservation
Biology,21,3647.
Nannini, M.A., Wahl, D.H., Philipp, D.P. & Cooke, S.J. (2011) The influ-
ence of selection for vulnerability to angling on foraging ecology in
largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides.Journal of Fish Biology,79,
10171028.
Olsen, E.M. & Moland, E. (2011) Fitness landscape of Atlantic cod
shaped by harvest selection and natural selection. Evolutionary Ecology,
25, 695710.
Olsen, E.M., Heupel, M.R., Simpfendorfer, C.A. & Moland, E. (2012)
Harvest selection on Atlantic cod behavioral traits: implications for spa-
tial management. Ecology and Evolution,2, 15491562.
Ordiz, A., Støen, O.-G., Sæbø, S., Kindberg, J., Delibes, M. & Swenson,
J.E. (2012) Do bears know they are being hunted? Biological Conserva-
tion,152,2128.
Palumbi, S.R. (2001) Humans as the world’s greatest evolutionary force.
Science,293, 17861790.
Philipp, D.P., Cooke, S.J., Claussen, J.E., Koppelman, J.B., Suski, C.D. &
Burkett, D.P. (2009) Selection for vulnerability to angling in largemouth
bass. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society,138, 189199.
Pianka, E.R. (1970) On r- and K-selection. The American Naturalist,104,
592597.
Pigeon, G., Festa-Bianchet, M., Coltman, D.W. & Pelletier, F. (2016)
Intense selective hunting leads to artificial evolution in horn size. Evolu-
tionary Applications,9, 521530.
Postma, E. (2014) Four decades of estimating heritabilities in wild verte-
brate populations: improved methods, more data, better estimates?
Quantitative Genetics in the Wild (eds A. Charmantier, D. Garant &
L.E.B. Kruuk), pp. 1633. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Price, E.O. (1984) Behavioral aspects of animal domestication. The Quar-
terly Review of Biology,59,132.
Quinn, T.P., Hodgson, S., Flynn, L., Hilborn, R. & Rogers, D.E. (2007)
Directional selection by fisheries and the timing of sockeye salmon
(Oncorhynchus nerka) migrations. Ecological Applications,17, 731739.
Raat, A.J.P. (1985) Analysis of angling vulnerability of common carp,
Cyprinus carp L., in catch-and-release angling in ponds. Aquaculture
Research,16, 171187.
R
eale, D., Garant, D., Humphries, M.M., Bergeron, P., Careau, V. &
Montiglio, P.-O. (2010) Personality and the emergence of the pace-of-
life syndrome concept at the population level. Philosophical Transactions
of the Royal Society B,365, 40514063.
Salinas, S., Perez, K.O., Duffy, T.A., Sabatino, S.J., Hice, L.A., Munch,
S.B. & Conover, D.O. (2012) The response of correlated traits following
cessation of fishery-induced selection. Evolutionary Applications,5,657663.
Sasaki, K., Fox, S.F. & Duvall, D. (2009) Rapid evolution in the wild:
changes in body size, life-history traits, and behavior in hunted popula-
tions of the Japanese mamushi snake. Conservation Biology,23,93102.
Sutter, D.A.H., Suski, C.D., Philipp, D.P., Klefoth, T., Wahl, D.H., Ker-
sten, P., Cooke, S.J. & Arlinghaus, R. (2012) Recreational fishing selec-
tively captures individuals with the highest fitness potential. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
109, 2096020965.
Uusi-Heikkil
a, S., Wolter, C., Klefoth, T. & Arlinghaus, R. (2008) A
behavioral perspective on fishing-induced evolution. Trends in Ecology
& Evolution,23, 419421.
Uusi-Heikkil
a, S., Whiteley, A.R., Kuparinen, A. et al. (2015) The evolu-
tionary legacy of size-selective harvesting extends from genes to popula-
tions. Evolutionary Applications,8, 597620.
Vainikka, A., Tammela, I. & Hyv
arinen, P. (2016) Does boldness explain
vulnerability to angling in Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis?Current
Zoology,62, 109115.
Walsh, M.R., Munch, S.B., Chiba, S. & Conover, D.O. (2006) Maladap-
tive changes in multiple traits caused by fishing: impediments to popula-
tion recovery. Ecology Letters,9, 142148.
Wilson, A.D.M., Binder, T.R., McGrath, K.P., Cooke, S.J. & Godin,
J.-G.J. (2011) Capture technique and fish personality: angling targets
timid bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus.Canadian Journal of
Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences,68, 749757.
Wilson, A.D.M., Brownscombe, J.W., Sullivan, B., Jain-Schlaepfer, S. &
Cooke, S.J. (2015) Does angling technique selectively target fishes based
on their behavioural type? PLoS ONE,10, e0135848.
Received 25 October 2016; accepted 17 February 2017
Handling Editor: Marc-Andr
e Villard
©2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology ©2017 British Ecological Society, Journal of Applied Ecology,54, 1941–1945
Behavioural harvest-induced selection 1945
... Similarly, evidence is accumulating that humans are another major evolutionary force acting on phenotypes that often outpaces selection from natural drivers [8][9][10][11]. Human-induced changes in phenotypes are usually the most conspicuous when humans act as the primary predator by harvesting wild populations [12][13][14][15]. Harvesting can exert significant selective pressures by decreasing survival rates [16][17][18], altering population dynamics [19,20] and selectively targeting specific phenotypes in a process known as harvest-induced selection (HIS) [12,[21][22][23][24][25][26]. ...
... Human-induced changes in phenotypes are usually the most conspicuous when humans act as the primary predator by harvesting wild populations [12][13][14][15]. Harvesting can exert significant selective pressures by decreasing survival rates [16][17][18], altering population dynamics [19,20] and selectively targeting specific phenotypes in a process known as harvest-induced selection (HIS) [12,[21][22][23][24][25][26]. ...
... An aspect of HIS that has received less attention in the literature involves the non-random selection of behavioural traits [12]. Non-random selection of behaviours stemming from harvest can be attributed to among-individual differences in behaviour (i.e. ...
Article
Full-text available
The expression of behaviour can vary both among (i.e. behavioural types (BTs)) and within individuals (i.e. plasticity), and investigating causes and consequences of variation has garnered significant attention. Conversely, studies quantifying harvest-induced selection (HIS) on behavioural traits have received significantly less attention, and work investigating HIS and natural selection simultaneously is rare. We studied sources of variation in three movement traits that represented risk-taking and one trait that represented exploration in male eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris). We used data from 109 males in two hunted populations located in Georgia and South Carolina, USA. We assessed how both hunters and natural predators simultaneously influenced the selection of male turkey BTs. We found significant among-individual variation in all movement traits and adjustments in risk-taking and exploration relative to whether hunting was occurring. We observed that predators selected against similar BTs across both populations, whereas hunters selected for different BTs across populations. We also demonstrated that significant HIS acts on risk-taking behaviours in both populations, which could render wild turkeys more difficult to harvest if these traits are indeed heritable.
... Less attention has been given to the effects of harvestinduced selection on behavioural traits, especially in terrestrial systems (Leclerc et al., 2017). Yet, differences in behaviour can affect the likelihood of individuals being harvested (Biro, 2013;Biro & Dingemanse, 2009; but see Jolly et al., 2019) and these differences are often heritable (Dochtermann et al., 2015). ...
... Hunting can induce life-history and morphological changes such as prolonged maternal care (Van de Walle et al., 2018), earlier birth dates (Gamelon et al., 2011) and reduced male weapon size (Coltman et al., 2003;Pigeon et al., 2016). Terrestrial animals also exhibit consistent individual differences in behaviour (Réale et al., 2000) and hunting can act both directly or indirectly as a selective pressure on behavioural traits (Leclerc et al., 2017(Leclerc et al., , 2019. Wapiti (Cervus canadensis) and European red deer (Cervus elaphus) that were bolder and more active during the hunting season were, for example, at greater risk of being shot (Ciuti et al., 2012;Lone et al., 2015). ...
... We found consistent individual differences in behaviour and growth in a harvested wild terrestrial population indicating that, as proposed in fisheries (Arlinghaus et al., 2017;Diaz Pauli & Sih, 2017), hunting could act indirectly as a selective force on behavioural traits (Leclerc et al., 2017). We also found that trappability was associated with greater horn growth from ages 1 to 4, a period of major horn growth in that species (Bonenfant et al., 2009), supporting the contention that these traits are part of an integrated phenotype (Biro & Stamps, 2008). ...
Article
Full-text available
Humans have exploited wild animals for thousands of years. Recent studies indicate that harvest‐induced selection on life‐history and morphological traits may lead to ecological and evolutionary changes. Less attention has been given to harvest‐induced selection on behavioural traits, especially in terrestrial systems. We assessed in a wild population of large terrestrial mammals whether decades of hunting led to harvest‐induced selection on trappability, a proxy of risk‐taking behaviour. We investigated links between trappability, horn growth and survival across individuals in early life and quantified the correlations between early‐life trappability and horn growth with availability to hunters and probability of being shot. We found positive among‐individual correlations between early‐life trappability and horn growth, early‐life trappability and survival and early‐life horn growth and survival. Faster growing individuals were more likely to be available to hunters and shot at a young age. We found no correlations between early‐life trappability and availability to hunters or probability of being shot. Our results show that correlations between behaviour and growth can occur in wild terrestrial population but may be context dependent. This result highlights the difficulty in formulating general predictions about harvest‐induced selection on behaviour, which can be affected by species ecology, harvesting regulations and harvesting methods used. Future studies should investigate mechanisms linking physiological, behavioural and morphological traits and how this effects harvest vulnerability to evaluate the potential for harvest to drive selection on behaviour in wild animal populations.
... Studies on fitness consequences of different behavioural types are starting to emerge for a few vertebrate species (e.g., Dingemanse & Réale, 2005;Smith & Blumstein, 2008;Wolf & Weissing, 2012), and will prove valuable in the case of cephalopods too, short-lived and under heavy fishing pressure as they are (e.g., Sinn et al., 2006;Thiaw et al., 2011). Monitoring of survival/fishing rates may yield information on the different pressures experienced in protected areas vs fishing zones, as risk-averse individuals may prove more difficult to capture (e.g., Biro & Post, 2008;Leclerc et al., 2017). Also, more aggressive individuals may gain and keep better shelters and hunting grounds, both of which could be advantageous in terms of resource acquisition and defence against natural predators (e.g., Briffa et al., 2015). ...
Article
Understanding the origin, universality, and maintenance of among-individual variation in behaviour is a current focus of behavioural ecology and comparative psychology. Research on animal personality emphasising the central role of the individual contributes to conservation efforts and animal welfare by tailoring guidelines and interventions at the individual level. Cephalopods are under-studied in this respect, despite being the only invertebrate group currently included in international directives for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. Here, we assessed among-individual variation in behavioural responses (i.e., animal personality) of 21 common octopuses (Octopus vulgaris) temporarily kept in captivity. We performed a battery of tests across three different experimental contexts, namely a Startle test, a Foraging test, and a Disturbance test, each repeated for four consecutive days, adapting established protocols from other cephalopods. Behavioural variables were moderately repeatable. Results of a principal component analysis revealed a three-component structure, with components we labelled Alertness, Exploration, and Boldness. The components were also moderately repeatable. The components Exploration and Boldness predicted each other across experimental contexts, suggesting a behavioural syndrome. Overall, findings indicate marked individual differences in common octopuses, and provide evidence of personality dimensions in a widely used animal model in neurophysiology and cognition. Our findings thus contribute to the study of the evolution of personality structure from a comparative perspective, and may help individual-level welfare refinement. Published with license by Koninklijke Brill BV |
... Although only a small proportion, depletion at this rate, especially of the farmigrating fish which are exceedingly rare within the Glaven and Stiffkey populations, exerts a significant pressure. Also worthy of consideration is that the coastal fishery may be causing genetic effects in the populations by disproportionately harvesting far-migrants and therefore exerting a selection pressure towards near-migrant or resident life histories (Law 2000;Leclerc et al. 2017). To aid stock recovery, we therefore recommend that upon the expiration of the current Net Limitation Order, management measures be strengthened and the fishery closed, concomitant with enforcement efforts to prevent illegal fishing. ...
Article
Full-text available
Sea trout, the anadromous ecotype of the species Salmo trutta , are subject to multiple threats, including exploitation and aquaculture impacts in the marine environment, habitat fragmentation and pollution in freshwaters, loss of genetic resilience due to interbreeding with hatchery strains and environmental change. Small streams contribute relatively little biomass to European sea trout stocks but are thought to be important in maintaining genetic diversity and therefore wider population resilience. The current study combined data from acoustic telemetry, stable isotopes, genetics and scalimetry to assess the current status of sea trout in the rivers Stiffkey and Glaven, two locally important chalkstreams in East Anglia, UK, to provide an evidence base for future management. The incidence of anadromy was low, and most sea trout were near migrants, residing in the lower reaches of rivers and close to the tidal outfalls. A small number migrated to the North Sea where they were vulnerable to exploitation in the coastal fishery, which comprises a mixed stock. Straying between the two rivers was recorded among 10% of sea trout, leading to apparent high gene flow. Nonetheless, genetic data also demonstrated structuring of River Glaven trout into two distinct groups. Quantification of patterns of freshwater and estuarine habitat use, and of passage at cross-channel obstructions, was used to identify where remedial measures such as habitat restoration would be most effectively targeted. Findings are discussed in the context of local supplementary stocking and the potential impact of the nearshore fishery on limited and vulnerable small stream anadromous trout populations.
... Harvest regulations may induce selective pressure by protecting population segments from harvest, possibly decreasing trait variation, and therefore potentially diminishing a population's resiliency to environmental change (Hard et al., 2008;Lewin et al., 2006;Wright & Trippel, 2009). Potentially adaptive traits that may experience harvest-induced selection may include physical traits such as coloration, body morphology, age at maturation, and growth rate (Mousseau & Roff, 1987;Schaefer et al., 2015;Vandeputte et al., 2004) or behavioral traits such as the timing of spawning, spawning migration, and habitat selection (Carscadden et al., 1997;Leclerc et al., 2017;Oomen & Hutchings, 2015). Identifying the effects of selection and the traits of individuals that successfully contribute to successive generations is important to understanding the influence of fishing mortality and management actions on population sustainability. ...
Article
Full-text available
Harvest in walleye Sander vitreus fisheries is size‐selective and could influence phenotypic traits of spawners; however, contributions of individual spawners to recruitment are unknown. We used parentage analyses using single nucleotide polymorphisms to test whether parental traits were related to the probability of offspring survival in Escanaba Lake, Wisconsin. From 2017 to 2020, 1339 adults and 1138 juveniles were genotyped and 66% of the offspring were assigned to at least one parent. Logistic regression indicated the probability of reproductive success (survival of age‐0 to first fall) was positively (but weakly) related to total length and growth rate in females, but not age. No traits analyzed were related to reproductive success for males. Our analysis identified the model with the predictors' growth rate and year for females and the models with year and age and year for males as the most likely models to explain variation in reproductive success. Our findings indicate that interannual variation (i.e., environmental conditions) likely plays a key role in determining the probability of reproductive success in this population and provide limited support that female age, length, and growth rate influence recruitment.
... For example, for sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) most harvest involves later migrating individuals and breeders (Quinn et al., 2007). Unintentional selection may also occur due to behavioural traits (reviewed by Leclerc, Zedrosser & Pelletier, 2017): bold individuals tend to be captured more frequently with passive methods like fishing rods, traps, or standing nets, while active methods like trawling nets catch a greater proportion of shy fish (Diaz Pauli et al., 2015;Arlinghaus et al., 2017). In brown trout (Salmo trutta), individuals with more exploratory behaviour have greater exposure to fly-fishing (Härkönen et al., 2014), and a similar phenomenon was recorded for the harvest of elk (Cervus elaphus) (Ciuti et al., 2012). ...
Article
Full-text available
Hunting has a long tradition in human evolutionary history and remains a common leisure activity or an important source of food. Herein, we first briefly review the literature on the demographic consequences of hunting and associated analytical methods. We then address the question of potential selective hunting and its possible genetic/evolutionary consequences. Birds have historically been popular models for demographic studies, and the huge amount of census and ringing data accumulated over the last century has paved the way for research about the demographic effects of harvesting. By contrast, the literature on the evolutionary consequences of harvesting is dominated by studies on mammals (especially ungulates) and fish. In these taxa, individuals selected for harvest often have particular traits such as large body size or extravagant secondary sexual characters (e.g. antlers, horns, etc.). Our review shows that targeting individuals according to such genetically heritable traits can exert strong selective pressures and alter the evolutionary trajectory of populations for these or correlated traits. Studies focusing on the evolutionary consequences of hunting in birds are extremely rare, likely because birds within populations appear much more similar, and do not display individual differences to the same extent as many mammals and fishes. Nevertheless, even without conscious choice by hunters, there remains the potential for selection through hunting in birds, for example by genetically inherited traits such as personality or pace‐of‐life. We emphasise that because so many bird species experience high hunting pressure, the possible selective effect of harvest in birds and its evolutionary consequences deserves far more attention, and that hunting may be one major driver of bird evolutionary trajectories that should be carefully considered in wildlife management schemes.
... Harvest-induced directional selection and evolution of life-history traits, such as growth and size and age at maturation, have probably been studied most, and indeed human predation may be among the strongest contemporary selection factors (Darimont et al., 2009). However crucial is the understanding of human-induced selection and evolutionary change of animal behaviour (Diaz Pauli and Sih 2017), they have not been studied well enough and a better understanding of these processes is needed (Leclerc et al., 2017;Haraldstad et al., 2019;Baltazar-Soares et al., 2021). ...
Article
Full-text available
The presence of humans frequently modifies the behavior of animals, particularly their foraging patterns, compromising energetic demands. The fiddler crab Leptuca leptodactyla inhabits mangroves with high degrees of anthropogenic influence. Thus, we tested if populations living in highly anthropized mangroves respond differently from those living in more protected areas. We predict that individuals from touristy areas will be more tolerant to humans and will resume their activities sooner after disturbance. To do so, we conducted an experiment that consisted in the approach of an observer to the burrows, recording the response of individuals to the stimuli. The experiment took place in July 2022, in Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil. We analysed the duration and latency of various behaviors of a total of 80 adult males from two populations (high and low anthropogenic influence). Contrary to our predictions, individuals from the anthropized population were less tolerant, spending more time inside their burrows and taking longer to resume their activities. Therefore, fiddler crabs were not habituated to human presence. These results help us understand the learning process in invertebrates and their ability to select stimuli, contributing to understanding the impacts of human-wildlife interactions.
Article
Full-text available
Harvest regulations commonly attenuate the consequences of hunting on specific segments of a population. However, regulations may not protect individuals from non‐lethal effects of hunting and their consequences remain poorly understood. In this study, we compared the movement rates of Scandinavian brown bears (Ursus arctos, n = 47) across spatiotemporal variations in risk in relation to the onset of bear hunting. We tested two alternative hypotheses based on whether behavioural responses to hunting involve hiding or escaping. If bears try to reduce risk exposure by avoiding being detected by hunters, we expect individuals from all demographic groups to reduce their movement rate during the hunting season. On the other hand, if bears avoid hunters by escaping, we expect them to increase their movement rate in order to leave high‐risk areas faster. We found an increased movement rate in females accompanied by dependent offspring during the morning hours of the bear hunting season, a general decrease in movement rate in adult lone females, and no changes in males and subadult females. The increased movement rate that we observed in females with dependant offspring during the hunting season was likely an antipredator response because it only occurred in areas located closer to roads, whereas the decreased movement rate in lone females could be either part of seasonal activity patterns or be associated with an increased selection for better concealment. Our study suggests that female brown bears accompanied by offspring likely move faster in high‐risk areas to minimize risk exposure as well as the costly trade‐offs (i.e. time spent foraging vs. time spent hiding) typically associated with anti‐predator tactics that involve changes in resource selection. Our study also highlights the importance of modelling fine‐scale spatiotemporal variations in risk to adequately capture the complexity in behavioural responses caused by human activities in wildlife.
Article
Full-text available
Differences among individuals within a population are ubiquitous. Those differences are known to affect the entire life cycle with important consequences for all demographic rates and outcomes. One source of among‐individual phenotypic variation that has received little attention from a demographic perspective is animal personality, which is defined as consistent and heritable behavioural differences between individuals. While many studies have shown that individual variation in individual personality can generate individual differences in survival and reproductive rates, the impact of personality on all demographic rates and outcomes remains to be assessed empirically. Here, we used a unique, long‐term, dataset coupling demography and personality of wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) in the Crozet Archipelago and a comprehensive analysis based on a suite of approaches (capture‐mark‐recapture statistical models, Markov chains models and structured matrix population models). We assessed the effect of boldness on annual demographic rates (survival, breeding probability, breeding success), life‐history outcomes (life expectancy, lifetime reproductive outcome, occupancy times), and an integrative demographic outcome (population growth rate). We found that boldness had little impact on female demographic rates, but was very likely associated with lower breeding probabilities in males. By integrating the effects of boldness over the entire life cycle, we found that bolder males had slightly lower lifetime reproductive success compared to shyer males. Indeed, bolder males spent a greater proportion of their lifetime as non‐breeders, which suggests longer inter‐breeding intervals due to higher reproductive allocation. Our results reveal that the link between boldness and demography is more complex than anticipated by the pace‐of‐life literature and highlight the importance of considering the entire life cycle with a comprehensive approach when assessing the role of personality on individual performance and demography.
Article
Full-text available
Consistent individual differences (CIDs) in behavior are of interest to both basic and applied research, because any selection acting on them could induce evolution of animal behavior. It has been suggested that CIDs in the behavior of fish might explain individual differences in vulnerability to fishing. If so, fishing could impose selection on fish behavior. In this study, we assessed boldness-indicating behaviors of Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis using individually conducted experiments measuring the time taken to explore a novel arena containing predator (burbot, Lota lota) cues. We studied if individual differences in boldness would explain vulnerability of individually tagged perch to experimental angling in outdoor ponds, or if fishing would impose selection on boldness-indicating behavior. Perch expressed repeatable individual differences in boldness-indicating behavior but the individual boldness-score (the first principal component) obtained using principal component analysis combining all the measured behavioral responses did not explain vulnerability to experimental angling. Instead, large body size appeared as the only statistically significant predictor of capture probability. Our results suggest that angling is selective for large size, but not always selective for high boldness.
Article
Full-text available
The potential for selective harvests to induce rapid evolutionary change is an important question for conservation and evolutionary biology, with numerous biological, social and economic implications. We analyze 39 years of phenotypic data on horn size in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) subject to intense trophy hunting for 23 years, after which harvests nearly ceased. Our analyses revealed a significant decline in genetic value for horn length of rams, consistent with an evolutionary response to artificial selection on this trait. The probability that the observed change in male horn length was due solely to drift is 9.9%. Female horn length and male horn base, traits genetically correlated to the trait under selection, showed weak declining trends. There was no temporal trend in genetic value for female horn base circumference, a trait not directly targeted by selective hunting and not genetically correlated with male horn length. The decline in genetic value for male horn length stopped, but was not reversed, when hunting pressure was drastically reduced. Our analysis provides support for the contention that selective hunting led to a reduction in horn length through evolutionary change. It also confirms that after artificial selection stops, recovery through natural selection is slow. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Article
Full-text available
Recently, there has been growing recognition that fish harvesting practices can have important impacts on the phenotypic distributions and diversity of natural populations through a phenomenon known as fisheries-induced evolution. Here we experimentally show that two common recreational angling techniques (active crank baits versus passive soft plastics) differentially target wild largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) based on variation in their behavioural tendencies. Fish were first angled in the wild using both techniques and then brought back to the laboratory and tested for individual level differences in common estimates of personality (refuge emergence, flight-initiation-distance, latency-to-recapture and with a net, and general activity) in an in-lake experimental arena. We found that different angling techniques appear to selectively target these species based on their boldness (as characterized by refuge emergence, a standard measure of boldness in fishes) but not other assays of personality. We also observed that body size was independently a significant predictor of personality in both species, though this varied between traits and species. Our results suggest a context-dependency for vulnerability to capture relative to behaviour in these fish species. Ascertaining the selective pressures angling practices exert on natural populations is an important area of fisheries research with significant implications for ecology, evolution, and resource management.
Article
Full-text available
The harvest of animals by humans may constitute one of the strongest evolutionary forces affecting wild populations. Vulnerability to harvest varies among individuals within species according to behavioural phenotypes, but we lack fundamental information regarding the physiological mechanisms underlying harvest-induced selection. It is unknown, for example, what physiological traits make some individual fish more susceptible to capture by commercial fisheries. Active fishing methods such as trawling pursue fish during harvest attempts, causing fish to use both aerobic steady-state swimming and anaerobic burst-type swimming to evade capture. Using simulated trawling procedures with schools of wild minnows Phoxinus phoxinus, we investigate two key questions to the study of fisheries-induced evolution that have been impossible to address using large-scale trawls: (i) are some individuals within a fish shoal consistently more susceptible to capture by trawling than others?; and (ii) if so, is this related to individual differences in swimming performance and metabolism? Results provide the first evidence of repeatable variation in susceptibility to trawling that is strongly related to anaerobic capacity and swimming ability. Maximum aerobic swim speed was also negatively correlated with vulnerability to trawling. Standard metabolic rate was highest among fish that were least vulnerable to trawling, but this relationship probably arose through correlations with anaerobic capacity. These results indicate that vulnerability to trawling is linked to anaerobic swimming performance and metabolic demand, drawing parallels with factors influencing susceptibility to natural predators. Selection on these traits by fisheries could induce shifts in the fundamental physiological makeup and function of descendent populations. © 2015 The Authors.
Article
Geffroy et al. [1] proposed that nature-based tourism reduces the fearfulness and antipredator behavior of animals, leading towards a boldness syndrome that elevates natural predation rates and could trigger cascading effects on populations and communities. We agree with the framework, hypotheses, and future research needs proposed in [1], but they apply strictly to nonthreatening human–wildlife interactions. However, nature-based tourism is often consumptive, where wild-living animals are chased, stressed, and eventually harvested in activities such as recreational fishing and hunting.
Article
Increased mortality from fishing is expected to favor faster life histories, realized through earlier maturation, increased reproductive investment, and reduced postmaturation growth. There is also direct and indirect selection on behavioral traits. Molecular genetic methods have so far contributed minimally to understanding such fisheries-induced evolution (FIE), but a large body of literature studying evolution using phenotypic methods has suggested that FIE in life-history traits, in particular maturation traits, is commonplace in exploited fish populations. Although no phenotypic study in the wild can individually provide conclusive evidence for FIE, the observed common pattern suggests a common explanation, strengthening the case for FIE. This interpretation is supported by theoretical and experimental studies. Evidence for FIE of behavioral traits is limited from the wild, but strong from experimental studies. We suggest that such evolution is also common, but has so far been overlooked.
Article
Animal personalities, i.e. consistent individual differences in behaviour, are currently of high interest among behavioural and evolutionary biologists. The topic has received increasing attention also in fisheries science because selective harvesting of certain behavioural types might impose fishing-induced selection on personality. Here, we ice-fished wild Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) from three native populations and investigated whether differences in relative catchability would explain behavioural differences observed in experimental conditions. We inferred relative catchability differences indirectly by fishing each location first with generally inefficient artificial bait and then by more efficient natural bait. The captured, individually tagged fish were tested in groups for their exploration tendency, activity and boldness under authentic predation risk in semi-natural stream channels. Fish that were easily captured first with artificial bait expressed fast exploration and acute activity, whereas the fish captured with natural bait showed less active and explorative behaviour. Differences in relative catchability did not explain variation in boldness or body size. In conclusion, we found that (1) Eurasian perch differing in relative catchability differ in certain behavioural traits, (2) fast explorers are more common among fish that get easily caught compared to fish that are more difficult to catch, (3) relative catchability explains more behavioural variation in a novel environment than in a familiar one and (4) selectivity of recreational angling on fish behaviour may depend on applied angling method and the effort spent on each location.
Article
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 fishing pressure invested more in reproduction, reached a smaller adult body size, and were less explorative and bold. Phenotypic changes seemed subtle but 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 include populations that are productive under exploited conditions, but selectively disadvantaged to cope with natural selection pressures that often favor large body size.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.