In this study, mortality of new settlers was density-independent only when predators were removed. Hixon believes comparisons can be drawn between damselfish and other bottom-oriented marine fishes, including commercially valuable species. Understanding the system-wide impacts of fishing clearly requires knowledge of interactions between the target species and the remainder of the exploited community. Marine reserves should be set aside in critical parts of the ocean to ensure stock replenishment. Spawning and nursery areas are especially important candidates for conservation.
Moratoriums are last-ditch efforts to save stocks.
Talk about your research using submersibles off the Oregon coast and the benefits of this information. Our sub work off Oregon ran from 1987 to 1991 and is unlikely to be repeated because of the current moratorium on offshore minerals exploration. In any case, our description of interannual variation in the fish populations at several rocky banks on the outer continental shelf of Oregon will serve as a basis of comparison for future changes in these systems. I believe that understanding immensely complex ecological communities, such as coral reefs, requires a balanced mix of theory, observational studies, and controlled field experiments. Theory helps to provide rigorous thinking, to generate hypotheses, and to place specific data in a general conceptual framework.