Identification of marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for penguins around the South Shetland Islands and South Orkney Islands.

Maria P Dias,Colin Harris,Ana Paula Bertoldi Carneiro,Harriet L Clewlow,Mercedes Santos,Katharina Lorenz,Michael J Dunn,Victoria Warwick‐Evans,Nobuo Kokubun,Ben Lascelles,Jeong‐Hoon Kim,Akinori Takahashi,Wayne Trivelpiece,Norman Ratcliffe,Fabrizio Manco,Philip N Trathan,Jefferson T Hinke

doi:10.1002/ece3.4519

Abstract

AimTo provide a method of analyzing penguin tracking data to identify priority at‐sea areas for seabird conservation (marine IBAs), based on pre‐existing approaches for flying seabirds but revised according to the specific ecology of Pygoscelis penguin species.LocationWaters around the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland, and South Orkney archipelagos (FAO Subareas 48.1 and 48.2).MethodsWe made key improvements to the pre‐existing protocol for identifying marine IBAs that include refining the track interpolation method and revision of parameters for the kernel analysis (smoothing factor and utilization distribution) using sensitivity tests. We applied the revised method to 24 datasets of tracking data on penguins (three species, seven colonies, and three different breeding stages—incubation, brood, and crèche).ResultsWe identified five new marine IBAs for seabirds in the study area, estimated to hold ca. 600,000 adult penguins.Main conclusionsThe results demonstrate the efficacy of a new method for the designation of a network of marine IBAs in Antarctic waters for penguins based on tracking data, which can contribute to an evidence‐based, precautionary, management framework for krill fisheries.

Highlights

The Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) program was established by BirdLife International in 1979, with the aim of identifying sites of importance for bird conservation at a global scale (BirdLife International, 2010; Donald, Fishpool, Ajagbe, Bennun, & Bunting, in press; Waliczky, Fishpool, Butchart, Bennun, & Thomas, in press)
To test and apply this method to identify an initial portfolio of marine IBAs around the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland, and South Orkney archipelagos (The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO] Subareas 48.1 and 48.2)
This study focused on the FAO Subarea 48.1, which includes the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, and on the FAO Subarea 48.2, which includes the South Orkney Islands (Figure 1)

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

The Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) program was established by BirdLife International in 1979, with the aim of identifying sites of importance for bird conservation at a global scale (BirdLife International, 2010; Donald, Fishpool, Ajagbe, Bennun, & Bunting, in press; Waliczky, Fishpool, Butchart, Bennun, & Thomas, in press). Few attempts have been made to identify mIBAs for penguins in Antarctic waters, despite the fact that some major progress has been made in developing statistical tools to define important areas for marine conservation based on tracking data and habitat models (Dias et al, 2017; Lascelles et al, 2016; Soanes et al, 2016) and in expanding the global databases, such as the Seabird Tracking Database, to include data for penguins (http://seabirdtracking.org/mapper/index.php). We propose several changes to the existing protocol (published originally in Lascelles et al, 2016) to better reflect the behavior of nonflying seabirds and the quality of tracking data typically available from penguins These refinements are important because penguins have been identified as of particular conservation concern (Croxall et al, 2012), being one of the most threatened taxa of seabirds with several species showing decreasing trends (BirdLife International, 2018). To test and apply this method to identify an initial portfolio of marine IBAs around the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland, and South Orkney archipelagos (The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO] Subareas 48.1 and 48.2)

| METHODS

| DISCUSSION

| CONCLUSIONS

Findings

CONFLICT OF INTEREST