Fig. 4: Association between latitudinal variation in fish species richness and relative predation.
From: Pelagic fish predation is stronger at temperate latitudes than near the equator
Median number of pelagic fish species was estimated from global species range maps46 (red lines), and compared to median relative predation by predatory fish across latitude in bands of five degrees (blue lines with non-parametric 95% confidence intervals). To account for the effect of time in overall relative predation (see Supplementary Fig. 1), annual relative predation estimates were standardized by the mean relative predation of the respective year prior to calculating latitudinal medians. Spearman’s rho and the statistical significance (non-parametric P-values) of the association between median species richness and median relative predation across latitude are given in the top right of each plot. Because non-pelagic fish and non-fish predators are the dominant oceanic predators at absolute latitudes >40°39,40, this analysis was restricted to latitudes between 40°S and 40°N. Source data are provided in Supplementary Data 1.
