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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Long term declines in the functional diversity of sharks in the coastal oceans of eastern Australia
Communications Biology, Vol.7(1), pp.1-8
2024
PMID: 38773323
Abstract
Human impacts lead to widespread changes in the abundance, diversity and traits of shark assemblages, altering the functioning of coastal ecosystems. The functional consequences of shark declines are often poorly understood due to the absence of empirical data describing long-term change. We use data from the Queensland Shark Control Program in eastern Australia, which has deployed mesh nets and baited hooks across 80 beaches using standardised methodologies since 1962. We illustrate consistent declines in shark functional richness quantified using both ecological (e.g., feeding, habitat and movement) and morphological (e.g., size, morphology) traits, and this corresponds with declining ecological functioning. We demonstrate a community shift from targeted apex sharks to a greater functional richness of non-target species. Declines in apex shark functional richness and corresponding changes in non-target species may lead to an anthropogenically induced trophic cascade. We suggest that repairing diminished shark populations is crucial for the stability of coastal ecosystems.
Details
- Title
- Long term declines in the functional diversity of sharks in the coastal oceans of eastern Australia
- Authors
- Christopher J Henderson (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringBen L Gilby - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringMischa P Turschwell - Griffith UniversityLucy A Goodridge Gaines - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringJesse D Mosman - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringThomas A Schlacher - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringHayden P Borland - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringAndrew D Olds - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Publication details
- Communications Biology, Vol.7(1), pp.1-8
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1038/s42003-024-06308-0
- ISSN
- 2399-3642
- PMID
- 38773323
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- The shark control data and associated effort data is courtesy of the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Australia. The data is publicly available upon request from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. All ecological and morphological trait data is available in Supplementary Data 1. All code used in the analysis is available at the following GitHub repository, https://github.com/chrishendersonUSC/multi_decadal_collapse_QSCP.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991027290002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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