Guiry Eric J, Kennedy Jonathan R, O'Connell Martin T, Gray D Ryan, Grant Christopher, Szpak Paul
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Mayor's Walk, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
Department of Anthropology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Dr., Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, Canada.
Sci Adv. 2021 Aug 4;7(32). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abh2525. Print 2021 Aug.
Fisheries encompass complex interplays between social, economic, and environmental factors, but limitations on historical fisheries data can hamper efforts to identify and contextualize the long-term spatiotemporal patterns that shape them. We integrate 2500 years of stable isotope (δS, δC, and δN) and zooarchaeological evidence from Gulf of Mexico fisheries to assess cultural, demographic, and technological changes affecting sheepshead () populations and fishing practices in Louisiana, USA. Concurrent with human population growth, average sizes of sheepshead caught decreased from the 1720s to 1830s. The size of fish caught after the 1830s increased to pre-1720 levels at the same time that isotopic compositions of fish bone collagen show that fish were being caught from a more diverse range of ecosystems, including distant seagrass beds. Our findings provide the first evidence for large-scale depressions of historical sheepshead populations and the processes driving them, including rapid human population growth and sustained harvesting pressure.
渔业涉及社会、经济和环境因素之间的复杂相互作用，但历史渔业数据的局限性可能会妨碍人们识别和梳理塑造这些因素的长期时空模式。我们整合了来自墨西哥湾渔业的2500年稳定同位素（δS、δC和δN）及动物考古学证据，以评估影响美国路易斯安那州羊头鱼种群和捕鱼方式的文化、人口和技术变化。与人口增长同时，18世纪20年代至19世纪30年代，捕获的羊头鱼平均尺寸减小。19世纪30年代后捕获的鱼的尺寸增加到1720年前的水平，与此同时，鱼骨胶原蛋白的同位素组成表明，这些鱼是从包括远处海草床在内的更多样化生态系统中捕获的。我们的研究结果首次证明了历史上羊头鱼种群的大规模衰退以及导致这种衰退的过程，包括人口的快速增长和持续的捕捞压力。
