Multispecies tracking reveals a major seabird hotspot in the North Atlantic

• Published in: Conservation Letters
• Main Authors: Davies, Tammy E., Carneiro, Ana P.B., Tarzia, Marguerite, Wakefield, Ewan, Hennicke, Janos C., Frederiksen, Morten, Hansen, Erpur Snær, Campos, Bruna, Hazin, Carolina, Lascelles, Ben, Anker‐Nilssen, Tycho, Arnardóttir, Hólmfríður, Barrett, Robert T., Biscoito, Manuel, Bollache, Loïc, Boulinier, Thierry, Catry, Paulo Xavier, Ceia, Filipe R., Chastel, Olivier, Christensen‐Dalsgaard, Signe, Cruz‐Flores, Marta, Danielsen, Jóhannis, Daunt, Francis, Dunn, Euan, Egevang, Carsten, Fagundes, Ana Isabel, Fayet, Annette L., Fort, Jérôme, Furness, Robert W., Gilg, Olivier, González‐Solís, Jacob, Granadeiro, José Pedro, Grémillet, David, Guilford, Tim, Hanssen, Sveinn Are, Harris, Michael P., 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 L., McFarlane Tranquilla, Laura, Merkel, Flemming R., Militão, Teresa
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2021
• Subjects: area beyond national jurisdiction; Atlantic; biologging; conservation; high seas; marine protected area; regional seas convention; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10316/103842; https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12824

The conservation ofmigratory marine species, including pelagic seabirds, is challenging because theirmovements 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.