Publications by authors named "Travis C Tai"

Background: Animal movement data are regularly used to infer foraging behaviour and relationships to environmental characteristics, often to help identify critical habitat. To characterize foraging, movement models make a set of assumptions rooted in theory, for example, time spent foraging in an area increases with higher prey density.

Methods: We assessed the validity of these assumptions by associating horizontal movement and diving of satellite-telemetered ringed seals (Pusa hispida)-an opportunistic predator-in Hudson Bay, Canada, to modelled prey data and environmental proxies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Ocean acidification (OA) significantly impacts marine organisms like the American lobster, but the broader effects on populations and fisheries are not fully understood.
  • Research shows that juvenile lobsters are particularly affected by OA, and while reducing fishing pressure can boost overall population numbers, it may not be enough to offset the impacts of climate change.
  • The study emphasizes the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions and advocates for adaptive fisheries management to help maintain lobster populations in the face of OA and other climate-related stressors.
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Extreme temperature events have occurred in all ocean basins in the past two decades with detrimental impacts on marine biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services. However, global impacts of temperature extremes on fish stocks, fisheries, and dependent people have not been quantified. Using an integrated climate-biodiversity-fisheries-economic impact model, we project that, on average, when an annual high temperature extreme occurs in an exclusive economic zone, 77% of exploited fishes and invertebrates therein will decrease in biomass while maximum catch potential will drop by 6%, adding to the decadal-scale mean impacts under climate change.

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Article Synopsis
  • Arctic sea ice loss impacts predators like the ringed seal, especially due to changing prey dynamics.
  • Under low greenhouse gas emission scenarios, changes to the prey base are minor, but under high emissions, Arctic cod populations could drop by 50% while smaller temperate fish may increase in numbers.
  • Overall fish species may see a decrease in body size, yet total prey biomass could rise by 29%, potentially affecting energy availability for Arctic predators.
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Ocean acidification is an emerging consequence of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. The full extent of the biological impacts are currently not entirely defined. However, it is expected that invertebrate species that rely on the mineral calcium carbonate will be directly affected.

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The Paris Agreement aims to mitigate the potential impacts of climate change on ecological and social systems. Using an ensemble of climate-marine ecosystem and economic models, we explore the effects of implementing the Agreement on fish, fishers, and seafood consumers worldwide. We find that implementing the Agreement could protect millions of metric tons in annual worldwide catch of top revenue-generating fish species, as well as billions of dollars annually of fishers' revenues, seafood workers' income, and household seafood expenditure.

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