Multispecies tracking reveals a major seabird hotspot in the North Atlantic

• Published in: Conservation Letters
• Main Authors: Davies, Tammy, Carneiro, Ana P.B., Tarzia, Marguerite, Wakefield, Ewan, Hennicke, Janos, Frederiksen, Morten, Hansen, Erpur Snær, Campos, Bruna, Hazin, Carolina, Lascelles, Ben, Anker‐nilssen, Tycho, Arnardóttir, Hólmfríður, Barrett, Robert, Biscoito, Manuel, Bollache, Loïc, Boulinier, Thierry, Catry, Paulo, Ceia, Filipe, Chastel, Olivier, Christensen‐dalsgaard, Signe, Cruz‐flores, Marta, Danielsen, Jóhannis, Daunt, Francis, Dunn, Euan, Egevang, Carsten, Fagundes, Ana Isabel, Fayet, Annette, Fort, Jérôme, Furness, Robert, Gilg, Olivier, González‐solís, Jacob, Granadeiro, José Pedro, Grémillet, David, Guilford, Tim, Hanssen, Sveinn Are, Harris, Michael, Hedd, April, Huffeldt, Nicholas Per, Jessopp, Mark, Kolbeinsson, Yann, Krietsch, Johannes, Lang, Johannes, Linnebjerg, Jannie Fries, Lorentsen, Svein‐håkon, Madeiros, Jeremy, Magnusdottir, Ellen, Mallory, Mark, Mcfarlane Tranquilla, Laura, Merkel, Flemming, Militão, Teresa, Moe, Børge, Montevecchi, William, Morera‐pujol, Virginia, Mosbech, Anders, Neves, Verónica, Newell, Mark, Olsen, Bergur, Paiva, Vitor, Peter, Hans‐ulrich, Petersen, Aevar, Phillips, Richard, Ramírez, Iván, Ramos, Jaime, Ramos, Raül, Ronconi, Robert, Ryan, Peter, Schmidt, Niels Martin, Sigurðsson, Ingvar, Sittler, Benoît, Steen, Harald, Stenhouse, Iain, Strøm, Hallvard, Systad, Geir, Thompson, Paul, Thórarinsson, Thorkell, Bemmelen, Rob S.A., Wanless, Sarah, Zino, Francis, Dias, Maria
• Other Authors: BirdLife International, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences Glasgow, University of Glasgow, German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Aarhus University Aarhus, Southwest Iceland Nature Research Centre, EuroNatur Foundation, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Fuglavernd / BirdLife in Iceland, Tromsø University Museum, University of Tromsø (UiT), Funchal Natural History Museum, Laboratoire Chrono-environnement (UMR 6249) (LCE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté COMUE (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté COMUE (UBFC), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre Portugal (MARE), Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida = University Institute of Psychological, Social and Life Sciences (ISPA), Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE UC), Universidade de Coimbra Coimbra, Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio) and Dept. de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Faroe Marine Research Institute, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Penicuik, U.K., Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR), Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) Lisboa, University of Oxford, LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow-University of Glasgow, Universidade de Lisboa = University of Lisbon = Université de Lisbonne (ULISBOA), Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Mount Pearl, Department of Bioscience Roskilde, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences Ireland, University College Cork (UCC), Northeast Iceland Nature Research Centre Húsavík, Institute of Ecology and Evolution Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität = Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Germany, Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians & Fish, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen = Justus Liebig University (JLU), Department of Bioscience Roskilde, Denmark, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of Bermuda, Paget, Bermuda, Háskóli Íslands Reykjavik, Iceland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: area beyond national jurisdiction; Atlantic; biologging; conservation; high seas; marine protected area; regional seas convention; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03331141; https://hal.science/hal-03331141/document; https://hal.science/hal-03331141/file/conl.12824.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12824

International audience The conservation of migratory marine species, including pelagic seabirds, is challenging because their movements span vast distances frequently beyond national jurisdictions. Here, we aim to identify important aggregations of seabirds in the North Atlantic to inform ongoing regional conservation efforts. Using tracking, phenology, and population data, we mapped the abundance and diversity of 21 seabird species. This revealed a major hotspot associated with a discrete area of the subpolar frontal zone, used annually by 2.9–5 million seabirds from ≥56 colonies in the Atlantic: the first time this magnitude of seabird concentrations has been documented in the high seas. The hotspot is temporally stable and amenable to site-based conservation and is under consideration as a marine protected area by the OSPAR Commission. Protection could help mitigate current and future threats facing species in the area. Overall, our approach provides an exemplar data-driven pathway for future conservation efforts on the high seas.