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Continuity is a hallmark of a broad-based fishery at archaeological sites from coastal Georgia (southeastern Atlantic coast, USA) despite changes in the biogeochemical and cultural contexts within which fishing occurred. This continuity probably is not due to a lack of adverse impacts of both non-anthropogenic and anthropogenic origins, but instead to the ecosystem's resilience. Resilient ecosystems are easily altered but recover quickly. The most ubiquitous and abundant fishes are characterized by flexibility and resilience, enabling them to flourish within an environment with considerable spatial heterogeneity and biogeochemical properties that change annually and with each tidal cycle. The fishing strategies practiced by people living along the coast also were flexible and resilient. Perhaps the fishery was managed through cultural institutions that avoided overfishing and a system-wide collapse. This conclusion is drawn from evidence for flexibility, resilience, and possible overfishing found in two aspects of the zooarchaeological record: (1) relative exploitation of different taxa and (2) subsistence efficiency.

Analysis of vertebrate remains from two archaeological sites indicates human exploitation did not adversely impact fish populations and fish communities during the post-Saladoid period (AD 600/800–1500) on Anguilla, northern Lesser Antilles. Barnes Bay (AL-14-BB) and Sandy Ground (AL-03-SG) are contemporaneous, large village sites located within 10 km of one another in similar terrestrial and adjacent marine environments. Despite substantial human population growth and increasing social complexity by AD 1000, residents at these sites exploited the same marine fishes and captured similar relative frequencies of fish families throughout the occupational sequence. No evidence of overfishing is found, either as a decline in the mean size of members of three fish families or in the ranges of size of these families through time. Evidence of a greater use of some members of a fourth family is found at Sandy Ground during the later post-Saladoid. It is likely that economic or social factors, rather than environmental change, contributed to this increase. By identifying specific locations where human over-exploitation did or did not impact fisheries, we may begin to distinguish patterns and characteristics which led to unsustainable fishing in the past at other sites, or in other circumstances.

A sample of vertebrate remains from Ostra Base Camp, a Middle Pre-ceramic site on the north-central coast of Peru occupied between 6250–5450 bp , contains an estimated 144 individuals, of which 53% are typical of warm-tropical regimes and 30% are typical of warm-temperate regimes or the Peru Current. These percentages are substantially different from those reported for Early, Middle, and Late Pre-ceramic collections from sites further south. They are also different from those reported for Alto Salaverry, a nearby Late Pre-ceramic site. The Ostra fishing strategy took advantage of a coastal resource that was lost between the time Ostra was abandoned and Alto Salaverry occupied. The hypothesis that this is due to change in the marine environment is supported by multiple lines of evidence.

An important aspect of early colonies was the adaptive response of domestic animals to new environments. This is reflected in zooarchaeological studies of cattle (Bos taurus). Cattle bones from Caribbean Hispanic sites are quite large in comparison to those from North American locations, while in North America, cattle bones from early Spanish sites are larger relative to those from later English/American colonies. Factors which may have contributed to this morphometric pattern include the breeds, origins and post-mediaeval size of cattle transported to Caribbean and North American colonies; colonial husbandry strategies; and responses to environmental stimuli.

Archaeological excavations near St Augustine, Florida, U.S.A. recovered 415 otoliths from Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus (Perciformes: Sciaenidae), which were caught by Native American and Hispanic peoples living in the area. Age determination using growth increments of otoliths and correlated size information were used to construct size distributions, age distributions, growth rates and season of capture. During a 3000 year time span, coastal Indians captured Atlantic croaker 1–10 years old ranging from about 13–39 cm total length. Marginal increments of otoliths revealed that most fish were caught from January to May, during or shortly after the period of annulus formation. Numbers and size ranges of otoliths in each archaeological sample were quite small, suggesting that Indian fishing was probably done by individuals or small groups. Gears and methods used by Indians were selective for small, young croaker or were inefficient in areas where large fish occurred. The absence of large, old croaker and nearshore coastal species in Prehispanic collections suggest that Indians fished predominantly in the estuary. Spanish interaction with coastal Indian tribes resulted in changes in the size and age composition of the Atlantic croaker catch. Post-contact, older (up to 15 years) and larger (up to 46 cm, tip of the jaw to the end of the caudal fin—TL) croaker formed a large portion (> 30%) of the catch, suggesting that fishing effort was more extensive throughout estuaries and nearshore coastal waters and may have employed other gears and methods. Marginal increments of otoliths suggest that fishing occurred primarily in winter and spring but may have extended year-round. Comparing information from these collections with modern studies indicates that age and growth of Atlantic croaker have changed dramatically, perhaps in response to exploitation or habitat alteration. In earlier centuries, Atlantic croaker grew more slowly, perhaps an indication of density-dependent growth, and lived much longer (15 years versus 7 years). Differences in age and size class composition of Prehispanic, First Spanish Period, and modern catches are consistent with those of a species whose rates of exploitation have increased. Future research of environmental conditions and the biology of Atlantic croaker and other fishes during these early periods may provide explanations for the dramatic changes in the biology of Atlantic croaker observed in this study.