No Cover Image

Journal article 431 views 96 downloads

Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna

Alice M. Trevail Orcid Logo, Ruth E. Dunn Orcid Logo, Peter Carr Orcid Logo, Nicole Esteban Orcid Logo, Robin Freeman Orcid Logo, Joanna L. Harris Orcid Logo, Malcolm A. C. Nicoll Orcid Logo, Nia Stephens Orcid Logo, Guy M. W. Stevens Orcid Logo, Stephen C. Votier Orcid Logo, Hannah Wood Orcid Logo, Graeme C. Hays Orcid Logo

Journal of Applied Ecology, Volume: 62, Issue: 9, Pages: 2454 - 2463

Swansea University Author: Nicole Esteban Orcid Logo

  • 1365-2664.70117.pdf

    PDF | Version of Record

    © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

    Download (1.75MB)

Check full text

DOI (Published version): 10.1111/1365-2664.70117

Abstract

Global calls for greater ocean protection have sparked renewed interest in very large marine protected areas (VLMPAs, >100,000 km2) to achieve management targets; however, their conservation value is debated. We assessed the suitability of a VLMPA (640,000 km2) in the Indian Ocean for capturing t...

Full description

Published in: Journal of Applied Ecology
ISSN: 0021-8901 1365-2664
Published: Wiley 2025
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70124
first_indexed 2025-08-07T09:41:40Z
last_indexed 2026-01-24T05:32:29Z
id cronfa70124
recordtype SURis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2026-01-23T11:20:57.7619057</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>70124</id><entry>2025-08-07</entry><title>Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319</sid><ORCID>0000-0003-4693-7221</ORCID><firstname>Nicole</firstname><surname>Esteban</surname><name>Nicole Esteban</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2025-08-07</date><deptcode>BGPS</deptcode><abstract>Global calls for greater ocean protection have sparked renewed interest in very large marine protected areas (VLMPAs, &gt;100,000 km2) to achieve management targets; however, their conservation value is debated. We assessed the suitability of a VLMPA (640,000 km2) in the Indian Ocean for capturing the movements of resident mobile marine megafauna. We found that 95% of foraging, breeding and/or locally migrating individuals occurred within the VLMPA despite variable habitat use; adult hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata, n = 22, 6124 tracking days) foraged on mesophotic banks (&gt;30 m depth), reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi, n = 23, 652 tracking days) used shallow submerged banks, and seabirds (red&#x2010;footed boobies Sula sula, brown boobies Sula leucogaster, wedge&#x2010;tailed shearwaters Ardenna pacifica, n = 257, 1084 tracking days) collectively foraged throughout coastal to pelagic waters. To understand the size of MPA necessary to encompass resident mobile species, we assessed overlap with smaller and larger hypothetical MPAs. An MPA meeting the minimum threshold of a VLMPA (&gt;100,000 km2) would encompass 97% of manta and 94% of turtle locations, and 59% of all seabird locations because of their more pelagic distribution. Synthesis and applications. Our results provide clear evidence for the value of the large scale of the Chagos Archipelago very large marine protected area for protection of taxonomically diverse mobile megafauna. Further, we highlight the value of the VLMPA approach as a strategy towards achieving 30% ocean protection by 2030.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Journal of Applied Ecology</journal><volume>62</volume><journalNumber>9</journalNumber><paginationStart>2454</paginationStart><paginationEnd>2463</paginationEnd><publisher>Wiley</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint>0021-8901</issnPrint><issnElectronic>1365-2664</issnElectronic><keywords>biologging, chagos archipelago, manta ray, marine conservation, movement ecology, MPA, seabirds, turtles</keywords><publishedDay>1</publishedDay><publishedMonth>9</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2025</publishedYear><publishedDate>2025-09-01</publishedDate><doi>10.1111/1365-2664.70117</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Biosciences Geography and Physics School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>BGPS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>Another institution paid the OA fee</apcterm><funders>Fondation Bertarelli</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2026-01-23T11:20:57.7619057</lastEdited><Created>2025-08-07T10:37:01.9421123</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Alice M.</firstname><surname>Trevail</surname><orcid>0000-0002-6459-5213</orcid><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Ruth E.</firstname><surname>Dunn</surname><orcid>0000-0003-0927-2734</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Peter</firstname><surname>Carr</surname><orcid>0000-0002-4400-6653</orcid><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Nicole</firstname><surname>Esteban</surname><orcid>0000-0003-4693-7221</orcid><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Robin</firstname><surname>Freeman</surname><orcid>0000-0002-0560-8942</orcid><order>5</order></author><author><firstname>Joanna L.</firstname><surname>Harris</surname><orcid>0000-0001-8684-9096</orcid><order>6</order></author><author><firstname>Malcolm A. C.</firstname><surname>Nicoll</surname><orcid>0000-0001-6212-4787</orcid><order>7</order></author><author><firstname>Nia</firstname><surname>Stephens</surname><orcid>0009-0008-6447-8106</orcid><order>8</order></author><author><firstname>Guy M. W.</firstname><surname>Stevens</surname><orcid>0000-0002-2056-9830</orcid><order>9</order></author><author><firstname>Stephen C.</firstname><surname>Votier</surname><orcid>0000-0002-0976-0167</orcid><order>10</order></author><author><firstname>Hannah</firstname><surname>Wood</surname><orcid>0009-0007-2152-7310</orcid><order>11</order></author><author><firstname>Graeme C.</firstname><surname>Hays</surname><orcid>0000-0002-3314-8189</orcid><order>12</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>70124__34921__8505281dd6384b9d875b96ea5a7dc46b.pdf</filename><originalFilename>1365-2664.70117.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2025-08-07T10:37:01.9207015</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>1831238</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>&#xA9; 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Ecology published by John Wiley &amp; Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).</documentNotes><copyrightCorrect>true</copyrightCorrect><language>eng</language><licence>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</licence></document></documents><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2026-01-23T11:20:57.7619057 v2 70124 2025-08-07 Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319 0000-0003-4693-7221 Nicole Esteban Nicole Esteban true false 2025-08-07 BGPS Global calls for greater ocean protection have sparked renewed interest in very large marine protected areas (VLMPAs, >100,000 km2) to achieve management targets; however, their conservation value is debated. We assessed the suitability of a VLMPA (640,000 km2) in the Indian Ocean for capturing the movements of resident mobile marine megafauna. We found that 95% of foraging, breeding and/or locally migrating individuals occurred within the VLMPA despite variable habitat use; adult hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata, n = 22, 6124 tracking days) foraged on mesophotic banks (>30 m depth), reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi, n = 23, 652 tracking days) used shallow submerged banks, and seabirds (red‐footed boobies Sula sula, brown boobies Sula leucogaster, wedge‐tailed shearwaters Ardenna pacifica, n = 257, 1084 tracking days) collectively foraged throughout coastal to pelagic waters. To understand the size of MPA necessary to encompass resident mobile species, we assessed overlap with smaller and larger hypothetical MPAs. An MPA meeting the minimum threshold of a VLMPA (>100,000 km2) would encompass 97% of manta and 94% of turtle locations, and 59% of all seabird locations because of their more pelagic distribution. Synthesis and applications. Our results provide clear evidence for the value of the large scale of the Chagos Archipelago very large marine protected area for protection of taxonomically diverse mobile megafauna. Further, we highlight the value of the VLMPA approach as a strategy towards achieving 30% ocean protection by 2030. Journal Article Journal of Applied Ecology 62 9 2454 2463 Wiley 0021-8901 1365-2664 biologging, chagos archipelago, manta ray, marine conservation, movement ecology, MPA, seabirds, turtles 1 9 2025 2025-09-01 10.1111/1365-2664.70117 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee Fondation Bertarelli 2026-01-23T11:20:57.7619057 2025-08-07T10:37:01.9421123 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Alice M. Trevail 0000-0002-6459-5213 1 Ruth E. Dunn 0000-0003-0927-2734 2 Peter Carr 0000-0002-4400-6653 3 Nicole Esteban 0000-0003-4693-7221 4 Robin Freeman 0000-0002-0560-8942 5 Joanna L. Harris 0000-0001-8684-9096 6 Malcolm A. C. Nicoll 0000-0001-6212-4787 7 Nia Stephens 0009-0008-6447-8106 8 Guy M. W. Stevens 0000-0002-2056-9830 9 Stephen C. Votier 0000-0002-0976-0167 10 Hannah Wood 0009-0007-2152-7310 11 Graeme C. Hays 0000-0002-3314-8189 12 70124__34921__8505281dd6384b9d875b96ea5a7dc46b.pdf 1365-2664.70117.pdf 2025-08-07T10:37:01.9207015 Output 1831238 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna
spellingShingle Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna
Nicole Esteban
title_short Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna
title_full Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna
title_fullStr Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna
title_full_unstemmed Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna
title_sort Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna
author_id_str_mv fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319
author_id_fullname_str_mv fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319_***_Nicole Esteban
author Nicole Esteban
author2 Alice M. Trevail
Ruth E. Dunn
Peter Carr
Nicole Esteban
Robin Freeman
Joanna L. Harris
Malcolm A. C. Nicoll
Nia Stephens
Guy M. W. Stevens
Stephen C. Votier
Hannah Wood
Graeme C. Hays
format Journal article
container_title Journal of Applied Ecology
container_volume 62
container_issue 9
container_start_page 2454
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 0021-8901
1365-2664
doi_str_mv 10.1111/1365-2664.70117
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Global calls for greater ocean protection have sparked renewed interest in very large marine protected areas (VLMPAs, >100,000 km2) to achieve management targets; however, their conservation value is debated. We assessed the suitability of a VLMPA (640,000 km2) in the Indian Ocean for capturing the movements of resident mobile marine megafauna. We found that 95% of foraging, breeding and/or locally migrating individuals occurred within the VLMPA despite variable habitat use; adult hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata, n = 22, 6124 tracking days) foraged on mesophotic banks (>30 m depth), reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi, n = 23, 652 tracking days) used shallow submerged banks, and seabirds (red‐footed boobies Sula sula, brown boobies Sula leucogaster, wedge‐tailed shearwaters Ardenna pacifica, n = 257, 1084 tracking days) collectively foraged throughout coastal to pelagic waters. To understand the size of MPA necessary to encompass resident mobile species, we assessed overlap with smaller and larger hypothetical MPAs. An MPA meeting the minimum threshold of a VLMPA (>100,000 km2) would encompass 97% of manta and 94% of turtle locations, and 59% of all seabird locations because of their more pelagic distribution. Synthesis and applications. Our results provide clear evidence for the value of the large scale of the Chagos Archipelago very large marine protected area for protection of taxonomically diverse mobile megafauna. Further, we highlight the value of the VLMPA approach as a strategy towards achieving 30% ocean protection by 2030.
published_date 2025-09-01T05:31:45Z
_version_ 1856986892302548992
score 11.096295

Similar Items