Between 21-25 October 2013, Maite Louzao attended the 3rd International Marine Protected Area conference, http://www.impac3.org/. Every four years, the International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC) brings together major maritime stakeholders from around the globe, beyond national or sectoral boundaries, to assist in the conservation and sustainable development of the oceans.
Maite contributed with the an interesting talk regarding the identification of ecologically meaningful marine areas in the southern Atlantic waters, using data from predator communities. The protection of key areas for biodiversity at sea is not as widespread as on land and research investment is necessary to identify biodiversity hotspots in the open ocean. Within this framework, we identified hotspots of marine predators in the southern NE Atlantic environment based on the PELACUS ecosystem-based monitoring programme. The PELACUS research survey series is an annual monitoring survey programme that studies the pelagic ecosystems on the southern Bay of Biscay. Based on the small-scale distribution patterns of predators, we identified ecologically meaningful marine areas for marine top predators in this biogeographic area. Understanding the features that determine the distribution of marine predators is a prerequisite for identifying key areas for their conservation, and hence guides the establishment of Marine Protected Areas.
Maite contributed with the an interesting talk regarding the identification of ecologically meaningful marine areas in the southern Atlantic waters, using data from predator communities. The protection of key areas for biodiversity at sea is not as widespread as on land and research investment is necessary to identify biodiversity hotspots in the open ocean. Within this framework, we identified hotspots of marine predators in the southern NE Atlantic environment based on the PELACUS ecosystem-based monitoring programme. The PELACUS research survey series is an annual monitoring survey programme that studies the pelagic ecosystems on the southern Bay of Biscay. Based on the small-scale distribution patterns of predators, we identified ecologically meaningful marine areas for marine top predators in this biogeographic area. Understanding the features that determine the distribution of marine predators is a prerequisite for identifying key areas for their conservation, and hence guides the establishment of Marine Protected Areas.
RSS Feed
