Use of top predators to identify areas of ecological significance: comparison of different methods to highlight biodiversity 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, Henri Weimerskirch, Vincent Ridoux
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: conservation; fisheries; marine top predators; telemetry; biodiversity hotspot; French Southern Territories; at‐sea observations; habitat modelling; spatial analysis; Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises; télémétrie; observations en mer; modèles d’habitat; analyse spatiale; pêcheries; prédateurs marins supérieurs; ‘hotspot’ de biodiversité; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Rendu; Antarc*; Antarctique*
• Online Access: https://hal.science/tel-01128235; https://hal.science/tel-01128235/document; https://hal.science/tel-01128235/file/THIERS_Laurie.pdf

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