The Importance of Fish Phenotype in Aquaculture, Fisheries and Conservation

Aquatic ecosystems currently face a diverse range of pressures against the background of climate change and human activities, which bring severe uncertainty to aquaculture sustainability, fishery management, and biodiversity conservation. It is of vital importance to comprehensively elucidate the responses of aquatic organisms to these global changing factors. One of the most critical characteristics animals have in order to cope with such changes is altering their behavioral tactics and physiological processes; however, there seems to be an underestimation of these phenotypic reactions in the contexts of aquaculture, fisheries, and conservation. The issue of how to integrate fish phenotypes into the adaptive management of aquatic ecosystems is one of the crucial topics that has received increasing attention from scientists, decision-makers, and the public in recent years. This Reprint aims to provide an overview of recent advances in the field of fish-phenotype-based adaptive management of aquatic ecosystems. The phenotype comprises the behaviors, morphology, and physiology of a fish. The important roles of phenotype are reflected by (a) applying fish behaviors to evaluate welfare status, (b) developing practical methods to decrease undesired behaviors in the aquaculture context and to improve fish ecological fitness in stock enhancement and conservation projects, and (c) elucidating the dynamics and mechanisms of fish responses to ecological changes. We believe this Reprint will offer readers an updated understanding of the important questions outlined above.