A Review of Methodology in Marie Food-web Topology

Abstract:

Ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM) is becoming a hot spot and prioritized in fishery industry. Implementation of EBFM requires innovative methodology for marine food-web studies. In this article, we reviewed the theories and methods of food-web topology that was a newly developed research area in ecology. Food-web topology is the quantification of food-web structures based on topological indicators. Models of food-web dynamics are needed to evaluate the impact of fishing and to develop sustainable fishery strategies. Theories and methods of establishing fishery population dynamics model have progressed in the past decades. An important notion in the fish feeding ecology is that body size acts as a determining factor in feeding activities such as selection of preys based on their sizes. Models of size-structured fishery population dynamics have been well developed and can be used to develop the biomass model of species within the food-web. Therefore, it could be valuable strategy for EBFM to combine studies on food-web topological model, size-structured population biomass model, and size-dependent fishing process quantification. Pilot studies on practical approaches should be conducted with high-quality food-web data and fishery statistics, for example, long-term fishery.