Population Trend of the World’s Monitored Seabirds, 1950-2010

Seabird population changes are good indicators of long-term and large-scale change in marine ecosystems, and important because of their many impacts on marine ecosystems. We assessed the population trend of the world’s monitored seabirds (1950–2010) by compiling a global database of seabird population size records and applying multivariate autoregressive state-space (MARSS) modeling to estimate the overall population trend of the portion of the population with sufficient data (i.e., at least five records). This monitored population represented approximately 19% of the global seabird population. We found the monitored portion of the global seabird population to have declined overall by 69.7% between 1950 and 2010. This declining trend may reflect the global seabird population trend, given the large and apparently representative sample. Furthermore, the largest declines were observed in families containing wide-ranging pelagic species, suggesting that pan-global populations may be more at risk than shorter-ranging coastal populations

Trophodynamics of Protomyctophum (Myctophidae) in the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean)

This study investigated spatial and temporal patterns in distribution, population structure and diet of Bolin's lanternfish Protomyctophum bolini, Tenison's lanternfish Protomyctophum tenisoni and gaptooth lanternfish Protomyctophum choriodon in the Scotia Sea using data collected by midwater trawl during spring, summer and autumn. Protomyctophum bolini was the most abundant species of the genus encountered throughout the Scotia Sea with the greatest concentrations occurring around the Antarctic Polar Front (APF). This species had a life cycle of 2+ years, but spatial differences in population structure were apparent as the I-group was absent from all regions south of the APF, suggesting that the species does not recruit in the Scotia Sea. Protomyctophum tenisoni occurred mostly in waters characteristic of the APF and was absent from the southern Scotia Sea. It had a limited size range, but there was clear size-related sexual dimorphism with males significantly larger than females. The species had a life cycle of c. 2 years, but the I-group (c. 1 year old, 1 November to 31 October the next year) occurred only in regions close to the APF suggesting that recruitment is restricted to these waters. A seasonal southward migration for P. choriodon is likely as the species occurred mostly to the south-west of South Georgia in summer, but extended to the sea-ice sectors in autumn. Protomyctophum choriodon had a life cycle of 4+ years in the Scotia Sea and the population was dominated by age classes >3 years old. Larval stages were absent during the surveys for all species. Diurnal variations in vertical distribution were apparent for all three species. Interspecific variations in diet were evident, but all species were primarily copepod feeders, with Metridia spp., Rhincalanus gigas and Calanus simillimus generally dominating their diet. Small euphausiids, principally Thysanoessa spp., were also an important component of their diets, particularly for P. choriodon which had the largest body size. The spatial and temporal variations in diet for both P. bolini and P. tenisoni were broadly consistent with underlying abundance patterns within the mesozooplankton community

Tracking reveals limited interactions between Campbell Albatross and fisheries during the breeding season

International audienceFisheries-related mortality has been influential in driving global declines in seabird populations. Understanding the overlap between seabird distribution and fisheries is one important element in assessing bycatch risk, and may be achieved by tracking the movements of individual birds and fishing vessels. Here, we assess the spatiotemporal overlap between the vulnerable Campbell Albatross Thalassarche impavida and large (>28 m) commercial fishing boats in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). We used a novel analytical approach, bivariate Gaussian bridge movement modelling, to compute spatiotemporal utilization distributions of bird-borne global positioning system (GPS) loggers and data from the Vessel Monitoring System. We tracked birds for 28,815 h during incubation and chick brooding, with half of this time spent within New Zealand’s EEZ, utilizing 6.7% of the available area. However, there was no evidence that albatrosses and fishing vessels were in the same location simultaneously. We accounted for the broader ecological footprint of fishing vessels by calculating the distance between GPS-fix locations for albatrosses and fishing vessels, revealing that albatrosses were within 30 km of fishing vessels in 8.4% of foraging trips. This highlights differences in estimated fine-scale spatiotemporal overlaps which may be due to the distance between albatrosses and vessels or the methods used. Overall, the low levels of spatial overlap could be a result of Campbell Albatross’ preference for foraging in areas without fishing activity or competitive exclusion by other species. Our results reinforce the importance of multi-scale, temporally explicit, and multi-national approaches to risk assessment, as Campbell Albatrosses spend approximately half of their time foraging outside New Zealand’s EEZ

Modelling and mapping trophic overlap between fisheries and the world’s seabirds

Seabird food consumption may reveal the potential for competition between seabirds and fisheries. I ndeed, coexistence of foraging seabirds and operating fisheries inevitably results in interactions, one of which is competition for the same resources. I used GIS-based modelling at a scale of 30-min spatial cells to: (a) map the foraging distribution of seabirds; (b) predict their annual food consumption rates in a spatially-explicit manner; and (c) estimate a spatially-explicit seabird - fisheries overlap index. Information on the population size, diet composition and foraging attributes of 351 species of seabirds was compiled into a Microsoft Access database. Trophic levels, expressing the position of seabirds in the marine ecosystem, were estimated for each species using diet composition data. Global annual food consumption by seabirds was estimated to be 96.4 million tonnes (95% CI: 78.0 to 114.7 million tonnes), compared to a total catch of nearly 120 million tonnes by all fisheries. Krill and cephalopods comprised over 58% of the overall food consumed and fishes most of the remainder. The families Procellariidae (albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, etc.) and Spheniscidae (penguins) were responsible for more than 54% of the overall food consumption. Mapping the foraging distribution of seabirds revealed that, areas near New Zealand, the eastern coast of Australia, and the sub-Antarctic islands have high seabird species richness. Hawaii and the Caribbean were the only areas north of the equator with high species richness. Temperate and polar regions supported high densities of seabirds, and most food extracted by seabirds originated there. In addition, maps of the annual food consumption rates revealed that most of the food consumed by seabirds was extracted from offshore waters rather than nearshore ones, and from areas where overlap between seabirds and fisheries was low. My trophic overlap maps identified 'hotspots' of highest potential for conflict between fisheries and seabirds. Thus, this study may provide useful insight when developing management approaches to manage marine conservation areas.Science, Faculty ofZoology, Department ofGraduat

OpenAIRE Acceleration Program Design and Implementation Plan

OpenAIRE-Advance launched an Open Innovation programme to develop an OpenAIRE acceleration program similar to the Open (government) data initiatives. The aim is to mingle external ideas with internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, that will lead to the co-creation of fresh business ideas and the formation of an innovation ecosystem with would-be-entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs, closely related to OpenAIRE, Open Innovation processes will be employed to develop an OpenAIRE Acceleration Progra

Modelling and mapping resource overlap between seabirds and fisheries on a global scale: a preliminary assessment

Abstract: Coexistence of foraging seabirds and operating fisheries may result in interactions such as competition for the same prey resources. We used GIS-based modelling at a scale of 30-min spatial cells to: (a) map the foraging distribution of seabirds; (b) predict their annual food consumption rates in a spatially-explicit manner; and (c) estimate a spatially-explicit seabird -fisheries overlap index. Information on population size, diet composition, and foraging attributes of 351 seabird species was compiled into a Microsoft Access database. Global annual food consumption by seabirds was estimated to be 96.4 million tonnes (95% CI: 78.0 to 114.7 million tonnes), compared to a total catch of nearly 120 million tonnes by all marine fisheries. Krill and cephalopods comprised over 58% of the overall food consumed and fishes most of the remainder. The families Procellariidae (albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, etc.) and Spheniscidae (penguins) were responsible for over 54% of the overall food consumption. Seabird foraging distribution maps revealed that areas around New Zealand, the eastern Australian coast, and the sub-Antarctic islands had high species richness. However, temperate and polar regions supported high seabird densities, and most food extracted by seabirds originated there. Furthermore, maps of food consumption rates revealed that most food consumed by seabirds was extracted from offshore rather than nearshore waters, and from areas where seabird -fisheries overlap was low. The resource overlap maps identified 'hotspots' of highest potential for conflict between fisheries and seabirds. Thus, this study may provide useful insight when developing management approaches for designing offshore marine conservation areas