Terrestrial and marine protected areas as a management tool for wide-ranging marine fauna

How to manage the recovery of large vertebrates into areas with established human populations is an increasingly vexing issue for conservation practice. This has been particularly difficult for wide-ranging marine fauna due to... [ view full abstract ]

How to manage the recovery of large vertebrates into areas with established human populations is an increasingly vexing issue for conservation practice. This has been particularly difficult for wide-ranging marine fauna due to limitations in quantifying habitat use, life-history requirements and population growth. We quantify spatial and seasonal patterns in fine-scale spatial use by GPS tracking adult males of two fur seal species (New Zealand fur seals and Australian fur seals) at the “frontline” of their species’ range expansion. This approach may determine where these frontline individuals are seeded from and identify whether current spatial management tools (i.e. protected areas) can effectively mitigate human-seal interactions. Both species range widely at sea, yet inshore terrestrial and marine habitats also prove to be important. It appears that both terrestrial and marine protected areas may play a role in mitigating human-seal interactions. Seasonal variation in habitat use suggests greater potential for human-seal interactions during the Austral winter, when there are more prominent range incursions into areas close to highly populated coastal cities. In spring and summer, the seals traversed state and international borders and utilised numerous breeding colonies, suggesting individuals on the frontline of these species’ range expansion are seeded from multiple breeding colonies. Further, they may play an important role in linking dispersed populations. Our approach emphasises the relevance of inshore habitat for these seals, the possibility for improved zoning within current protected areas, and the need for national and international collaboration to manage wide-ranging marine fauna.