August 5, 2015 — NEW JERSEY –Ocean species that grow quickly and reproduce more frequently are more vulnerable to dramatic population falls than larger, slower-growing fish, according to a new study Wednesday. The researcher said the findings are counterintuitive, because the opposite dynamic holds true on land.
A scientist from Rutgers University in New Jersey found that faster-breeding fish like sardines, anchovies and flounder, actually experience dramatic population falls more often than larger fish like sharks or tuna.
“Rabbits are doing pretty well compared to rhinos,” Malin Pinsky, author of the research, said in a press release. “Mice thrive while lions, tigers and elephants are endangered.”
Pinsky studied population changes in 154 species of fish over 60 years, and was surprised to find that small fish with large populations were collapsing more often — not seriously enough to face extinction, but enough to possibly disrupt marine ecosystems. He suggested that the difference in population volatility could be explained by overfishing and climate change. The results of his research were published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Read the full story at the International Business Times