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Limiting factors for queen conch (Lobatus gigas) reproduction: A simulation-based evaluation

Queen conch are among the most economically, socially, and culturally important fishery resources in the Caribbean. Despite a multitude of fisheries management measures enacted across the region, populations are depleted and failing to recover. It is believed that queen conch are highly susceptible...

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Autores principales: Farmer, Nicholas A., Doerr, Jennifer C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8906866/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35263325
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251219
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author Farmer, Nicholas A.
Doerr, Jennifer C.
author_facet Farmer, Nicholas A.
Doerr, Jennifer C.
author_sort Farmer, Nicholas A.
collection PubMed
description Queen conch are among the most economically, socially, and culturally important fishery resources in the Caribbean. Despite a multitude of fisheries management measures enacted across the region, populations are depleted and failing to recover. It is believed that queen conch are highly susceptible to depensatory processes, impacting reproductive success and contributing to the lack of recovery. We developed a model of reproductive dynamics to evaluate how variations in biological factors such as population density, movement speeds, rest periods between mating events, scent tracking, visual perception of conspecifics, sexual facilitation, and barriers to movement affect reproductive success and overall reproductive output. We compared simulation results to empirical observations of mating and spawning frequencies from conch populations in the central Bahamas and Florida Keys. Our results confirm that low probability of mate finding associated with decreased population density is the primary driver behind observed breeding behavior in the field, but is insufficient to explain observed trends. Specifically, sexual facilitation coupled with differences in movement speeds and ability to perceive conspecifics may explain the observed lack of mating at low densities and differences between mating frequencies in the central Bahamas and Florida Keys, respectively. Our simulations suggest that effective management strategies for queen conch should aim to protect high-density reproductive aggregations and critical breeding habitats.
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spelling pubmed-89068662022-03-10 Limiting factors for queen conch (Lobatus gigas) reproduction: A simulation-based evaluation Farmer, Nicholas A. Doerr, Jennifer C. PLoS One Research Article Queen conch are among the most economically, socially, and culturally important fishery resources in the Caribbean. Despite a multitude of fisheries management measures enacted across the region, populations are depleted and failing to recover. It is believed that queen conch are highly susceptible to depensatory processes, impacting reproductive success and contributing to the lack of recovery. We developed a model of reproductive dynamics to evaluate how variations in biological factors such as population density, movement speeds, rest periods between mating events, scent tracking, visual perception of conspecifics, sexual facilitation, and barriers to movement affect reproductive success and overall reproductive output. We compared simulation results to empirical observations of mating and spawning frequencies from conch populations in the central Bahamas and Florida Keys. Our results confirm that low probability of mate finding associated with decreased population density is the primary driver behind observed breeding behavior in the field, but is insufficient to explain observed trends. Specifically, sexual facilitation coupled with differences in movement speeds and ability to perceive conspecifics may explain the observed lack of mating at low densities and differences between mating frequencies in the central Bahamas and Florida Keys, respectively. Our simulations suggest that effective management strategies for queen conch should aim to protect high-density reproductive aggregations and critical breeding habitats. Public Library of Science 2022-03-09 /pmc/articles/PMC8906866/ /pubmed/35263325 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251219 Text en https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) public domain dedication.
spellingShingle Research Article
Farmer, Nicholas A.
Doerr, Jennifer C.
Limiting factors for queen conch (Lobatus gigas) reproduction: A simulation-based evaluation
title Limiting factors for queen conch (Lobatus gigas) reproduction: A simulation-based evaluation
title_full Limiting factors for queen conch (Lobatus gigas) reproduction: A simulation-based evaluation
title_fullStr Limiting factors for queen conch (Lobatus gigas) reproduction: A simulation-based evaluation
title_full_unstemmed Limiting factors for queen conch (Lobatus gigas) reproduction: A simulation-based evaluation
title_short Limiting factors for queen conch (Lobatus gigas) reproduction: A simulation-based evaluation
title_sort limiting factors for queen conch (lobatus gigas) reproduction: a simulation-based evaluation
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8906866/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35263325
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251219
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