Constructing age-structured matrix population models for all fishes.

Matrix population models are essential tools in conservation biology, offering key metrics to guide species management and conservation planning. However, the development of these models is often limited by insufficient life history data, particularly for non-charismatic species. This study addresses this gap by using life history data from FishBase and the FishLife R package, complemented by size-dependent natural mortality estimates, to parameterize age-structured matrix population models applicable to most fish species. The method was applied to 30 fish species common around oil and gas platforms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, generating seven key metrics: damping ratio, resilience, generation time, stable age distribution, reproductive value, sensitivity matrix, and elasticity matrix. The damping ratio reflects how quickly a population returns to a stable age distribution after a disturbance, while resilience indicates the speed of recovery from perturbations. Generation time captures the average age of reproduction, and the stable age distribution represents the long-term proportion of individuals in each age class. Reproductive value quantifies future reproductive potential by age class. The sensitivity matrix highlights the age-class transitions most affecting population growth, and the elasticity matrix shows the proportional influence of these factors on population growth. The results demonstrate that robust population models can be constructed with limited species-specific data and reveal notable differences in population dynamics among species. For example, species with longer generation times, like the greater barracuda (