The political biogeography of migratory marine predators

During their migrations, marine predators experience varying levels of protection and face many threats as they travel through multiple countries’ jurisdictions and across ocean basins. Some populations are declining rapidly. Contributing to such declines is a failure of some international agreement...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature ecology & evolution Vol. 2; no. 10; pp. 1571 - 1578
Main Authors: Harrison, Autumn-Lynn, Costa, Daniel P., Winship, Arliss J., Benson, Scott R., Bograd, Steven J., Antolos, Michelle, Carlisle, Aaron B., Dewar, Heidi, Dutton, Peter H., Jorgensen, Salvador J., Kohin, Suzanne, Mate, Bruce R., Robinson, Patrick W., Schaefer, Kurt M., Shaffer, Scott A., Shillinger, George L., Simmons, Samantha E., Weng, Kevin C., Gjerde, Kristina M., Block, Barbara A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.10.2018
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:
631/158/2039
631/158/672
631/158/852
706/2808
Annual cycles
Biogeography
Biological and Physical Anthropology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Geopolitics
International agreements
Jurisdiction
Life Sciences
Marine biology
Migratory species
Ocean basins
Paleontology
Predators
Sharks
Turtles
Zoology
Pacific Ocean
ISSN:2397-334X, 2397-334X
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:During their migrations, marine predators experience varying levels of protection and face many threats as they travel through multiple countries’ jurisdictions and across ocean basins. Some populations are declining rapidly. Contributing to such declines is a failure of some international agreements to ensure effective cooperation by the stakeholders responsible for managing species throughout their ranges, including in the high seas, a global commons. Here we use biologging data from marine predators to provide quantitative measures with great potential to inform local, national and international management efforts in the Pacific Ocean. We synthesized a large tracking data set to show how the movements and migratory phenology of 1,648 individuals representing 14 species—from leatherback turtles to white sharks—relate to the geopolitical boundaries of the Pacific Ocean throughout species’ annual cycles. Cumulatively, these species visited 86% of Pacific Ocean countries and some spent three-quarters of their annual cycles in the high seas. With our results, we offer answers to questions posed when designing international strategies for managing migratory species. Daily location data on the individuals of 14 migratory marine species from 2000 to 2009 allow annual migratory cycles to be mapped to the time spent in the high seas and the exclusive economic zones of specific countries, providing a basis for international management strategies for these species.
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ISSN:2397-334X
2397-334X
DOI:10.1038/s41559-018-0646-8