OCN 780 Seminar | Tracking seabirds across the Pacific: environmental drivers of movement and conservation implications | Clay

Presenter: Dr. Thomas Clay

Title: Tracking seabirds across the Pacific: environmental drivers of movements and conservation implications
 
Seabirds play vital roles in marine ecosystems but are among the most threatened groups of birds. Their wide-ranging oceanic movements expose them to a multitude of threats, including fisheries bycatch, climate change and plastic pollution. Advances in biologging and statistical modelling now allow us to map seabird movements across ocean basins and understand how they respond to shifting oceanographic and atmospheric conditions. Such approaches can inform dynamic management of risks in space and time, supporting more targeted conservation interventions. Drawing on several albatross and petrel case studies from across the Pacific, including the Hawaiian Islands, I will examine the environmental drivers of seabird movements and assess overlap with industrial fisheries. Given their vast ranges, area-based protections alone are inadequate; effective conservation must also reduce threats at sea. I will conclude by highlighting how this research can inform fisheries policy through engagement with fisheries management organizations.

Location: Remote

Time: 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm