Three -quarters of the habitat of the marine megafauna sometimes come across human activities such as fish areas, maritime transport routes and contaminated areas with plastics. Not to mention the fact that these marine spaces are also at the mercy of the temperature rise.
These are some of the conclusions that arise from an international study that has analyzed the areas of the ocean that use large marine species migrate, feed or reproduce And that happens to coincide with people in many cases.
A work in which around 400 scientists participated in fifty countries that have placed their grain of sand to identify the most critical locations for 100 types of Marina Megafauna.
Human activities that encounter the integrity of Marina Megafauna
The researchers Jesús Tomás and David March, from the University of Valencia, participate in Megamove, an international study supported by the UN whose results are published today in science. About 400 scientists from 50 countries have collaborated in this study, which identifies the most critical locations for 100 Marina Megafauna species.
The Spaniards have studied the movement, distribution and relocation of sea turtles in the Mediterranean Sea, East Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean, Through satellite monitoring. In particular, the two researchers have studied the movement, distribution and relocation of sea turtles In the Mediterranean Sea, the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean, via satellite monitoring systems.
The work led by the Australian National University (Anu), It includes species such as sharks, whales, turtles, penguins and seals, large predators with crucial functions in marine trying networks that are confronted with growing threats for the environmental impact of human activity. The results are published in science.
A third of the Megafauna, in danger
A third of this megafauna are in danger of being extinction, and more than 75 % of his critical habitats overlap each other with fish, maritime transport, plastic pollution or temperature rise. In addition, 66 % of the space used by these types is intended for important behavior: 50 % to migration and 45 % for residential behavior, such as couples, searching for food or rest.
Tomás, an expert in Sea Turtles, Professor of the Department of Zoology of the Facultat de Ciències biològiques and Researcher at the Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (Icbibe), Highlights: The Great Marine the Great Marine Terrestrial Due to Their Difficult Access; The Satellite Monitoring Allows Obsining Detailed and Updated Information, Distribution and Migration routes, as well as the potential threats of human origin with which they can communicate in their journeys through the sea.
For its part, March, an excellence researcher who has also worked on the use of electronic systems to control human activities such as fish or maritime traffic, says: “This work allows for the first time to offer a global vision in areas with a greater interaction between human prints and Marine Megafauna.”
In earlier research, both scientists had already shown that the current protected marine areas are not sufficient to maintain the critical habitats of these species. They also participate in the Oasis project of the European Life, which studies how to protect the marine turtles against abandoned fisherman’s plantations in the Mediterranean Sea.
The study, based on more than 12,000 trajectories of 110 species that cover 301.7 % of the oceans for 30 years, reveals that the current areas for marine protection only cover 8 % of the global oceanic surface. The UN Convention on High Seas strives to expand this figure to 30 %.
The research concludes that the objectives of this Convention – filmed by 115 countries but still pending ratification – are an important progress and will be the key to improve the preservation, but are insufficient to cover all critical areas used by the endangered Marina Megafauna. That is why additional mitigation measures are increased.
Ana Sequeira, Marina -Ecologist and the most important author of the study, explains that the areas used by the Marina Megafauna for important behavior can only be identified by following their movement patterns. In addition to protecting certain areas, researchers propose mitigation strategies, such as the change in fishing arts, the use of different lights in networks and the adaptation of maritime traffic controls.
The research is tailored to the goals for sustainable development of the UN, in particular with objective 14 on underwater life, and with the aim of the Kunming-Montreal World Biodiversity FrameworkFocused on limiting the extinction of endangered species caused by humans.