RECRUITMENT VARIABILITY AND THE DYNAMICS OF EXPLOITED MARINE POPULATIONS

Highly variable recruitment is a direct consequence of the life history strategy of many exploited marine species. High population fecundity and random variation in mortality rates during the early life stages provide the raw material for recruitment fluctuations. Determining the probable response of a population to exploitation involves understanding both the relative importance of compensatory mechanisms and the role of environmental stochasticity. Current approaches to unraveling the interactions between population-stabilizing mechanisms and sources of variability include: multidisciplinary studies of the coupling between physical and biological processes; studies of the interaction between growth and mortality during the precruit phase; examination of spatial processes and patch dynamics; and investigations of inter-individual variability.