Resilience patterns in the analysis of social-ecological networks of small-scale fishing in a subtropical estuarine system

Abstract

Network analysis concepts and tools are being increasingly applied to Social-ecological systems (SES) in human-environment and sustainability sciences. In this study, we used the Gao metric (βeff) to measure the resilience of networks in small-scale fisheries (SSF) in the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex (PEC). The purpose was to evaluate the variations and trends in network resilience across eight hydrological sectors of the PEC during different seasons. Our analysis revealed that the βeff metric varied significantly across the eight SES sectors, suggesting that resilience is not uniformly distributed. Notably, the sectors located internally the estuary exhibited lower resilience values than the others. The average trophic level of the fishery catches was the higher hierarchical position variable that most affected the network topological metrics, followed by variables magnitude of conflicts, water and sediment quality, and rainfall. Our hydrodynamic sectorization, reflecting ecological and social interactions, enabled us to identify distinct interaction networks within the PEC. This shows the complexity of managing these SES to ensure the sustainability and resilience of the system. While other variables and spatial and temporal scales could lead to different estimates and relationships, our findings shed light on the importance of resilience quantification and the interaction networks within SES to manage them effectively.