Social and Ecological Dimensions of the Striped Bass ( Morone saxatilis) Fisheries in Southern New Englan

People cannot be considered separate from ecosystems, as we operate as important predators, contribute to species distributions, rely on the environment for food production, and derive significant cultural and recreation value from them. The way in which we manage these natural resource systems should be guided by their internal structure and interactions between both their social and ecological domains. Historically, however, we have managed fisheries as if species are isolated, which can lead to unintended spillover effects into other fisheries, fishery failures, species collapses, declines in resource-dependent community well-being, and the loss of culture. To begin moving towards a more holistic approach to management, we must develop research frameworks that explore the underlying characteristics of both social and ecological domains, and the ways in which they interact to mediate the delivery of ecosystem services.;In the western Atlantic, the Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis), as part of a dynamic social-ecological system, is targeted by both commercial and recreational fishers, and as such, contributes substantially to the coastal economy via its consumptive value and through fishing-related expenditures. In New England, Striped Bass are one of only a few large-bodied fish that often swim along the shore, providing access for a diversity of anglers to target this highly sought-after species. Striped Bass also are an important predator in coastal ecosystems as they consume numerous prey species during their summer residency in New England, such as the American Lobster ( Homarus americanus) and Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus). While Striped Bass completely recovered from a population collapse in the late twentieth century, the coastal population has recently declined again, leading to management changes aimed at preventing another collapse. Importantly, the degree to which future regulations and fluctuations in the size and structure of the Striped Bass population will impact resource users and other fisheries is unclear.;This dissertation applied an integrated approach using the Striped Bass fishery as a model to increase our understanding of social-ecological systems. (1) I first explore whether disparate groups of stakeholders would be in favor of policy changes aimed at enhancing the sustainability of the Striped Bass fishery, and if there are user attributes that correlate with perceptions. (2) I then assess if alternative policies would change the fishing effort of fishers, both within the Striped Bass fishery and into other fisheries, and if we can predict their behavioral responses based upon underlying motivations and attitudes. (3) The role of ontogeny in the diet of Striped Bass is explored, along with the potential top-down effect of Striped Bass on local prey communities and whether prey choice contributes to Striped Bass condition. (4) Finally, the degree to which Striped Bass exhibit ontogenetic changes in their summer residence in northern Massachusetts is examined using an acoustic study to assess whether differences in behavior could affect the ability of Striped Bass to exert top-down pressure on localized populations of prey.;Collectively, the work presented in this dissertation highlights the interconnectedness between social and ecological domains within a natural resource system and reveals the ways in which separate fisheries interact via social dynamics and predator-prey relationships. Chapter 1 identifies unique user groups that hold disparate viewpoints on how we should manage the Striped Bass fishery, which could undermine the success of management if cheating ensues, or if fishers lose trust in the management process. Chapter 2 reveals that the fishing effort and behavior of recreational anglers within the Striped Bass fishery and into other fisheries is, in part, contingent upon the structure of harvest-control rules and the underlying attitudes of anglers. By changing harvest size limits and the behavior of anglers, alternative regulations may influence fishing mortality on different size classes of Striped Bass; Chapter 3 shows that different sizes of Striped Bass have disparate impacts on prey species. Specifically, I found that diet is driven partly by ontogenetic processes, such that large Striped Bass may benefit energetically from the consumption of crustaceans over forage fish prey. The final chapter did not find differences in habitat use across a range of Striped Bass sizes. However, my results do suggest that residency time, in an important summer feeding area, increases with Striped Bass length, potentially heightening the ability of large individuals to impact local crustacean populations. These research findings emphasize the importance of understanding how diverse user groups and fluctuating fish populations interact with each other and the broader ecosystem, which will enhance our ability to achieve both social and biological management objectives, and consequently help operationalize ecosystem-based fisheries management efforts.