Foraging ecology of recolonising female New Zealand sea lions around the Otago Peninsula, New Zealand.

The New Zealand (NZ) sea lion, Phocarctos hookeri, is endemic to NZ and listed as threatened and nationally critical. It was extirpated from mainland NZ by the 1800s and it has only started recolonising part of its historical breeding range, the Otago Peninsula (OP), since the 1990s. This recolonisation has opened two areas of research: 1) data were needed for the management of interactions between humans and sea lions at sea and for marine habitat protection around the OP, and 2) comparison of data between the only three remnant breeding areas in the sub-Antarctic islands (hypothesised as marginal habitat) and the recolonising population. This thesis presents the results of the first study into the foraging ecology of the small recolonising population of female NZ sea lions inhabiting the OP. Up to 2010, 45 pups had been born at the OP, all descendants from a unique matriarch that emigrated from the sub-Antarctic North Auckland Islands (AI) breeding colony. During autumns 2008 to 2010, the foraging ecology, diet and condition of 13 female NZ sea lions born on the OP (all known-to-be alive ≥ 2 years old, including six during two different years) were investigated. They foraged within a small area around the OP (mean shore distance 4km), predominantly on shallow rocky reefs (<30m depth) and in the area of bryozoan thickets in deeper waters (50-100m depth). Their diving behaviour qualified them as some of the shallowest diving otariids (mean dive depth 20m). Two prey of medium-to-high-energy content (barracouta, Thyrsites atun, and jack mackerel, Trachurus sp.) made up approximately 60% of the diet of female NZ sea lions, although individual specialisations were identified. Pup growth and mass, body mass index and milk fat content all had values in the highest ranges reported for otariids and there was no indication of serious disease or parasite infection. From 2008 to 2010, weekly surveys of female NZ sea lions presence on the OP showed that they are likely permanent residents on the OP. Combined with calculated inter-annual foraging site fidelity, it enabled the descriptions of areas of potential by-catch risk in fisheries around the OP. A technique using decoys was developed to possibly orientate immigrating females to join the existing group and limit areas of interactions, at least during the start of this recolonisation. The recolonising population of female NZ sea lions on the OP exploits what appear to be abundant, easily accessible and high-energy food resources. Age was not a significant factor in explaining any foraging parameters, and foraging effort did not correlate to energy content of prey. This accentuated the suitability of the habitat around the OP for NZ sea lions. This is in contrast with results for the females in the AI that are the deepest and longest diving otariids, feed on lower energy prey and have lower condition than OP females. The results of this thesis corroborate the hypothesis that the AI are marginal marine habitat for this species. Current large-scale fisheries there may be depleting the already limited food resources and reducing the carrying capacity of the marine habitat. Management needs to address the marginality of the habitat to ensure the survival of the remnant populations. Management of the recolonisation of NZ sea lions onto mainland NZ needs to focus on public education, marine habitat protection, monitoring potential competition and determining if by-catch has been unreported. Given the importance of this population for the recovery of the NZ sea lion, a protected area covering the main foraging habitats of female NZ sea lions appears to be the best option to ensure its establishment. Regular monitoring of pup mass, diet and population numbers of sea lions and other large marine predators should increase our understanding of the impact of recolonisation to the habitat, and potential issues that need to be managed. The results presented in this thesis constitute the baseline of foraging ecology and condition for this population and are available to help manage and document the recolonsiation for future management needs in other areas where the NZ sea lion may return

Conservation goals and objectives for the Great Barrier Reef coastal zone

[Extract] A workshop was organised to elicit conservation goals and objectives for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) coastal zone for NERP TE project 9.4 "Conservation planning for a changing coastal zone". In this project, spatially-explicit scenarios and impact assessments are used to produce spatial prioritisations for conservation. Following introductions to the concept of goals in conservation planning and to project 9.4, participants discussed goals, assets that relate to these goals and how they can be formulated into quantitative or spatial objectives. This report summarises the discussions and the main outputs of this workshop. The aims of this workshop were to articulate conservation goals for the GBRWHA coastal zone, to define criteria for choosing assets for the GBR coastal zone, to draw a preliminary list of potential assets and to describe a preliminary method to formulate objectives. Eleven scientists and managers (Table 1) gathered for this one-day workshop on 24 May 2013 in Townsville

Conservation goals and objectives for the Great Barrier Reef coastal zone

[Extract] A workshop was organised to elicit conservation goals and objectives for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) coastal zone for NERP TE project 9.4 "Conservation planning for a changing coastal zone". In this project, spatially-explicit scenarios and impact assessments are used to produce spatial prioritisations for conservation. Following introductions to the concept of goals in conservation planning and to project 9.4, participants discussed goals, assets that relate to these goals and how they can be formulated into quantitative or spatial objectives.\ud \ud This report summarises the discussions and the main outputs of this workshop. The aims of this workshop were to articulate conservation goals for the GBRWHA coastal zone, to define criteria for choosing assets for the GBR coastal zone, to draw a preliminary list of potential assets and to describe a preliminary method to formulate objectives. Eleven scientists and managers (Table 1) gathered for this one-day workshop on 24 May 2013 in Townsville

GIS-based multi-criteria analysis of breeding habitats for recolonising species: New Zealand sea lions

The New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) is a threatened endemic species, with only three breeding colonies in the sub-Antarctic islands. Since 1993, there has been evidence for recolonisation of mainland New Zealand. Yet the coast that the sea lion has returned to only has fragmented and unevenly distributed potential habitats due to coastal urbanisation and development. Therefore, the need to identify and protect potential breeding habitats for recolonisation is a priority for management.A GIS-based multi-criteria analysis was used to identify potential suitable habitats for a 1600 km length of the NZ South Island coast based on distance to anthropogenic disturbance (urban areas, roads), distance to desirable environmental features (beaches, estuaries) and presence of suitable habitat/land access. From this model, we identified preliminary suitable habitat for breeding sites on the Otago Peninsula (east coast) and Catlins Coast (south). We independently detected some of the current dominant areas used by recolonising sea lions as well as identifying some promising new sites.We discuss the limitation of the results of this case study and the need for further data to be added to the model in the face of limited data availability. Overcoming this data limitation will meet an increasing need for a New Zealand-wide study for determining potential habitat for NZ sea lions. The results of such a study would identify areas to allow real-world management (protection or restoration) of the limited potential breeding sites for New Zealand sea lions. This new method could also be used for other recolonising species and encourage management of areas most likely to be recolonized by them

Spatially explicit scenarios for conservation planning in the Great Barrier Reef coastal zone, Australia

The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) borders the east coast of Northern Australia for almost 2000 km. Parts of this coast have been extensively developed with planned and potential further coastal developments, including for mining, ports, agriculture, urban, industrial and tourism. These developments may threaten the health of the GBRWHA through sediment, nutrient and pollutant run-off and habitat loss. In the context of conservation planning, the future must be taken into consideration to understand which ecosystems, species or ecological processes may be at risk and where. However, future coastal development is difficult to predict as it depends on volatile socio-economic factors. With this in mind, we develop a research project that uses spatially explicit scenario planning to identify plausible futures to 2035 for the GBRWHA coastal zone. Land use change modelling to produce eight scenarios is being done with GIS. The resulting maps of scenarios allow for comprehensive conservation planning

NZ-Sea-Lion_Enderby_GPS_locations-2001-03

This is an excel file that contains daily GPS locations of breeding branded New Zealand sea lion females that were obtained manually at the breeding aggregation on Enderby Island over the breeding period (Dec-March) for 2 years (for more details on methodology see Augé et al. 2009 DOI: 10.1163/15683909X427687). Tag is the brand number. Lat and Long are in NZGD2000

Data from: Quantifying apart what belongs together: a multi-state species distribution modeling framework for species using distinct habitats

1. Species distribution models (SDMs) have been used to inform scientists and conservationists about the status and change of occurrence patterns in threatened species. Many mobile species use multiple functionally distinct habitats, and cannot occupy one habitat type without the other being within a reachable distance. For such species, classical applications of SDMs might lead to erroneous representations of habitat suitability, as the complex relationships between predictors are lost when merging occurrence information across multiple habitats. To better account for the spatial arrangement of complementary—yet mandatory—habitat types, it is important to implement modeling strategies that partition occurrence information according to habitat use in a spatial context. Here, we address this issue by introducing a multi-state SDM framework. 2. The multi-state SDM framework stratifies occurrences according to the temporal or behavioral use of distinct habitat types, referred to as “states.” Multiple SDMs are then run for each state and statistical thresholds of presence are used to combine these separate predictions. To identify suitable sites that account for distance between habitats, two optional modules are proposed where the thresholded output is aggregated and filtered by minimum area size, or through moving windows across maximum reachable distances. 3. We illustrate the full use of this framework by modeling the dynamic terrestrial breeding habitat preferences of the New Zealand sea lion (NZSL; Phocarctos hookeri), using Maxent and trialing both modules to identify suitable sites for possible recolonization. 4. The Maxent predictions showed excellent performance, and the multi-state SDM framework highlighted 36 to 77 potential suitable breeding sites in the study area. 5. This framework can be applied to inform management when defining habitat suitability for species with complex changes in habitat use. It accounts for temporal and behavioral changes in distribution, maintains the individuality of each partitioned SDM, and considers distance between distinct habitat types. It also yields one final, easy-to-understand output for stakeholders and managers

Island-based Information Management System-GIS Data Centre as a key tool for spatial planning in the South Atlantic UK Overseas Territories

Environmental data require fit-for-purpose data management systems and related spatial applications to be used effectively for management. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become a key tool to analyse and visualise spatial data with their increasing volume and variety. Well-designed data centres that combine a data management system with GIS, reduce costs and improve efficiency for spatial planning processes. Small or remote territories and islands such as the South Atlantic UK Overseas Territories (SAUKOT), with limited financial resources and capacity, face many challenges to develop such centres. In 2013 an island-based Information Management System (IMS)-GIS Data Centre was established in the SAUKOT. Until then, governments did not have the ability to use spatial planning effectively to manage their environments. The IMS-GIS Data Centre has been operating as: 1) repository of high-quality reference datasets to support decision making, 2) interactive data visualisation to share maps and information with stakeholders and 3) data portals to assist data discovery and sharing. This paper describes i) how the SAUKOT have built their own IMS-GIS Data Centres ii), how these Data Centres have provided effective and manageable solutions to support terrestrial and marine spatial planning processes and iii) the challenges the Data Centres are still facing. Thanks to relatively simple data management concepts and the use of open-source programs, the IMS-GIS Data Centre is transferable to other contexts sharing similar challenges to those faced by the SAUKOTOs dados ambientais exigem uma adequação dos sistemas de gestão de dados e respetivas aplicações geográficas para que sejam utilizados eficazmente na gestão. Os Sistemas de Informação Geográfica (SIG) tornaram-se uma ferramenta essencial para analisar e visualizar dados espaciais com seu volume e variedade crescentes. Os Data centers bem projetados, que combinam um sistema de gestão de dados com SIG, reduzem custos e melhoram a eficiência dos processos de planeamento espacial. Os territórios e ilhas pequenas ou remotas, como os Territórios Ultramarinos do Atlântico Sul do Reino Unido (SAUKOT), com recursos e capacidade financeira limitados, enfrentam muitos desafios para desenvolver esses centros. Em 2013, um centro de dados do Sistema de Gestão de Informações em Ilhas (IMS) foi estabelecido no SAUKOT. Até então, os governos não tinham a capacidade de usar o planeamento espacial efetivamente para gerir os seus ambientes. O IMS-GIS Data Center opera como: 1) repositório de conjuntos de dados de referência de alta qualidade para apoiar a tomada de decisão, 2) visualização interativa de dados para compartilhar mapas e informações com as partes interessadas e 3) portais de dados para auxiliar na descoberta e compartilhamento de dados. Este artigo descreve i) como os SAUKOT construíram os seus próprios Data Centers IMS-GIS; ii) como esses Data Centers forneceram soluções eficazes e geríveis para apoiar os processos de planeamento espacial terrestre e marinho; e iii) os desafios que os Data Centers ainda enfrentam. Graças a conceitos de gestão de dados relativamente simples e o uso de programas de código aberto, o IMS-GIS Data Center é transferível para outros contextos que compartilham desafios semelhantes aos enfrentados pelo SAUKOT.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Quantifying apart what belongs together: a multi-state species distribution modelling framework for species using distinct habitats

Species distribution models (SDMs) have been used to inform scientists and conservationists about the status and change in occurrence patterns in threatened species. Many mobile species use multiple functionally distinct habitats, and cannot occupy one habitat type without the other being within a reachable distance. For such species, classical applications of SDMs might lead to erroneous representations of habitat suitability, as the complex relationships between predictors are lost when merging occurrence information across multiple habitats. To better account for the spatial arrangement of complementary—yet mandatory—habitat types, it is important to implement modelling strategies that partition occurrence information according to habitat use in a spatial context. Here, we address this issue by introducing a multi-state SDM framework. The multi-state SDM framework stratifies occurrences according to the temporal or behavioural use of distinct habitat types, referred to as “states.” Multiple SDMs are then run for each state and statistical thresholds of presence are used to combine these separate predictions. To identify suitable sites that account for distance between habitats, two optional modules are proposed where the thresholded output is aggregated and filtered by minimum area size, or through moving windows across maximum reachable distances. We illustrate the full use of this framework by modelling the dynamic terrestrial breeding habitat preferences of the New Zealand sea lion (NZSL) (Phocarctos hookeri), using Maxent and trialling both modules to identify suitable sites for possible recolonization. The Maxent predictions showed excellent performance, and the multi-state SDM framework highlighted 36–77 potential suitable breeding sites in the study area. This framework can be applied to inform management when defining habitat suitability for species with complex changes in habitat use. It accounts for temporal and behavioural changes in distribution, maintains the individuality of each partitioned SDM, and considers distance between distinct habitat types. It also yields one final, easy-to-understand output for stakeholders and managers