A step toward saving the seabirds: Marine spatial planning informed through the application of the Key Biodiversity Area framework to seabird distribution data

Abstract

**Abstract:** Marine conservation requires regulation of potentially harmful practices so that they do not adversely impact species, communities and ecosystems. While many approaches to identify sites critical to the conservation of species are specific to individual taxa, an overarching framework - yet to be applied to seabirds - has recently been developed which allows for the identification of sites critical to the persistence of all biodiversity; the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) framework. These objectively defined sites will allow us to identify locations where conservation action is most critical. Furthermore, they play a critical role toward meeting the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development, as the coverage of KBAs by protected areas is already an indicator of these global goals. Utilising tracking datasets spanning 1991-2015, and published estimates of colony locations and abundances, we present a multi-taxa approach to identify KBA sites for species suited to site-based conservation measures. We apply this approach to albatrosses, large petrels, penguins and seals which breed at South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Antarctica. We utilise methodologies applicable to numerous seabird species: the use of tracking data to identify critical at-sea sites, and a modified foraging radius approach incorporating a density decay function in boundary delineation from colonies. As the world looks to expand economic development opportunities in the marine environment, we showcase how the KBA framework can be used to inform conservation action for top marine predators, inform decision makers about management measures such as time-area closures, research and monitoring priorities, and help the delineation of Marine Protected or Marine Managed Areas. Our approach has broad applicability to the development of future projects investigating species distributions and for the retrospective analysis of animal tracking data. **Authors:** Jonathan Handley¹, Elizabeth Pearmain¹, Steffen Oppel², Ana Carneiro¹, Carolina Hazin¹, Richard Phillips³, Norman Ratcliffe³, Iain Staniland³, Thomas Clay⁴, Victoria Warwick-Evans³, Phil Trathan³, Maria Dias¹ ¹BirdLife International, ²Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, ³British Antarctic Survey, ⁴University of Liverpool