Scaling up ocean conservation through recognition of key biodiversity areas in the Southern Ocean from multispecies tracking data.

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity is critical for maintaining ecosystem function but is threatened by increasing anthropogenic pressures. In the Southern Ocean, a highly biologically productive region containing many endemic species, proactive management is urgently needed to mitigate increasing pressures from fishing, climate change, and tourism. Site-based conservation is one important tool for managing the negative impacts of human activities on ecosystems. The Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) Standard is a standardized framework used to define sites vital for the persistence of global biodiversity based on criteria and quantitative thresholds. We used tracking data from 14 species of Antarctic and subantarctic seabirds and pinnipeds from the publicly available Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data (

SUBMITTER: Becker SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11780204 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature