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<p>Anthropogenic pressures, particularly high fishing effort and ocean warming are reshaping marine ecosystems and influencing the population dynamics of key fisheries species. While these stressors have been widely studied in isolation, their interactive effects across taxonomically distinct groups remain poorly understood. Here, we examine how fishing pressure and increasing temperature jointly affect the size spectra of nine commercial species (three bony fish, three crustaceans, and three cephalopods) in the central Mediterranean Sea. Using size spectra analyses applied to fishery-independent survey data from 2000 to 2023, we evaluate population-level responses to these stressors. Our findings reveal taxon-specific patterns: under high fishing effort and high temperatures, fish populations exhibit a higher proportion of smaller individuals, consistent with synergistic fishing-induced truncation and temperature-driven metabolic constraints. In contrast, crustaceans and cephalopods show different responses, reflecting their greater physiological plasticity and shorter life cycles, which may buffer against environmental changes. These results suggest that the interactive effects of fishing and climate change could disproportionately reduce fish biomass, while taxa characterized by greater physiological and life-history plasticity may display comparatively higher resilience to environmental and anthropogenic disturbances. Our results emphasize the need for adaptive management strategies that incorporate both environmental change and fishing pressure simulations to maintain sustainable yields and ecosystem resilience in the face of ongoing climate-driven shifts.</p>

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Fishing and warming reshape size spectra of commercial species in the Mediterranean Sea

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月7日

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  • Vojsava Gjoni,
  • Germana Garofalo,
  • Fabio Fiorentino,
  • Vincent Goerges,
  • Valentina Lauria

摘要

Anthropogenic pressures, particularly high fishing effort and ocean warming are reshaping marine ecosystems and influencing the population dynamics of key fisheries species. While these stressors have been widely studied in isolation, their interactive effects across taxonomically distinct groups remain poorly understood. Here, we examine how fishing pressure and increasing temperature jointly affect the size spectra of nine commercial species (three bony fish, three crustaceans, and three cephalopods) in the central Mediterranean Sea. Using size spectra analyses applied to fishery-independent survey data from 2000 to 2023, we evaluate population-level responses to these stressors. Our findings reveal taxon-specific patterns: under high fishing effort and high temperatures, fish populations exhibit a higher proportion of smaller individuals, consistent with synergistic fishing-induced truncation and temperature-driven metabolic constraints. In contrast, crustaceans and cephalopods show different responses, reflecting their greater physiological plasticity and shorter life cycles, which may buffer against environmental changes. These results suggest that the interactive effects of fishing and climate change could disproportionately reduce fish biomass, while taxa characterized by greater physiological and life-history plasticity may display comparatively higher resilience to environmental and anthropogenic disturbances. Our results emphasize the need for adaptive management strategies that incorporate both environmental change and fishing pressure simulations to maintain sustainable yields and ecosystem resilience in the face of ongoing climate-driven shifts.