Biology Faculty Articles

Title

Convergence of marine megafauna movement patterns in coastal and open oceans

Authors

A. M.M. Sequeira, The University of Western Australia
J. P. Rodriguez, University of the Balearic Islands
Victor M. Eguiluz, University of the Balearic Islands
R. Harcourt, Macquarie University
M. Hindell, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
D. W. Sims, Marine Biological Association
C. M. Duarte, The University of Western Australia
D. P. Costa, University of California, Santa Cruz
J. Fernández-Gracia, Universitat de les Illes Balears
L. C. Ferreira, The University of Western Australia
G. C. Hays, Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences
M. R. Heupel, Australian Institute of Marine Science
M. G. Meekan, The University of Western Australia
A. Aven, Dauphin Island Sea Lab; University of South Alabama
F. Bailleul, South Australian Research and Development Institute
A. M.M. Baylis, South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute
M. L. Berumen, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
C. D. Braun, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
J. Burns, University of Alaska
M. J. Caley, Queensland University of Technology
R. Campbell, Marine Science Division, Department of Parks and Wildlife
R. H. Carmichael, Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory
Erik G. Clua, Labex CORAIL - Papetoai, France
L. D. Einoder, Charles Darwin University
Ari Friedlaender, University of California, Santa Cruz
M E. Goebel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
S. D. Goldsworthy, South Australian Research and Development Institute
C. Guinet, CNRS-Université de La Rochelle
J. Gunn, Australian Institute of Marine Science
D. Hamer, South Australian Research and Development Institute
N. Hammerschlag, University of Miami
M. Hammill, Maurice Lamontagne Institute
L. A. Hückstädt, University of California, Santa Cruz
N. E. Humphries, Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
M. -A. Lea, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries
A. Lowther, Norwegian Polar Institute
A. Mackay, South Australian Research and Development Institute
E. McHuron, University of California, Santa Cruz
J. McKenzie, South Australian Research and Development Institute
L. McLeay, South Australian Research and Development Institute
C. R. McMahon, Macquarie University
K. Mengersen, Queensland University of Technology
M. M. C. Muelbert, University of Tasmania
A. M. Pagano, Alaska Science Center, US Geological Survey
B. Page, South Australian Research and Development Institute
N. Queiroz, Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
P. W. Robinson, University of California, Santa Cruz
S. A. Shaffer, San Jose State University
Mahmood Shivji, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
G. B. Skomal, Shark Research Program, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
S. R. Thorrold, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
S. Villegas-Amtmann, University of California, Santa Cruz
M. Weise, Marine Mammal Program, Office of Naval Research
R. Wells, Mote Marine Laboratory
Bradley M. Wetherbee, Australian Antarctic Division, Department of the Environment and EnergyFollow
A. Wiebkin, South Australian Research and Development Institute
B. Wienecke, Australian Antarctic Division, Department of the Environment and Energy
M. Thums, University of Western Australia

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-20-2018

Publication Title

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Keywords

Global Satellite Tracking, Probability Density Function, Root-Mean-Square, Turning, Angles, Displacements

ISSN

0027-8424

Volume

115

Issue/No.

12

First Page

3072

Last Page

3077

Abstract

The extent of increasing anthropogenic impacts on large marine vertebrates partly depends on the animals’ movement patterns. Effective conservation requires identification of the key drivers of movement including intrinsic properties and extrinsic constraints associated with the dynamic nature of the environments the animals inhabit. However, the relative importance of intrinsic versus extrinsic factors remains elusive. We analyze a global dataset of ∼2.8 million locations from >2,600 tracked individuals across 50 marine vertebrates evolutionarily separated by millions of years and using different locomotion modes (fly, swim, walk/paddle). Strikingly, movement patterns show a remarkable convergence, being strongly conserved across species and independent of body length and mass, despite these traits ranging over 10 orders of magnitude among the species studied. This represents a fundamental difference between marine and terrestrial vertebrates not previously identified, likely linked to the reduced costs of locomotion in water. Movement patterns were primarily explained by the interaction between species-specific traits and the habitat(s) they move through, resulting in complex movement patterns when moving close to coasts compared with more predictable patterns when moving in open oceans. This distinct difference may be associated with greater complexity within coastal microhabitats, highlighting a critical role of preferred habitat in shaping marine vertebrate global movements. Efforts to develop understanding of the characteristics of vertebrate movement should consider the habitat(s) through which they move to identify how movement patterns will alter with forecasted severe ocean changes, such as reduced Arctic sea ice cover, sea level rise, and declining oxygen content.

DOI

10.1073/pnas.1716137115

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Peer Reviewed

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