期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2021
卷号：118
期号：51
DOI：10.1073/pnas.2020833118
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Significance
Fisheries-associated selection is recognized as one of the strongest potential human drivers of contemporary evolution in natural populations. The results of this study show that while simulated commercial fishing techniques consistently remove fish with traits associated with growth, metabolism, and social behavior, the specific genes under fishing selection differ depending on the density of the targeted population. This finding suggests that different fish populations of varying sizes will respond differently to fishing selection at the genetic level. Furthermore, as a population is fished over time, the genes under selection may change as the population diminishes. This could have repercussions on population resilience. This study highlights the importance of selection but also environmental and density effects on harvested fish populations.
Fisheries induce one of the strongest anthropogenic selective pressures on natural populations, but the genetic effects of fishing remain unclear. Crucially, we lack knowledge of how capture-associated selection and its interaction with reductions in population density caused by fishing can potentially shift which genes are under selection. Using experimental fish reared at two densities and repeatedly harvested by simulated trawling, we show consistent phenotypic selection on growth, metabolism, and social behavior regardless of density. However, the specific genes under selection—mainly related to brain function and neurogenesis—varied with the population density. This interaction between direct fishing selection and density could fundamentally alter the genomic responses to harvest. The evolutionary consequences of fishing are therefore likely context dependent, possibly varying as exploited populations decline. These results highlight the need to consider environmental factors when predicting effects of human-induced selection and evolution.
