A behavioural approach to key area identification in seabirds for threat mitigation and spatial management.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Identifying key areas of animal distribution using individual movement data is fundamental for conservation planning, threat mitigation, and spatial management. Methodologies which define these areas based on measures of high density and abundance may overlook spatial heterogeneity in behaviour-specific distributions. This is particularly relevant for behaviours that occur at lower densities but are associated with increased exposure to specific environmental threats. We used a dataset of 566 GPS tracked individuals and 14 colonies of a vulnerable species of seabird, the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), to compare two methods for delineating key areas. The first method applies kernel density estimates, based on 50% ('core area') utilisation distributions

SUBMITTER: Wood H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12576929 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature