Identification of priority cetacean areas in the north-east Atlantic using systematic conservation planning

• Published in: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
• Main Authors: Giménez, Joan, Waggitt, James, Jessopp, Mark
• Other Authors: Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley & Sons 2023
• Subjects: Cetaceans; Marine mammals; Mobile marine protected areas; MPA; Prioritizr; Systematic conservation planning; Transboundary conservation; Conserve and sustainably use the oceans; seas and marine resources for sustainable development; Cierva; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/341457; https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.4015

9 pages, 3 figures, supporting information https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.4015.-- Data Availability Statement: The cetacean distribution maps used for this study are available via the Dryad Digital Repository 10.5061/dryad.mw6m905sz (Waggitt et al., 2020). Mobile marine protected areas have been proposed for the conservation of highly seasonal or mobile marine megafauna. However, seasonal data on the distribution of marine wildlife to inform protected areas are generally scarce worldwide, especially for cetaceans, which makes dynamic solutions difficult to implement. Furthermore, conservation objectives are often set at the level of individual species rather than at the community level, despite many species having similar or overlapping habitat requirements, and a comparison of the effectiveness of mobile vs. static Marine Protected Areas options has rarely been done. Systematic conservation planning was used to identify priority areas of cetacean biodiversity in the north-east Atlantic accounting for seasonal changes in distribution. Consistent hotspots across seasons at a community level, in particular along the shelf edge, suggest that fixed priority areas for cetacean biodiversity may be appropriate. The area required for protection to meet conservation targets (i.e. 20% of a population occurring within a protected area) is minimized when considering populations at basin scale rather than national level. Highly mobile megafauna normally exploit persistent and predictable oceanographic features, so a habitat suitability rather than a jurisdiction-based approach is more appropriate JG was supported by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Marine FishKOSM Project and by the Spanish National Program Juan de la Cierva-Formación (FJC2019-040016-I). This work acknowledges the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditations (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation; CEX2019-000928-S) Peer reviewed