The importance of multi-colony and multi-species studies for seabird conservation

• Main Authors: 3rd World Seabird Conference 2021, Pearmain, Lizzie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Underline Science Inc. 2021
• Subjects: Climate Change; Ecosystem; Ecology; FOS Biological sciences; Animal Science; Genomics; Southern Ocean; Sandwich Islands; South Sandwich Islands; South Georgia; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48448/kz8q-e739; https://underline.io/lecture/34901-the-importance-of-multi-colony-and-multi-species-studies-for-seabird-conservation

Abstract: The recent development of global databases to store data has facilitated the share of information between researchers. The field of marine conservation has been one of the most noticeable beneficiaries of such collaborations. Only now, with these multi-colony datasets that encompass numerous species and sometimes taxa (e.g. seabirds and marine mammals), are researchers able to understand the "big picture" of the importance of different marine areas, and build stronger cases to support and advocate for their effective protection. In this talk we show several examples of how the Seabird Tracking Database held By BirdLife International has been used to promote seabird conservation based on multi-colony analyses. We will give a particular focus on studies involving a large number of collaborators and that resulted in a practical conservation outcome, such as 1) the identification of a hotspot for 23 migratory species (from 105 colonies) in the North-East Atlantic, which resulted in an MPA proposal in the OSPAR convention area; 2) the identification of areas of high bycatch risk for albatrosses and petrels in the southern ocean, based on data from 36 colonies and used to inform Regional Fisheries Management Organizations on bycatch mitigation measures; and 3) the identification of Key Biodiversity Areas for the community of 10 seabird species breeding in multiple colonies at South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI), where results were used to evaluate the role of the SGSSIMPA in covering the most important sites for the conservation of top marine predators breeding at this archipelago. This presentation will be focused on the challenges faced in collating data for a large number of species, the statistical methods to deal with different types of data and on the discussion of the existing conservation gaps that can be addressed with similar approaches. Authors: Maria Dias¹, Ana Carneiro¹, Tammy Davies¹, Jonathan Handley¹, Elizabeth Pearmain¹ ¹BirdLife International