{"id":271641,"date":"2023-11-15T11:12:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T16:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/roaming-seabirds-need-ocean-wide-protection\/"},"modified":"2023-11-15T11:13:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T16:13:10","slug":"roaming-seabirds-need-ocean-wide-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/roaming-seabirds-need-ocean-wide-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Roaming seabirds need ocean-wide protection","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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Seabirds roam far and wide in the Indian Ocean \u2013 so they need ocean-wide protection, new research shows.<\/p>\n

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Seabirds roam far and wide in the Indian Ocean \u2013 so they need ocean-wide protection, new research shows.<\/p>\n

All other oceans are known to contain \u201chotspots\u201d where predators including seabirds feast on prey.<\/p>\n

But the new study \u2013 by a team including Exeter, Heriot-Watt and R\u00e9union universities, and ZSL \u2013 found no such concentrations in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

With seabirds facing numerous threats due to human activity, their survival depends on protecting the open ocean.<\/p>\n

\u201cEfforts are being made to protect key breeding colonies, but until now little was known about where Indian Ocean seabirds go when they\u2019re not breeding,\u201d said Dr Alice Trevail, from the Environment and Sustainability Institute at Exeter\u2019s Penryn Campus in Cornwall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found that seabirds are extremely mobile outside of breeding times, with no focussed hotspots.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarine Protected Areas (MPAs) exist in the Indian Ocean, but the birds in our study spent an average of no more than four days in any of the five largest MPAs per year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study collected tracking data on nine seabird species during non-breeding periods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese birds mostly prey on small fish, so they are affected by human activities including overfishing and pollution,\u201d Dr Trevail said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the birds roam widely and spend much of their time outside national waters, we need international action \u2013 like the recent High Seas Treaty \u2013 to protect them.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo country can act in isolation to protect these birds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study was funded by the Bertarelli Foundation.<\/p>\n

The paper, published in the journal Current Biology<\/em>, is entitled: \u201cTracking seabird migration in the tropical Indian Ocean reveals basin-scale conservation need.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Journal<\/h4>\n

Current Biology<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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DOI<\/h4>\n

10.1016\/j.cub.2023.10.060 <\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Article Title<\/h4>\n

Tracking seabird migration in the tropical Indian Ocean reveals basin-scale conservation need<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Article Publication Date<\/h4>\n

15-Nov-2023<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n