We will identify hotspots of pelagic predators in both temperate and polar environments. There has been a significant effort to identify and map these areas at a global scale, but the coarse resolution of most datasets masks the small-scale patterns taking place in some areas. Based on the small-scale distribution patterns of marine predators, we will investigate which are the oceanographic processes driving the aggregation of marine predators both in the NE Atlantic Ocean and Southern Indian Ocean.
NORTH-EAST ATLANTIC OCEAN. The CONPELHAB project complements the research project entitled “LOng-Term variability OF small-PELagic fishes at the North Iberian shelf ecosystem (LOTOFPEL)”. LOTOFPEL aims to characterize the long-term variability in the pelagic ecosystem at the North Iberian shelf (NIS) and will investigate its consequences on the dynamics of the pelagic populations. LOTOFPEL provides the ideal framework to coordinate the data sharing of the multidisciplinary annual oceanographic cruises of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) that have been carried out since 1983 originally with the main objective of determining the abundance of the target species (sardine). PELACUS surveys have evolved over the years to include other objectives and since 2007 they collect also data on the distribution and abundance of top predators (marine mammals and seabirds) every spring (and autumn from 2007 to 2009), together with information on the distribution and abundance of their main preys, small pelagic fishes and concurrent collection of environmental data. Thus, this dataset provide a unique opportunity to integrate prey distribution patterns together with detailed oceanographical measurements into habitat models, which could improve future predictions and help understand the physical/biological mechanism by which these components are linked in the pelagic ecosystem. The study area in the NE Atlantic Ocean is shown below:
SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN. Regarding the Southern Ocean, the top predator community of this ecosystem is one of the most studied in the world. The current project will be based on the unique long-term tracking database available at the Centre d'Etudes BIologiques de Chizé, from 1989 to present. Specifically, we will focus on different species of albatrosses and petrels since some of them are of high conservation concern. Tracking data will be used to define the presence/absence data required for habitat modelling and to describe the movement of individual top predators. This provides a unique opportunity for considering different oceanographic scenarios, which allows us to consider the dynamic character of pelagic ecosystems when delineating Marine Protected Areas. Moreover, a long-term monitoring programme also improves our understanding of the consequences of climate change on animal distribution and life history, with important implications for the conservation of these species. The study area in the southern Indian Ocean is shown below: