Abstract Biological invasion is one of the major threats to biodiversity, ecosystem health and services worldwide. In marine ecosystems, invasions are difficult to monitor and control, thus management strategies that can enhance biotic resistance are the key to tackling invasion risks. However, the biotic resistance of marine ecosystems is poorly understood with respect to the influencing factors and regulating mechanisms. We used an individual‐based modelling approach to predict the potential risks of a biological invasion event from an ecosystem perspective, and tested how fishing as a driving factor of ecosystem structure can alter biotic resistance. We considered a species of high invasive risk globally, European green crab ( Carcinus maenas ) as an example, and evaluated its invasion risk in a heavily exploited ecosystem Haizhou Bay, China. Further, we illustrated the role of fishery management to improve biotic resistance in order to inform the development of resistance‐enhancing strategies. We found the Haizhou Bay ecosystem would be vulnerable to the invasion of the green crab, while reducing fishing intensity by half could effectively enhance its biotic resistance by decreasing the invasion success rate by up to 52%. Alternatively, the reduced predation pressure experienced by juvenile C. maenas would largely contribute to successful invasions. Fishing activities could regulate the predation pressure by changing predator biomass and trophic links within the ecosystem, and thereby alter the biotic resistance to invasion. We further designed a range of simplified management strategies that controlled the fishing efforts on selected predators and illustrated their effectiveness to enhance biotic resistance. These strategies could mediate the trade‐offs between fisheries production and ecosystem management to a certain degree. Synthesis and applications. We validated the predation‐based hypothesis of biotic resistance in marine ecosystems and illustrated that fishery management can enhance biotic resistance by changing ecosystem structure. Based on this mechanism, fishery management strategies could simultaneously enhance biotic resistance and reduce management conflicts. We proposed an IBM‐based framework as a comprehensive assessment tool that holds significant potential for developing precautionary management strategies.
Zhao et al. (Sun,) studied this question.