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Steinfurth A, Oppel S, Dias MP, Starnes T, Pearmain EJ, Dilley BJ, Davies D, Nydegger M, Bell C, Le Bouard F, Bond AL, Cuthbert RJ, Glass T, Makhado AB, Crawford RJM, Ryan PG, Wanless RM, Ratcliffe N. Important marine areas for the conservation of northern rockhopper penguins within the Tristan da Cunha Exclusive Economic Zone. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2020. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The designation of Marine Protected Areas has become an important approach to conserving marine ecosystems that relies on robust information on the spatial distribution of biodiversity. We used GPS tracking data to identify marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) for the Endangered northern rockhopper penguin Eudyptes moseleyi within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic. Penguins were tracked throughout their breeding season from 3 of the 4 main islands in the Tristan da Cunha group. Foraging trips remained largely within the EEZ, with the exception of those from Gough Island during the incubation stage. We found substantial variability in trip duration and foraging range among breeding stages and islands, consistent use of areas among years and spatial segregation of the areas used by neighbouring islands. For colonies with no or insufficient tracking data, we defined marine IBAs based on the mean maximum foraging range and merged the areas identified to propose IBAs around the Tristan da Cunha archipelago and Gough Island. The 2 proposed marine IBAs encompass 2% of Tristan da Cunha’s EEZ, and are used by all northern rockhopper penguins breeding in the Tristan da Cunha group, representing ~90% of the global population. Currently, one of the main threats to northern rockhopper penguins within the Tristan da Cunha EEZ is marine pollution from shipping, and the risk of this would be reduced by declaring waters within 50 nautical miles of the coast as ‘areas to be avoided’.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Steinfurth
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
| | - S Oppel
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - MP Dias
- BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Center, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, 1100-304 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - T Starnes
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - EJ Pearmain
- BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - BJ Dilley
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
| | - D Davies
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
| | - M Nydegger
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - C Bell
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - F Le Bouard
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - AL Bond
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
- Bird Group, Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Tring, HP23 6AP, UK
| | - RJ Cuthbert
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
- World Land Trust, Blyth House, Bridge Street, Halesworth, IP19 8AB, UK
| | - T Glass
- Tristan Conservation Department, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, Tristan da Cunha, TDCU 1ZZ, South Atlantic
| | - AB Makhado
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
- Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, PO Box 52126, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
| | - RJM Crawford
- Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, PO Box 52126, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
| | - PG Ryan
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
| | - RM Wanless
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
- Institute of Marine Affairs and Resource Management, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 20224, Taiwan
| | - N Ratcliffe
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK
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