Landscape mapping at sub-Antarctic South Georgia provides a protocol for underpinning large-scale marine protected areas.

ABSTRACT: Global biodiversity is in decline, with the marine environment experiencing significant and increasing anthropogenic pressures. In response marine protected areas (MPAs) have increasingly been adopted as the flagship approach to marine conservation, many covering enormous areas. At present, however, the lack of biological sampling makes prioritising which regions of the ocean to protect, especially over large spatial scales, particularly problematic. Here we present an interdisciplinary approach to marine landscape mapping at the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia as an effective protocol for underpinning large-scale (10⁵-10⁶  km²) MPA designations. We have developed a new high-resolution (100 m) digital elevation model (DEM) of the region and integrated

SUBMITTER: Hogg OT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5046182 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature