Thermal vulnerability of sea turtle foraging grounds around the globe.

ABSTRACT: Anticipating and mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity requires a comprehensive understanding on key habitats utilized by species. Yet, such information for high mobile marine megafauna species remains limited. Here, we compile a global database comprising published satellite tracking data (n = 1035 individuals) to spatially delineate foraging grounds for seven sea turtle species and assess their thermal stability. We identified 133 foraging areas distributed around the globe, of which only 2% of the total surface is enclosed within an existing protected area. One-third of the total coverage of foraging hotspots is situated in high seas, where conservation focus is often neglected. Our analyses revealed that more than two-thirds of these vital marine habitats will experi

SUBMITTER: Goudarzi F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10958041 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature