Figure 1.
Phylogeny of the family Scombridae showing the four tribes of the subfamily Scombrinae [58].
The subfamily Gasterochismatinae, which has only one species, butterfly kingfish Gasterochisma melampus, is not shown.
Table 1.
List of scombrid species including their taxonomic classification, maximum body size (Lmax), climate, environment and geographic distributions.
Figure 2.
Life history information in scombrid species.
Information includes life history estimates of von Bertalanfy growth parameters, longevity, length and age at 50% maturity, duration of spawning season, average batch fecundity, relative batch fecundity and spawning interval. (A) Number of life history trait estimates in the dataset for all the species combined. (B) Number of scombrid species with at least one life history trait estimate. There are 51 species in the family Scombridae.
Figure 3.
Synthesis of life history information in scombrid species.
Number of estimates for each life history trait within the main four taxonomic groups of scombrids (tunas, bonitos, Spanish mackerels and mackerels). Within each taxonomic group, the species are plotted in ascending rank order of body size, with the smallest species at the bottom (See Table 1 for maximum body size). The Butterfly kingfish (Gasterochisma melampus), the only species in the subfamily Gasterochismatinae, is not included. The only life history trait recorded for this species is maximum length, being 195 cm [59]. The area of the grey circles is proportional to the number of estimates available for each trait.
Figure 4.
Synthesis of life history information in principal market tuna species.
Number of estimates for each life history trait in the 23 populations of seven principal market tuna species. The area of the grey circles is proportional to the number of estimates available for each trait.
Figure 5.
Von Bertalanffy growth parameters – growth rate k (y−1) and asymptotic length L∞ (cm), and longevity estimates in scombrid species.
Within each taxonomic group, the species are plotted in ascending rank order of body size, with the smallest species at the bottom (See Table 1 for maximum body size).
Figure 6.
Growth performances in scombrid species including all fishes in FishBase, illustrating the high growth performances of scombrids.
(A) Auximetric plot comparing the growth performance of scombrid species (black circles) with that of fishes in general (grey circles). Fish data extracted from FishBase as August 2012. The growth space for the main four taxonomic groups of scombrids, tunas, bonitos, Spanish mackerels and mackerels, are also illustrated (colored ellipse curves). (B) The growth performance index Ø′ (defined as Ø′ = log10k+2log10L∞) of scombrid fishes compared with the average growth performances in fishes in FishBase (average growth performance is 2.7±0.3, grey band area).
Figure 7.
Length at 50% maturity estimates and the ratio length at 50% maturity/maximum body size for scombrid species.
Within each taxonomic group, the species are plotted in ascending rank order of body size, with the smallest species at the bottom (See Table 1 for maximum body size).
Figure 8.
Age at 50% maturity estimates and the ratio age at 50% maturity/maximum body size for scombrid species.
Within each taxonomic group, the species are plotted in ascending rank order of body size, with the smallest species at the bottom (See Table 1 for maximum body size).
Figure 9.
Batch fecundity estimates for scombrid species.
(A) Absolute average batch fecundity. (B) Relative average batch fecundity. (C) Duration of spawning season of scombrid species by type of climate (find species climate in Table 1). In all the figures, the species are plotted in ascending rank order of body size, with the smallest species at the bottom (See Table 1 for maximum body size).
Figure 10.
Venn Diagram of life history research priorities in scombrid species.
We differentiated between life history data-poor and data-rich species (see definition in main text), between species targeted and non-targeted by commercial fisheries (see Table S1), and between species listed as Threatened, Near Threatened (NT) and Data Deficient (DD) from those listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List (See Table S2). Threatened species are those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List. Enclosed box illustrates scombrid species with the highest priorities for life history research. (*) Highlights the principal market tuna species.