Fish movement

Abstract

Fish movements have long intrigued ecologists due to their complexity and far-reaching implications on survival, reproduction, and population dynamics. Advancements in tracking technologies, including emerging electronic and remote sensors and information derived from molecular, chemical, and isotopic markers naturally recorded in fish tissues, have propelled our understanding of where, when, and why individuals and populations move. Such tangible information on the direction, frequency, and timing of fish movements is key to supporting management, informing policy, and underpinning positive conservation outcomes. In this chapter, we aim to highlight the diversity of movement and migration strategies in fish, providing a blueprint of movement types at different spatial and temporal scales, as well as key methodologies and emerging approaches for studying fish movements. The goal is to broaden our understanding of how and why fish move, illustrated by representative and well-established case studies ranging from hourly or daily time steps, such as vertical migrations, to ontogenetic movements linking different life-history stages, all the way to transoceanic movements and diadromous migrations.