Data from: Harvest selection on multiple traits in the wild revealed by aquatic animal telemetry

Harvesting can have profound impacts on the ecology and evolution of
marine populations. However, little is known about the strength and
direction of fisheries-induced selection acting on multiple traits in the
wild. Here, we used acoustic telemetry to directly monitor individual
behavior and fate in an intensively harvested species, the European
lobster (Homarus gammarus, n = 100), in southern Norway. Overall, 24% of
the tracked lobsters survived the two-month harvest season within the
study area. Our results indicated that local survival was not random with
respect to phenotype. We found no clear support for fisheries-induced
selection acting directly on body size. However, lobsters with large
crusher claws relative to their body size, typical of socially dominant
individuals, appeared at higher risk of being captured in the conventional
trap fishery. We also detected a fine-scale spatial gradient in survival.
After accounting for this gradient, individuals displaying larger home
ranges were more likely to survive the harvest season. Finally, we found
significant repeatabilities for lobster behavior on a monthly time scale,
indicating that individual behavioral attributes tended to persist and may
reflect personality. Our study therefore provides empirical support for
the need to consider an evolutionary enlightened approach to fisheries
management that considers the influence of harvest on multiple traits of
target species.