1. Fitness Strategies of Recent Fishes
Rainer Froese
IfM-GEOMAR

2. Content Definitions Phylogeny of fishes Choice of key traits
Recent combinations of traits
Life history strategies by Phylogeny
Life history strategies by Environment
Discussion

3. Definitions Fitness strategy: a combination of traits
that maximizes survival
and reproductive success
of individuals of a given species
in a given environment

4. Classes of
Fishes

5. Phylogeny Classes Orders Families Genera Species
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) 45
467
4,573
27,271
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fishes) 3 4 11
Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) 44
175
961
Holocephali (chimaeras) 1 6 37
Cephalaspidomorphi (lampreys) 2 9 42
Myxini (hagfishes) 7 66

6. Key Trait: Size
small
medium
large
very large
23,603 species

7. Key Trait: Trophic Level
herbi-
vore
omnivore
low-level predator
mid-level
predator
top-
predator
7,161 species

8. Key Trait: Productivity (modified after Musick 1999)
Parameter
High
Medium
Low
Very low
rmax (1/year)
> 0.5
0.16 – 0.50
0.05 – 0.15
< 0.05
td (years)
<1.4
> 14
Interest rate (%)
> 65
17 – 65
5 - 16
< 5
K (1/year)
> 0.3
0.16 – 0.30
Fecundity (1/year)
> 10,000
100 – 1000
10 – 100
< 10
tm (years)
< 1
2 – 4
5 – 10
> 10
tmax (years)
1 – 3
4 – 10
11 – 30
> 30

9. Key Traits: Productivity
Species
Percent
Very low
263
10.5
Low
1016
40.5
Medium
879
25.0
High
353
14.0
2,511 species

10. Trait Correlation: Size vs Troph

11. Trait Correlation: Size vs Productivity

12. Trait Correlation: Trophic Level vs Productivity

13. Phylogeny Limits Traits: Size
very large
large
medium
small
Hagfish
Chimaeras
Lobe-finned
Lampreys
Sharks & rays
Ray-finned

14. Phylogeny Limits Traits: Troph
Hagfish
Chimaeras
Lobe-finned
Lampreys
Sharks & rays
Ray-finned

15. Phylogeny Limits Traits: Productivity
Class
Productivity
Species
Percent
Myxini
Low 66
100
Cephalaspidomorphi 16 36
Medium 2 5
Holocephali 37
Elasmobranchii
Very low
206 21
528 55
Sarcopterygii 10 91
Actinopterygii 47
0.2
369
1.4
877
3.2
High
353
1.3

16. Phylogeny Limits Fitness Strategies
Class
Trophic group
Size
Productivity
Species
Myxini
Low-level predator
Medium
Low 1
Large 4
Mid-level predator
Top predator 3
Cephalaspidomorphi
Herbivore
Omnivore 2

17. Phylogeny Limits Fitness Strategies
Class
Trophic group
Size
Productivity
Species
Holocephali
Low-level predator
Large
Low 10
Mid-level predator 4
Sarcopterygii
Very low 1
Top predator

18. Phylogeny Limits Fitness Strategies
Elasmobranchii
Low-level predator
Medium
Very low 2
Low 5
Large 46 71
Very large 3
Mid-level predator 4 48 74 6
Top predator 41 39 13 8

19. Phylogeny Limits Fitness Strategies
Actinopterygii
Herbivore
Medium 25
High 16
Large
Low 12 22 4
Omnivore
Small 3 38 11 24

20. Phylogeny Limits Fitness Strategies
Actinopterygii
Low-level predator
Small
Medium 5
High 17
Very low 1
Low 22
182
173
Large 18
106
184 11
Very large

21. Phylogeny Limits Fitness Strategies
Actinopterygii
Mid-level predator
Medium
Low 2 37
High 12
Large
Very low 56 99 3
Very large 1
Top predator 15 6 8 60 87 9 5 4

22. Expanding the Database: Trophic Level
Top
Medium
Low
Trophic level of 97 species of Genus Epinephelus as a function of their body length.

23. Expanding the Database: Productivity (K)
High
Medium
Low
Very low
Von Bertalanffy growth parameter K plotted over maximum length for Family Serranidae

24. Fitness Strategies of Herbivores

25. Fitness Strategies of Omnivores

26. Fitness Strategies of Low-level Predators

27. Fitness Strategies of High-level Predators

28. Still To Do Fitness Strategies versus: Salinity
Temperature / Climate Zone
Type of Ecosystem (River, Lake, Reef, Demersal, Pelagic, Seamount, Deep-Sea)
Zoogeographic Realms
Oceans

29. Size vs Salinity

30. Trophic Level vs Salinity

31. Size vs Mean Temperature

32. Size vs Climate Zone

33. Size vs Zoogeographic Realm

34. Size vs Ocean

35. Thanks to the FishBase Team

36. Thanks to the FishBase Consortium

37. Thanks to our Donors

38. Thank You
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