Fishers' local ecological knowledge reveals complex food web dynamics with rapidly warming waters

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dc.contributor.authorMcClenachan, Loren
dc.contributor.authorNeal, Benjamin
dc.contributor.authorMcMahan, Marissa
dc.contributor.authorBatchelder, Ellie
dc.contributor.authorVillanueva-Galarza, Neida
dc.contributor.authorGrabowski, Jonathan
dc.date.accessioned2026-03-05T17:18:53Z
dc.date.available2026-03-05T17:18:53Z
dc.date.copyright2025
dc.description.abstractLocal ecological knowledge (LEK) can provide insight into ecosystem change, particularly in dynamic ecological conditions, such as those driven by climate change. In New England lobster fisheries, warming waters have the potential to disrupt food webs, as range-shifting species introduce novel ecological interactions. Here we use interviews with lobster fishers in Maine and Massachusetts to understand lobster fishers' LEK of dynamic food webs, taking a mental modelling approach to construct LEK food web models under rapidly warming waters. We find that fishers are observing a remarkable range of ecological interactions across habitats, collectively reporting knowledge of > 35 species that interact trophically with lobster across larval, juvenile, and adult life stages, ranging from terrestrial species like mink (Neovison vison) to deep sea species like redfish (Sebastes fasciatus). Our LEK food webs demonstrate perceptions of warming water altering species' abundances and interactions, with an overall negative impact on lobster fisheries. Fishers also report knowledge of complex interactions, including predation, competition, and habitat loss mediated by warming waters and changing species' abundances. Finally, we identify and categorise three main pathways that contribute to fishers' LEK, including observation, word of mouth, and inference. Our findings demonstrate that active fishers have complex understandings of food web interactions in dynamic ecosystems that are changing rapidly. With management unable to keep pace with climate-driven change, fishers' LEK is an invaluable source of knowledge, whose use could improve the ability to understand the diverse impacts of warming waters on coastal ecosystems.
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelFaculty
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported by NOAA Sea Grant NA21OAR4170369. Canada Research Chairs Program 2020-00204.
dc.identifier.citationMcClenachan, L., Neal, B., McMahan, M., Batchelder, E., Villanueva-Galarza, N., & Grabowski, J. (2025). Fishers' local ecological knowledge reveals complex food web dynamics with rapidly warming waters. Fish and Fisheries, 26(6), 1122-1133. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.70021
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/faf.70021
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/23402
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherFish and Fisheries
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-ND 4.0en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectclimate change
dc.subjectfood webs
dc.subjectlobster fisheries
dc.subjectlocal ecological knowledge
dc.subjectmental models
dc.subjectshifting stocks
dc.subject.departmentSchool of Environmental Studies
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Biology
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of History
dc.titleFishers' local ecological knowledge reveals complex food web dynamics with rapidly warming waters
dc.typeArticle

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