Habitat modelling predictions highlight seasonal relevance of Marine Protected Areas for marine megafauna

Lambert, Charlotte; Virgili, Auriane; Pettex, Emeline; Delavenne, Juliette; Toison, V.; Blanck, Aurélie; Ridoux, Vincent

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2017.03.016

Cited by 22 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The Large off-shore Sector (still in the process of designation) is the most important area for fin whales due to their location in off-shore waters where the predicted abundance is higher. This result was in line withLambert, Virgili, et al (2017) who demonstrated that this area is highly relevant for cetaceans in summer. Thus, even if fin whales and other cetacean species are not considered under the Annex II of the HD and therefore they are not candidates for SACs within the Natura 2000 network at the European level, additional legislation (e.g., CITES, CMS, EBSAs) specifically recognizes the need to account for threatened species in need of management measures to recover or maintain their population.…”

supporting

confidence: 92%

“…Even though the Natura 2000 network was not designated specifically for most marine mammal species (which are not listed under HD Annex II), it is well known that the implementation of ecologically and economically sustainable management practices can benefit these species if accompanied by appropriate management measures. As Lambert, Virgili, et al () suggest for the French network in the case of most of the cetacean species inhabiting the BoB (bottlenose, common Delphinus delphis and striped Stenella coeruleoalba dolphins, long‐finned pilot whale Globicephala melas and Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus) , the current Spanish MPA network does not reach the less stringent threshold proposed by the European Commission () and is inadequate (i.e., encompassing <20% of the national population of interest). The Large off‐shore Sector (still in the process of designation) is the most important area for fin whales due to their location in off‐shore waters where the predicted abundance is higher.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Modelling the spatial abundance of a migratory predator: A call for transboundary marine protected areas

García‐Barón

Authier

Caballero

et al. 2019

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim During their migration, highly mobile species cross multiple jurisdictional boundaries and multiple not‐specific marine protected areas (MPAs). When identifying the critical habitats where individuals aggregate, these areas can be ideal candidates for MPAs. This study was focused on the endangered fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) for which there is little knowledge on its distribution and abundance in non‐breeding temperate latitudes. Location Bay of Biscay (BoB). Methods Firstly, we modelled the relative abundance of fin whales by means of generalized additive models (GAMs) using data collected on the PELACUS (2007–2008) and JUVENA (2013–2016) oceanographic surveys during late summer. Secondly, we evaluated the reliability of the predictions by distinguishing environmental extrapolations and interpolations. Finally, we identified critical areas of highest predicted abundance and we assessed whether existing MPAs comprised within the Natura 2000 network and designated for other species offer protection to fin whales in the BoB. Results Fin whales were especially abundant in deep off‐shore waters, mainly associated with intermediate temperature water values in the inner part of the BoB. The years with the highest relative predicted abundances (an average of 1,500 whales) matched with years when warmer sea surface temperature extended into larger areas. In colder years, the average predicted abundance dropped to 400 whales. The main critical area for fin whales (defined by the highest 40% of abundance) was common for both surveys, and it was located in the south‐eastern part of the BoB. Main conclusions Our study contributes to the identification of important concentration areas of fin whales during late summer, based on reliable spatial predictions. The assessment of the current Natura 2000 network highlights the fact that only three MPAs marginally covered the critical area we have identified for fin whales. We propose a transboundary potential MPA to aid the conservation of the species in the BoB.

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supporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Modelling the spatial abundance of a migratory predator: A call for transboundary marine protected areas

García‐Barón

Authier

Caballero

et al. 2019

Diversity and Distributions

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“…Those two latter taxa were more broadly distributed than the bottlenose dolphin, with larger core areas strongly persistent over the outer shelf. Prior to the designation of the offshore sites, they were as poorly covered by the coastal network of MPAs as the bottlenose dolphin (Lambert et al, 2017b), but here, we demonstrated that the offshore sites contain an important proportion of their persistent core areas (32% of storm petrels, 43% of northern fulmars). The BoB slope has recently been identified as an area with important densities of marine species whose distributional range up to now poorly overlapped with any MPAs (Klein et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

The persistence in time of distributional patterns in marine megafauna impacts zonal conservation strategies

Lambert

eacutemus

Ridoux

2019

Preprint

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The main type of zonal conservation approaches corresponds to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which are spatially defined and generally static entities aiming at the protection of some target populations by the implementation of a management plan. For highly mobile species the relevance of an MPA over time might be hampered by temporal variations in distributions or home ranges. In the present work, we used habitat model-based predicted distributions of cetaceans and seabirds within the Bay of Biscay from 2004 to 2017 to characterise the aggregation and persistence of mobile species distributional patterns and the relevance of existing MPA network. We explored the relationship between population abundance and spatial extent of distribution to assess the aggregation level of species distribution. Specific core areas of distributions were determined, based on predicted distributions, as the smallest spatial extent including 50% of the population present in the Bay of Biscay and their persistence was calculated over the 14 studied years. The relevance of MPA network was assessed regarding aggregation and persistence. The potential to zonal conservation was confirmed for spatially aggregated and persistent species, as bottlenose dolphins or auks. We showed that aggregation level alone is not sufficient to determine candidates to zonal conservation, since some species might be aggregated in space, but poorly persistent in time (black-legged kittiwake). Nonetheless, some loosely distributed species with strong persistence might not benefit from existing zonal conservation due to poor overlap between existing MPA networks and their core areas of distribution (great skuas). We thus have demonstrated that both aggregation and persistence have potential impact on the amount of spatiotemporal distributional variability encompassed within static MPAs. Our results exemplified the need to have access to a minimal temporal depth in the species distribution data when aiming to designate new site boundaries for the conservation of mobile species.

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“…At-sea surveys are an established approach to inform marine spatial planning at regional (Smith et al 2014), national (Kober et al 2012) and international (Lambert et al 2017) scales. The best method to use is dependent on the species of interest, the area to be covered, accessibility and the amount of resources available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The best method to use is dependent on the species of interest, the area to be covered, accessibility and the amount of resources available. At-sea surveys are an established approach to inform marine spatial planning at regional (Smith et al 2014), national (Kober et al 2012) and international (Lambert et al 2017) scales. Aerial or ship-based surveys can target most seabird species in a community, often at large spatial scales and can also provide absolute abundance estimates if conducted following distance based methodology (Embling et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the effectiveness of foraging radius models for seabird distributions using biotelemetry and survey data

et al. 2019

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Relatively simple foraging radius models have the potential to generate predictive distributions for a large number of species rapidly, thus providing a cost-effective alternative to large-scale surveys or complex modelling approaches. Their effectiveness, however, remains largely untested. Here we compare foraging radius distribution models for all breeding seabirds in Ireland, to distributions of empirical data collected from tracking studies and aerial surveys. At the local/colony level, we compared foraging radius distributions to GPS tracking data from seabirds with short (Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica, and razorbill Alca torda) and long (Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus, and European storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus) foraging ranges. At the regional/national level, we compared foraging radius distributions to extensive aerial surveys conducted over a two-year period. Foraging radius distributions were significantly positively correlated with tracking data for all species except Manx shearwater. Correlations between foraging radius distributions and aerial survey data were also significant, but generally weaker than those for tracking data. Correlations between foraging radius distributions and aerial survey data were benchmarked against generalised additive models (GAMs) of the aerial survey data that included a range of environmental covariates. While GAM distributions had slightly higher correlations with aerial survey data, the results highlight that the foraging radius approach can be a useful and pragmatic approach for assessing breeding distributions for many seabird species. The approach is likely to have acceptable utility in complex, temporally variable ecosystems and when logistic and financial resources are limited.

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Habitat modelling predictions highlight seasonal relevance of Marine Protected Areas for marine megafauna

Cited by 22 publications

References 34 publications

Modelling the spatial abundance of a migratory predator: A call for transboundary marine protected areas

Modelling the spatial abundance of a migratory predator: A call for transboundary marine protected areas

The persistence in time of distributional patterns in marine megafauna impacts zonal conservation strategies

Assessing the effectiveness of foraging radius models for seabird distributions using biotelemetry and survey data

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