How Fishing and Life History Affect the Variance and Time Scales of Environmental Variability

There is great concern regarding the synergistic effects of fishing and climate on fish populations.  Recent findings in the population dynamics of age structured populations indicate greater sensitivity to both generational time scales and very long time scales, through a phenomenon termed cohort resonance. Furthermore, the overall variance of population variability, as well as the sensitivity to these specific frequencies increase with fishing.  Knowledge of these characteristics appears to be useful in characterizing uncertainty in fishery management, and projecting the effects of climate change.  Here we explore the consequences of these findings.