At sea, seabirds are easy to observe, but as you watch an albatross quickly fly past you might wonder where that bird has come from and where it is going.
This information is a key component to the value of pairing individual tracking data and fisheries distributions to understand spatial overlap between birds (and other marine predators) and fisheries. Tracking data (also known as biologging data) is collected by attaching an electronic device to an animal that record the location of the individual at a given time. These data allow us to determine where individuals spend their time, and by tracking multiple individuals we can calculate areas of higher use and importance to seabird populations.
Overlapping tracking data with where fisheries are occurring helps to understand where and when seabirds might be more at risk from fisheries impacts (for example bycatch, competition, or reliance on supplemental feeding). At broad scales, overlap information is critical for assessing risks to marine animals from multiple anthropogenic impacts.
Research Highlights
Migratory routes of short-tailed albatrosses: Use of exclusive economic zones of North Pacific Rim countries and spatial overlap with commercial fisheries in Alaska. Biological Conservation
Data Quality Influences the Predicted Distribution and Habitat of Four Southern-Hemisphere Albatross Species. Frontiers in Marine Science
Ontogenetic changes in at-sea distributions of immature short-tailed albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus. Endangered Species Research
PUBLICATIONS
Baylis, A. M. M., Tierney, M., Orben, R. A., Warwick-Evans, V., Wakefield, E. D., Grecian, W. J., Trathan, P. N., Reisinger, R., Ratcliffe, N., Croxall, J. P., Campioni, L., Catry, P., Crofts, S., Boersma, P. D., Galimberti, F., Granadeiro, J. P., Handley, J., Hayes, S., Hedd, A., … Brickle, P. (2019). Important At-Sea Areas of Colonial Breeding Marine Predators on the Southern Patagonian Shelf. Scientific Reports, 9, 8517. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44695-1
Baylis, A. M. M., deLecea, A., Tierney, M., & Orben, R. A. (2021). Overlap between marine predators and proposed Marine Managed Areas on the Patagonian Shelf. Ecological Applications, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2426
Fischer, K. N., Suryan, R. M., Roby, D. D., & Balogh, G. R. (2009). Post-breeding season distribution of black-footed and Laysan albatrosses satellite-tagged in Alaska: Inter-specific differences in spatial overlap with North Pacific fisheries. Biological Conservation, 142(4), 751–760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2008.12.007
Goetz, K. T., Stephenson, F., Hoskins, A., Bindoff, A. D., Orben, R. A., Sagar, P. M., Torres, L. G., Kroeger, C. E., Sztukowski, L. A., Phillips, R. A., Votier, S. C., Bearhop, S., Taylor, G. A., & Thompson, D. R. (2022). Data Quality Influences the Predicted Distribution and Habitat of Four Southern-Hemisphere Albatross Species. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 782923. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.782923
Guy, T. J., Jennings, S. L., Suryan, R. M., Melvin, E. F., Bellman, M. A., Ballance, L. T., Blackie, B. A., Croll, D. A., Deguchi, T., Geernaert, T. O., Henry, R. W., Hester, M., Hyrenbach, K. D., Jahncke, J., Kappes, M. A., Ozaki, K., Roletto, J., Sato, F., Sydeman, W. J., & Zamon, J. E. (2013). Overlap of North Pacific albatrosses with the U.S. west coast groundfish and shrimp fisheries. Fisheries Research, 147, 222–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2013.06.009
Orben, R., O’Connor, A., Suryan, R., Ozaki, K., Sato, F., & Deguchi, T. (2018). Ontogenetic changes in at-sea distributions of immature short-tailed albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus. Endangered Species Research, 35, 23–37. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00864
Riaz, J., Orben, R. A., Jones, K. A., Shapiro, M., Winter, A., Brickle, P., & Baylis, A. (2023). Spatial overlap between South American fur seal foraging effort and commercial trawl fisheries in the Falkland Islands. Global Ecology and Conservation, e02615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02615
Suryan, R. M., Dietrich, K. S., Melvin, E. F., Balogh, G. R., Sato, F., & Ozaki, K. (2007). Migratory routes of short-tailed albatrosses: Use of exclusive economic zones of North Pacific Rim countries and spatial overlap with commercial fisheries in Alaska. Biological Conservation, 137(3), 450–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.03.015
Thompson, D. R., Goetz, K. T., Sagar, P. M., Torres, L. G., Kroeger, C. E., Sztukowski, L. A., Orben, R. A., Hoskins, A. J., & Phillips, R. A. (2021). The year-round distribution and habitat preferences of Campbell albatross (Thalassarche impavida). Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst., 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3685