Biologically informed ecological #niche models in pelagic, highly mobile species

European J Ecology
@EuroJEcology

Although pelagic #seabirds are broadly recognised as #indicators of the health of marine systems, numerous gaps exist in knowledge of their at-sea distributions at the species level. These gaps have profound negative impacts on the robustness of marine conservation policies. Correlative modelling techniques have provided some information, but few studies have explored model development for non-breeding pelagic seabirds. Author present a robust niche models for highly mobile species as a baseline for further development. 

Ingenloff, K. (2017). Biologically informed ecological niche models for an example pelagic, highly mobile species. European Journal of Ecology, 3(1), pp. 55-75. doi:10.1515/eje-2017-0006

Download Open Access

The results suggest a necessary evolution in how correlative modelling for highly mobile species such as pelagic seabirds should be approached. These insights are crucial for understanding seabird-environment interactions at macroscales, which can facilitate the ability to address population declines and inform effective marine conservation policy in the wake of rapid global change.