215
2
present Address: Avian Ecology and Evolution Group,
Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University,
K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
3
Coastal and Marine Research Institute, Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
*corresponding author: brigitte.heylen@ugent.be
Keywords: Spheniscus demersus, GPS tracking, Marine
protected areas, Foraging behavior
Human disturbances are altering the functioning and provisioning of services in every ocean, and as such, affect
marine wildlife profoundly. One of the problems is resource
competition between marine predators and fisheries. Marine
protected areas or MPAs can be a powerful tool for attenuating this threat, especially when designed with climate change
in mind. However, additional management strategies are
required. A case study of African penguin conservation in
South Africa was used to illustrate the benefits of embracing
adaptive and dynamic management in the marine environment. For this, future conservation plans were designed by
using the results of a 7-year experiment, in which purseseine fisheries were closed around penguin colonies in Algoa
Bay. Those results indicated that the newly proposed MPA
would provide a legal improvement to the current situation,
but is not sufficient to increase numbers of African penguin
populations. Larger no-take zones are necessary when prey
availability is low. As an immediate measure, ongoing acoustic surveys could provide recommendations on prey availability to design flexible boundaries and increase the benefits
for all stakeholders involved. In general, more experience
and knowledge will always be necessary to obtain the ideal
management plan for a specific area, but learning from the
outcome is one of the aspects of adaptive management, and
as such, it is never too early to implement it.
6.3 Abstracts of Poster Presentations
6.3.1 Hydrography-Driven Distribution
of Seabirds and Cetaceans in the Temperate
and Tropical Atlantic Ocean
Simon Jungblut
1,2,3*
Dominik A. Nachtsheim
1,2,3,4
, Karin
Boos
2,5
, Claude R. Joiris
1,6
1
Laboratory for Polar Ecology (PolE), 1367 Ramillies,
Belgium
2
Bremen Marine Ecology (BreMarE), Marine Zoology,
University of Bremen, Postbox 330440, 28334 Bremen,
Germany
3
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar
and Marine Research, Postbox 120161, 27570 Bremerhaven,
Germany
4
present address: Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic
Wildlife Research (ITAW), University of Veterinary
Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Werftstr. 6, 25761 Büsum,
Germany
5
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences,
University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, 28359 Bremen,
Germany
6
Conservation Biology Unit, Royal Belgian Institute for
Natural Sciences, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
*corresponding author: jungblut@uni-bremen.de
Keywords: Seabirds, Marine mammals, Distributional
patterns, Biogeography, Water masses, Atlantic Ocean
Water masses influence the distribution, abundance and
species assemblage of top predators – seabirds and cetaceans.
In polar regions, for instance, boundaries between water
masses often induce the accumulation of prey organisms,
leading to high abundances of top predators. Information on
the structuring effects of water masses in temperate and tropical oceans and particularly in the Atlantic are relatively limited. Here we (1) provide baseline distributional data that may
function as basis for future comparisons, e.g., in the course of
climate change, and (2) test whether water masses and boundaries between them affect distributional patterns of top predators in the temperate and tropical Atlantic Ocean. Between
2011 and 2014, four trans- equatorial expeditions of RV
Polarstern were used to conduct continuous half-hour transect counts from the vessels bridge without width limitation
at traveling speed and daylight conditions. Temperature and
salinity were automatically recorded by the navigational system of Polarstern. The hydrographical parameters mostly
gradually changed from one water mass to the next. Compared
to polar regions, counts of seabirds and cetaceans were generally low during all expeditions. Statistical analysis of the
eight most abundant seabird species and the pooled cetaceans
revealed the numbers to be dependent on water masses and
seasons. However, no distinct changes or aggregations were
identified in correlation to the borders between water masses.
Numbers of seabirds were correlated to water masses but not
to borders between them. This may mainly be due to only
gradual changes in water masses which for instance fail to
accumulate prey organisms. Other mechanisms like distance
to productive areas (upwelling), competition effects and preyaccumulating sub-surface predators may be similarly important as hydrography in shaping Atlantic top predator
distribution. Continuous monitoring of the at-sea distribution
of seabirds and cetaceans is essential to understand the effects
of climate change on their geographical distribution.
7 How Do They Do It? – Understanding
the Success of Marine Invasive Species
Jonas Geburzi
1,2
and Morgan L. McCarthy
3,4
1
Kiel University, Zoological Institute and Museum,
Hegewischstr. 3, 24118 Kiel, Germany
2
Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz-Centre for Polar
and Marine Research, Wadden Sea Station, Hafenstr. 43,
25992 List/Sylt, Germany
Appendices
2
present Address: Avian Ecology and Evolution Group,
Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University,
K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
3
Coastal and Marine Research Institute, Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
*corresponding author: brigitte.heylen@ugent.be
Keywords: Spheniscus demersus, GPS tracking, Marine
protected areas, Foraging behavior
Human disturbances are altering the functioning and provisioning of services in every ocean, and as such, affect
marine wildlife profoundly. One of the problems is resource
competition between marine predators and fisheries. Marine
protected areas or MPAs can be a powerful tool for attenuating this threat, especially when designed with climate change
in mind. However, additional management strategies are
required. A case study of African penguin conservation in
South Africa was used to illustrate the benefits of embracing
adaptive and dynamic management in the marine environment. For this, future conservation plans were designed by
using the results of a 7-year experiment, in which purseseine fisheries were closed around penguin colonies in Algoa
Bay. Those results indicated that the newly proposed MPA
would provide a legal improvement to the current situation,
but is not sufficient to increase numbers of African penguin
populations. Larger no-take zones are necessary when prey
availability is low. As an immediate measure, ongoing acoustic surveys could provide recommendations on prey availability to design flexible boundaries and increase the benefits
for all stakeholders involved. In general, more experience
and knowledge will always be necessary to obtain the ideal
management plan for a specific area, but learning from the
outcome is one of the aspects of adaptive management, and
as such, it is never too early to implement it.
6.3 Abstracts of Poster Presentations
6.3.1 Hydrography-Driven Distribution
of Seabirds and Cetaceans in the Temperate
and Tropical Atlantic Ocean
Simon Jungblut
1,2,3*
Dominik A. Nachtsheim
1,2,3,4
, Karin
Boos
2,5
, Claude R. Joiris
1,6
1
Laboratory for Polar Ecology (PolE), 1367 Ramillies,
Belgium
2
Bremen Marine Ecology (BreMarE), Marine Zoology,
University of Bremen, Postbox 330440, 28334 Bremen,
Germany
3
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar
and Marine Research, Postbox 120161, 27570 Bremerhaven,
Germany
4
present address: Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic
Wildlife Research (ITAW), University of Veterinary
Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Werftstr. 6, 25761 Büsum,
Germany
5
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences,
University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, 28359 Bremen,
Germany
6
Conservation Biology Unit, Royal Belgian Institute for
Natural Sciences, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
*corresponding author: jungblut@uni-bremen.de
Keywords: Seabirds, Marine mammals, Distributional
patterns, Biogeography, Water masses, Atlantic Ocean
Water masses influence the distribution, abundance and
species assemblage of top predators – seabirds and cetaceans.
In polar regions, for instance, boundaries between water
masses often induce the accumulation of prey organisms,
leading to high abundances of top predators. Information on
the structuring effects of water masses in temperate and tropical oceans and particularly in the Atlantic are relatively limited. Here we (1) provide baseline distributional data that may
function as basis for future comparisons, e.g., in the course of
climate change, and (2) test whether water masses and boundaries between them affect distributional patterns of top predators in the temperate and tropical Atlantic Ocean. Between
2011 and 2014, four trans- equatorial expeditions of RV
Polarstern were used to conduct continuous half-hour transect counts from the vessels bridge without width limitation
at traveling speed and daylight conditions. Temperature and
salinity were automatically recorded by the navigational system of Polarstern. The hydrographical parameters mostly
gradually changed from one water mass to the next. Compared
to polar regions, counts of seabirds and cetaceans were generally low during all expeditions. Statistical analysis of the
eight most abundant seabird species and the pooled cetaceans
revealed the numbers to be dependent on water masses and
seasons. However, no distinct changes or aggregations were
identified in correlation to the borders between water masses.
Numbers of seabirds were correlated to water masses but not
to borders between them. This may mainly be due to only
gradual changes in water masses which for instance fail to
accumulate prey organisms. Other mechanisms like distance
to productive areas (upwelling), competition effects and preyaccumulating sub-surface predators may be similarly important as hydrography in shaping Atlantic top predator
distribution. Continuous monitoring of the at-sea distribution
of seabirds and cetaceans is essential to understand the effects
of climate change on their geographical distribution.
7 How Do They Do It? – Understanding
the Success of Marine Invasive Species
Jonas Geburzi
1,2
and Morgan L. McCarthy
3,4
1
Kiel University, Zoological Institute and Museum,
Hegewischstr. 3, 24118 Kiel, Germany
2
Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz-Centre for Polar
and Marine Research, Wadden Sea Station, Hafenstr. 43,
25992 List/Sylt, Germany
Appendices