Philip Boulcott

Scottish Government

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Peter J. Wright

Marine Scotland

Victoria A. Braithwaite

Pennsylvania State University

David Stirling

University of Wollongong

Sebastian Valanko

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

Jan Geert Hiddink

Bangor University

John O. Clarke

Stanford University

Josefine Egekvist

Technical University of Denmark

P. Daniël van Denderen

Technical University of Denmark

Rebecca Langton

Scottish Government

François Bastardie

Technical University of Denmark

Cooperative Institutions

Marine Scotland

Technical University of Denmark

University of Edinburgh

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

Scottish Government

Danish Centre for Marine Research

Wageningen University & Research

University of Aberdeen

Norwegian Institute of Marine Research

Ecological Society of America

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Demersal fish biodiversity: species-level indicators and trends-based targets for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

ICES Journal of Marine Science (2012)

Simon P. R. Greenstreet Axel G. Rossberg Clive J. Fox William J.F. Le Quesne T. Blasdale

Abstract Greenstreet, S. P. R., Rossberg, A. G., Fox, C. J., Le Quesne, W. J. F., Blasdale, T., Boulcott, P., Mitchell, I., Millar, C., and Moffat, C. F. 2012. Demersal fish biodiversity: species-level indicators and trends-based targets for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 1789–1801. The maintenance of biodiversity is a fundamental theme of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Appropriate indicators to monitor change in biodiversity, along with associated targets representing “good environmental status” (GES), are required to be in place by July 2012. A method for selecting species-specific metrics to fulfil various specified indicator roles is proposed for demersal fish communities. Available data frequently do not extend far enough back in time to allow GES to be defined empirically. In such situations, trends-based targets offer a pragmatic solution. A method is proposed for setting indicator-level targets for the number of species-specific metrics required to meet their trends-based metric-level targets. This is based on demonstrating significant departures from the binomial distribution. The procedure is trialled using North Sea demersal fish survey data. Although fisheries management in the North Sea has improved in recent decades, management goals to stop further decline in biodiversity, and to initiate recovery, are yet to be met.

Demersal zone

Water Framework Directive

Demersal fish

Directive

10.1093/icesjms/fss148

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Citations (54)

Workshop on the design and scope of the 3rd generation of ICES Ecosystem Overviews (WKEO3)

Henn Ojaveer Mette Mauritzen Eider Andonegi Per Arneberg Andrea Belgrano

Scope (computer science)

10.17895/ices.pub.5445

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Citations (1)

Visual ecology of the three-spined stickleback

Philip Boulcott

Three-spined stickleback

Source

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Citations (2)

Warming delays ovarian development in a capital breeder

Marine Biology (2017)

Peter J. Wright James E. Orpwood Philip Boulcott

10.1007/s00227-017-3116-y

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Citations (19)

The role of ultraviolet wavelengths in the mate-choice decisions of female three-spined sticklebacks

Journal of Experimental Biology (2005)

Philip Boulcott Krista S. Walton Victoria A. Braithwaite

Female three-spined sticklebacks have been found to use visual cues when responding sexually towards courting males, often preferring more intensely red-coloured males, and males with blue rather than silver irises. However, traditionally the literature has failed to test preference across the full spectral range to which females might be sensitive, limiting analysis to the human-visible wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. We studied the effects that the addition of ultraviolet wavelengths has on the mate-choice preferences of female sticklebacks using a two-choice paradigm. We found that females preferred males that were viewed across the full spectrum to males whose display lacked an ultraviolet component. Using suitable controls we were able to establish that female preference was sexually motivated and was not caused by a general preference for the manipulated light conditions. Our results indicate that female preference may be due to an enhancement in visual contrast when males are viewed in full spectrum conditions.

Ultraviolet

10.1242/jeb.01569

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Citations (39)

Sedimentation patterns caused by scallop dredging in a physically dynamic environment

Marine Pollution Bulletin (2011)

A Dale Philip Boulcott Toby Sherwin

Dredging

Settling

Silt

Sedimentation

Siltation

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.08.024

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Citations (15)

Impact of scallop dredging on benthic epifauna in a mixed-substrate habitat

ICES Journal of Marine Science (2014)

Philip Boulcott Colin Millar R. J. Fryer

Abstract Experimental scallop dredging was conducted to assess the vulnerability of emergent epifauna on hard substrates. Three sites were sampled before and after dredging to examine changes in the coverage of faunal turf (hydroid and bryozoan) assemblages and the composition of the wider epifaunal community. Each site had an “impact” box that was dredged, a control box that was in an area that was still open to fishing, and a control box in a special area of conservation (SAC) that had not been fished for two years. Community composition differed significantly after dredging in two of the three sites, with dredged communities becoming less similar to those in the SAC. There was no clear evidence that dredging in the impact boxes reduced the coverage of faunal turfs on hard substrates. However, the coverage of faunal turfs on hard substrates in the SAC was typically greater than in areas that were still being fished commercially, consistent with a dredging effect. The results highlight the role that substrate morphology might play in modifying the severity of dredging effects. This has relevance to marine spatial management, as it suggests that emergent epifauna living on hard substrates that are morphologically suited to dredging, such as pebble and cobble substrates, could be particularly vulnerable to dredging.

Dredging

Cobble

Hydroid (botany)

Pebble

10.1093/icesjms/fst197

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Citations (27)

Working Group on Fisheries Benthic Impact and Trade-offs (WGFBIT; outputs from 2019 meeting)

Ole Ritzau Eigaard Gert Van Hoey Tobias van Kooten Sebastian Valanko P. Daniël van Denderen

10.17895/ices.pub.5955

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Citations (6)

Variation in fecundity in the lesser sandeel: implications for regional management

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (2010)

Philip Boulcott Peter J. Wright

The number of eggs produced by a parental stock is central to fisheries advice on recruitment potential. However, stock based estimates of egg production may give a misleading index of recruitment potential in stocks containing several reproductively isolated populations. This paper examines the ability of length, condition and oocyte developmental stage to predict levels of potential fecundity in the sandeel, Ammodytes marinus , in three important fished areas in the North Sea. Our results indicate that regional variation in this relationship exists, with fecundity in central areas of the North Sea being higher than those found just off the north-east UK. Oocyte diameter was also found to have a significant effect on potential fecundity, suggesting a down-regulation of oocyte numbers arising from pre-ovulatory atresia, however, this effect was not apparent in every model tested. Our findings have relevance to the local sustainability of spawning components and thus the regional management of the North Sea sandeel stock.

Reproductive strategy

Stock (firearms)

North sea

10.1017/s0025315410000688

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Citations (15)

Ultraviolet Light and Visual Behaviour in the Three‐Spined Stickleback,Gasterosteus aculeatus

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (2005)

Philip Boulcott Victoria A. Braithwaite

The ability of various vertebrates to perceive visual information in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum (300–400 nm) is receiving increasing interest. To date, many of these studies have concentrated on the role of ultraviolet perception in mate choice, yet there are several ways in which the ability to perceive ultraviolet information may affect other behaviours. Until now, it has been widely assumed that colour in the three‐spined stickleback can be quantified by methods appropriate to the human visual system. However, evidence does exist that suggests that, in some populations, sticklebacks are capable of perceiving ultraviolet wavelengths. Using a behavioural technique, we tested the ability of the stickleback to perceive ultraviolet light under full‐spectrum conditions to establish whether such wavelengths are utilised within their normal behavioural repertoire. We tested this ability by assessing whether subjects could locate hidden food in a foraging task where food position was indicated by the position of landmarks. These landmarks differed only in their ultraviolet content, appearing identical when viewed across the human visible region of the spectrum. We found that sticklebacks were able to use ultraviolet perception to locate a foraging patch under full‐spectrum conditions.

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light

Three-spined stickleback

10.1086/432424

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Citations (12)