Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of Gobies in North America: Conservation Concerns in a Changing World

Small fishes are now recognized to have large impacts on fisheries and aquatic conservation biology in North America.  Increasing human habitat modifications over the past 100 years has resulted in threats to many small native fishes.  Members of the family Gobiidae are an excellent example of how human induced ecological change has resulted in the endangerment of native species.  Additionally, the introduction of invasive gobies has been detrimental to many native fishes.  Gobies are one of the most diverse fish groups in the world, occupy freshwater, estuarine and coastal marine environments, can attain high abundance, can grow and spread rapidly to surrounding habitats, and have a worldwide distribution making investigation of their ecology paramount for conservation efforts in our changing world.  This symposium will examine the evolutionary and conservation biology of both endangered native and invasive exotic gobies in North America and will provide the audience with an opportunity to learn more about these important but poorly understood small fishes.  By considering how human induced environmental change has affected small fishes, we can improve our ability to prevent or mitigate threats to biodiversity, and can increase our likelihood of effectively managing and conserving fisheries in a changing world.