A novel projection technique to identify important at-sea areas for seabird conservation: An example using Northern gannets breeding in the North East Atlantic
A novel projection technique to identify important at-sea areas for seabird conservation: An example using Northern gannets breeding in the North East Atlantic
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DOI：
10.1016/j.biocon.2011.12.010
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发表时间：
2012-11-01
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
Votier, Stephen C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Grecian, W. James;Witt, Matthew J.;Votier, Stephen C.
海鸟在繁殖地受到良好的监测和保护，但它们一生中的大部分时间都在海上度过，在那里它们受到的监测和保护很少。为了解决这种二分法，人们的注意力主要集中在建立一个海鸟海洋保护区网络上，该网络主要基于海上调查和/或生物遥测研究的信息。然而，这些方法是昂贵的，通常只适用于有限数量的地点，不适合那些海上可探测性差或无法携带跟踪设备的物种。在这里，我们开发了一种技术，以确定重要的区域繁殖海鸟的基础上，从殖民地的海上预测。综合种群调查数据和种群动态、觅食生态和近种群行为的详细信息，我们预测了北部塘鹅（Morus bassanus）在英国、爱尔兰和法国的种群特定觅食分布。通过与生物遥测研究和海上目视调查的现有数据进行比较，我们测试了我们的模型识别海上热点的能力。这些模型与最密集的海上海鸟调查数据集显示出正的空间相关性。虽然估计海鸟在海上的分布存在局限性，但如果实施得当，我们认为它们可以证明在确定潜在的海鸟海洋保护区方面是有用的。此外，这些模型可以发展为适用于一系列物种或整个群落，并为研究群体大小调节等因素提供理论框架。(c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd.版权所有。
Seabirds are well monitored and protected at their breeding grounds but spend most of their life at sea, where they are less well monitored and afforded little protection. In an attempt to address this dichotomy, attention has been directed toward establishing a network of marine reserves for seabirds, based largely on information from at-sea surveys and/or biotelemetry studies. Nevertheless, these approaches are costly, are typically only available for a limited number of locations, and not suitable for species that have either poor at-sea detectability or are unable to carry tracking devices. Here we develop a technique to identify important areas for breeding seabirds based on at-sea projections from colonies. Synthesising data from colony surveys with detailed information on population dynamics, foraging ecology and near-colony behaviour, we project colony-specific foraging distributions of the Northern gannet (Morus bassanus) at colonies in the UK, Ireland and France. We test the ability of our models to identify at-sea hotspots through comparison with existing data from biotelemetry studies and at-sea visual surveys. These models show a positive spatial correlation with one of the most intensive at-sea seabird survey datasets. While there are limitations to estimating at-sea distributions of seabirds, implemented appropriately, we propose they could prove useful in identifying potential Marine Protected Areas for seabirds. Moreover, these models could be developed to suit a range of species or whole communities and provide a theoretical framework for the study of factors such as colony size regulation. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.