Use of top predators to determine important areas for biodiversity : comparison of different methods to highlight "hotspots"

• Main Author: Thiers, Laurie
• Other Authors: Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de La Rochelle, Vincent Ridoux, Henri Weimerskirch
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: Biodiversity hotspot; French Southern Territories; Marine top predators; Telemetry; At-sea observations; Habitat modelling; Spatial analysis; Conservation; Fisheries; ‘hotspot’ de biodiversité; Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises; Prédateurs marins supérieurs; Télémétrie; Observations en mer; Modèles d’habitat; Analyse spatiale; Pêcheries; [SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences; Rendu; Antarc*; Antarctique*
• Online Access: https://theses.hal.science/tel-01245419; https://theses.hal.science/tel-01245419/document; https://theses.hal.science/tel-01245419/file/2014Thiers5875.pdf

The numerous threats that marine environment face, coupled with the evidence for a global biodiversity loss during last decades have lead to an increasing need for setting up conservation measures. Particularly, delimiting Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within the French Southern Territories, which are home to an exceptional biodiversity and extensive human activities through industrial fisheries, would be extremely beneficial for species conservation. In order to identify areas of ecological significance for biodiversity, which could be good MPA candidates, the use of distribution data from top marine predators seems to be ideal. Thanks to their high position in trophic network, they are likely to integrate lowers trophic level species distribution. Moreover, they are easy to observe trough at-sea observation campaigns, and easy to equip with telemetric devices thank to their central place foraging that lead them to return regularly to their colony during breeding season. Here, we analyse distribution data and develop habitat models from several top predators species in both subantarctic and tropical regions to highlight biodiversity hotspots within the French Southern Territories. This work could thus be use as a basis to define potential boundaries for a future MPA. Les nombreuses menaces qui pèsent sur le milieu marin et les preuves d’une perte de biodiversité globale au cours des dernières décennies ont rendu indispensable la mise en place de mesures de conservation dans les années à venir. Au sein des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (TAAFs) en particulier, qui offrent une biodiversité exceptionnelle et sont le cadre d’activités anthropiques intensives à travers les grandes pêcheries industrielles, la délimitation d’Aires Marines Protégées (AMP) serait extrêmement bénéfique pour la conservation du milieu. Pour définir les zones d’importance pour la biodiversité, qui représenteraient de bonnes candidates pour un statut d’AMP, l’utilisation des données de distribution de prédateurs supérieurs ...