Post on 03-Aug-2021
Faculty of Edit this on the Title Master
Project 4.2 Identifying areas of ecological significance
for iconic species and apex predators in the GAB
Prof Simon GoldsworthySARDI Aquatic Sciences
Simon Goldsworthy (SARDI)Fred Bailleul (SARDI)Toby Patterson (CSIRO)
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
Satellite telemetry data 8 species 500 deployments~5,000 tracks
Use leading techniques to integrate location data from electronic tags/sightings with environmental data to develop distribution/habitat preference models, and identify key regions common to multiple species
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
Datasets
Species Type of species Type of dataData
featuresData type
Time period covered by the data
Number of tracks or
observations
Number of individuals
Number of colonies
Source of DataOrganisations
Australian sea lions
Central place forager
TRACKING
Argos, GPSPresence
only2003 - 2015 4051 tracks 196 34
SARDI IMOS
Australian fur seals ArgosPresence
only1995 - 2003 415 tracks 38 3 PINP
Long-nosed fur seals ArgosPresence
only2000 - 2007 161 tracks 87 5
SARDI FRDC
Little penguins ArgosPresence
only2004 - 2009 108 tracks 94 8 SARDI
Short tailed shearwater
ArgosPresence
only2006 - 2007 33 tracks 31 2 SARDI
Blue sharks
Non central place forager
ArgosPresence
only2015 - 2016 8 tracks 8 NA SARDI
Shortfin mako ArgosPresence
only2008 - 2015 18 tracks 18 NA SARDI
White sharks ArgosPresence
only2015 5 tracks 5 NA
SARDI(BP 4.1)
Southern bluefin tuna GeolocPresence
only1998 - 2011 125 tracks 125 NA
CSIRO(BP 4.3)
Pygmy blue whales
SURVEYS
AerialPresence
only2003 - 2005 - 2011 -
2016119 obs - NA
BWS (BP 4.1)
Sperm whalesAerial / Boat / Historical
whaling
Presence only
1958 - 2016 15579 obs - NA
BWS (BP 4.1)/SAM/OZCAM/AADC/OBIS/
NWDSSD/NS/ RPS/IFAW/IWC
11 species, 500 deployments, ~5,000 tracks, ~16,000 observations
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
Months
2 4 6 8 10 12
STSW
BW
SBT
SM
BS
WS
SW
LNFS
LP
AFS
ASL Resident - CPF
Resident - CPF
Resident - CPF
Resident - CPF
Resident
Migratory
Highly Migratory
Highly Migratory
Highly Migratory
Highly Migratory – high seasonality
Highly Migratory – high seasonality – CPF
High
Low
Resi
denc
y
Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec
ASL = Australian sea lion; AFS = Australian fur seal; LP = little penguin; LNFS = long-nosed fur seal; SW = Sperm whale; WS = white shark;BS = blue shark; SM = shortfin- mako; SBT = southern Bluefin tuna; BW = pygmy blue whale; STSW = short-tailed shearwaterCPF = Central Place Forager (seals and seabirds with shore-based breeding colonies)
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
a)
b)
Females
Males
Distribution at sea and foraging habitats – Example 1
Satellite telemetry data
Species distribution model Australian sea lion
The maximum entropy model (Maxent) suited the entire available tracking and survey dataset of this study.
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
Distribution at sea and foraging habitats – Example 1
Standardised probability of potential distribution (habitat suitability: 3 factors distance from shelf break, distance from coast, depth)
Females
Males
a)
b)
Females
Males
All locations Foraging locations (state-space models)
The maximum entropy model (Maxent) suited the entire available tracking and survey dataset of this study.
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
a)
b)
Distribution at sea and foraging habitats – Example 1Standardised probability of potential distribution (habitat suitability: 3 factors distance from shelf break, distance from coast, depth)
Females
Males
Females
Males
Distribution/abundance Foraging/abundance
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
Distribution at sea and foraging habitats – Example 2
Sightings/whaling records
15,500 records• Location data from Project 4.1• National Whale & Dolphin Sightings and
Strandings Database (1979-1992)• South Australian Museum (1915-2013• Marine Mammal Observer data collected during
seismic surveys (2011-2014)• IWC individual catch data (1912-1978)• Historical whaling data (1913-1978)
Standardised probability of potential distribution Habitat suitability explained by bathymetry (77%), sea bottom aspect (13%) and slope (10%)
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
High use
Medium use
Low use
High-use areas and key regions Distribution (11 species)
Central place foragers
Non-Central place foragers
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
High-used areas and key regions - Distribution
Distribution Central Place Foragers / Abundance(5 species)
High use
Medium use
Low use
Distribution Non-Central Place Foragers(6 species)
High use
Medium use
Low use
Distribution / Abundance (11 species)
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
High-used areas and key regions –Foraging
Foraging Central Place Foragers / Abundance(5 species)
Foraging Non-Central Place Foragers(4 species)
High use
Medium use
Low use
Foraging / Abundance (9 species)
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
Biological and physical oceanographic features
Two key regions
120 125 130 135 140 145
-42
-40
-38
-36
-34
-32
Longitude
Latit
ude
High useMedium useLow use
0 200
km
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
Biological and physical oceanographic features
Key regions:- Shelf & slope- Narrow shelves
0 200 400 600 800 1000
0.00.2
0.40.6
0.81.0
Distance (m)
Densi
ty
0 200 400 600 800 1000
0.00.2
0.40.6
0.81.0
Distance (m)
Densi
ty
-6000 -4000 -2000 0
0.00.2
0.40.6
0.81.0
Sea bottom (m)
Densi
tya)
b)
c)
Bathymetry
Distance coast
Distance slope
Freq
uenc
yFr
eque
ncy
Freq
uenc
yFr
eque
ncy
Freq
uenc
y
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
Key findings• First regional integration of tracking
and distribution data for apex predator species in the GAB
• Synthesis and integration of one of the largest global satellite telemetry databases
• Maps of distribution and habitats for key species
• Identification of shared oceanic, shelf-slope and neritic foraging habitats
• identification of key regions in the eastern central and western GAB
• characterisation of oceanographic features of high-use regions
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
• Identification of key regions utilised by multiple species furthers our understanding of how physical and biological oceanographic features and processes couple together to create critical habitats for communities of apex predators in the GAB
• Reaffirms importance of the GAB as a key region for many iconic/apex predator species, for both resident and highly migratory species
• Relevant to species recovery plans, marine park management, identification, management and mitigation of impacts
Implications
• Identification of key regions/habitats utilised by multiple species provides critical information for threatened, migratory and protected species management in the GAB
• Identify and resolve overlap between key regions used my multiple predators species and human activities – provides important capacity to better manage our activities, impacts and interactions
Faculty of Edit this on the Slide Master The University of Adelaide
• Tracking data in project 4.2 sourced from several current and past SARDI, IMOS, AMMC and PhD student projects, including PhDs by Micheal Drew, Mathew Heard, Tom Barnes, Paul Rogers, Luke Einoder, Brad Page, Alistair Baylis, Lachlan McLeay, Annelise Wiebkin, Andrew Lowether
• Roger Kirkwood and Peter Dann (Phillip Island Nature Park)• Mark Hindell and Ian Jonsen - Technical Expert Team for Project
Acknowledgements