A framework for mapping the distribution of seabirds by integrating tracking, demography and phenology ...

• Main Authors: Carneiro, Ana P. B., Pearmain, Elizabeth J., Oppel, Steffen, Clay, Thomas A., Phillips, Richard A., Bonnet-Lebrun, Anne-Sophie, Wanless, Ross M., Abraham, Edward, Richard, Yvan, Rice, Joel, Handley, Jonathan, Davies, Tammy E., Dilley, Ben J., Ryan, Peter G., Small, Cleo, Arata, Javier, Arnould, John P. Y., Bell, Elizabeth, Bugoni, Leandro, Campioni, Letizia, Catry, Paulo, Cleeland, Jaimie, Deppe, Lorna, Elliott, Graeme, Freeman, Amanda, González-Solís, Jacob, Granadeiro, José Pedro, Grémillet, David, Landers, Todd J., Makhado, Azwianewi, Nel, Deon, Nicholls, David G., Rexer-Huber, Kalinka, Robertson, Christopher J. R., Sagar, Paul M., Scofield, Paul, Stahl, Jean-Claude, Stanworth, Andrew, Stevens, Kim L., Trathan, Philip N., Thompson, David R., Torres, Leigh, Walker, Kath, Waugh, Susan M., Weimerskirch, Henri, Dias, Maria P.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2019
• Subjects: albatrosses; Distributions; longline fisheries; megafauna; at sea threats; seabird density; Population density; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z612jm685; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.z612jm685

1. The identification of geographic areas where the densities of animals are highest across their annual cycles is a crucial step in conservation planning. In marine environments, however, it can be particularly difficult to map the distribution of species, and the methods used are usually biased towards adults, neglecting the distribution of other life-history stages even though they can represent a substantial proportion of the total population. 2. Here we develop a methodological framework for estimating population-level density distributions of seabirds, integrating tracking data across the main life-history stages (adult breeders and non-breeders, juveniles and immatures). We incorporate demographic information (adult and juvenile/immature survival, breeding frequency and success, age at first breeding) and phenological data (average timing of breeding and migration) to weight distribution maps according to the proportion of the population represented by each life-history stage. 3. We demonstrate the ... : Quarterly and annual population-level density distributions for 22 species of albatrosses and petrels (36 populations) breeding in the Southern Ocean based on tracking, phenology and demography data. The raster files have the number of individuals for each population in each 5 x 5 degree cell during a given season or year. The number of individuals represents the sum of all life-history stages. See Carneiro et al., (2020) for a detailed description of the methods. ...