Identification of marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for penguins around the South Shetland Islands and South Orkney Islands

Abstract

AimTo provide a method of analyzing penguin tracking data to identify priority at‐sea areas for seabird conservation (marine IBAs), based on pre‐existing approaches for flying seabirds but revised according to the specific ecology of Pygoscelis penguin species.LocationWaters around the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland, and South Orkney archipelagos (FAO Subareas 48.1 and 48.2).MethodsWe made key improvements to the pre‐existing protocol for identifying marine IBAs that include refining the track interpolation method and revision of parameters for the kernel analysis (smoothing factor and utilization distribution) using sensitivity tests. We applied the revised method to 24 datasets of tracking data on penguins (three species, seven colonies, and three different breeding stages—incubation, brood, and crèche).ResultsWe identified five new marine IBAs for seabirds in the study area, estimated to hold ca. 600,000 adult penguins.Main conclusionsThe results demonstrate the efficacy of a new method for the designation of a network of marine IBAs in Antarctic waters for penguins based on tracking data, which can contribute to an evidence‐based, precautionary, management framework for krill fisheries.

Male Antarctic fur seals: neglected food competitors of bioindicator species in the context of an increasing Antarctic krill fishery

“…The diet of male AFS at the South Orkney Islands is dominated by krill 31 ; assuming an average age of 4 year 32 and using the estimated amount of Antarctic krill consumed for this age class at South Georgia (3 t/year) 33 , the number of male AFS recorded at just these two sites in two months would consume approximately 24,000 t or 70% of the total recorded catch in Subarea 48.2 in 2016 34 . Areas intensively used by both male AFS and the fishery around the South Orkney Islands overlap in space and time with the late stages of chinstrap penguin breeding 35 and numerous large penguin colonies occur along the western coastlines of the islands 36 . Importantly, the true number of male AFS arriving at the South Orkney Islands is likely to be substantially higher than that recorded at Signy and Laurie Islands alone, though abundances will likely vary considerably interannually 11 .…”

Individual variation in migratory movements of chinstrap penguins leads to widespread occupancy of ice-free winter habitats over the continental shelf and deep ocean basins of the Southern Ocean

“…These critical periods occur when chinstrap penguins occupy coastal foraging areas. Data on foraging movements over the shelf have the potential to inform fisheries management efforts [15,54], identify marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas [55], and inform marine spatial management efforts [56,57]. Indeed, tracking data were used to help develop agreed priority areas for conservation in the development of a proposed marine protected area in the western Antarctic Peninsula region [58].…”

Evaluating the effectiveness of a large multi‐use MPA in protecting Key Biodiversity Areas for marine predators

“…We used recently established methods which have been derived for seabird species to identify representative at‐sea areas used by a threshold number of individuals based on (a) tracking data (Lascelles et al, , Dias, Carneiro, et al, , Heraah et al, ) and (b) foraging radii (Soanes et al, ) and species distribution models (Dias, Warwick‐Evans, et al, ).…”

“…The primary method used to identify marine KBA sites utilized the raw tracking data (Dias, Carneiro, et al, ; Dias, Warwick‐Evans, et al, ; Lascelles et al, ) (Figure ). Tracks from GPS and PTT devices were filtered following standard protocols to remove outlying locations based on speed thresholds and ARGOS location classes (Freitas, ; Sumner, ), remove points on land, and regularize sampling intervals across all data‐groups (Calenge, ).…”

“…These global criteria are applicable to all macro‐organisms, and KBA identification follows a standardized and quantitative set of guidelines that have recently been released (IUCN, ; KBA Standards & Appeals Committee, ). Coupled with these recently established guidelines, the proliferation and enhanced resolution of animal tracking data have now made it feasible to identify marine biodiversity hotspots, along with associated abundance estimates of species within these hotspots (Dias, Carneiro, et al, ; Lascelles et al, ; Soanes et al, ). The marine conservation community can therefore apply these standardized protocols to identify sites of high biodiversity value and assess whether they are sufficiently represented within the boundaries of established MPAs or whether further areas need to be afforded legislative protection.…”