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Spatio-temporal overlap between the at-sea distribution of Southern Giant Petrels and fisheries at the Patagonian Shelf

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Abstract

The interactions between seabirds and fisheries pose significant threats for the seabird species such as incidental capture. In contrast, several species of seabirds meet part of their energetic requirements through the use of fisheries discards. Knowledge about the relationship between at-sea distribution of Procellariiformes and fisheries is a key tool in marine ecosystem management. We analysed the spatio-temporal relationship between the areas used by 16 satellite-tracked breeding adults of the Southern Giant Petrel and fisheries distribution and catch at the Patagonian Shelf. We also determined the time spent by adults in different marine jurisdictions. Results indicated a marked spatio-temporal association between birds and fisheries, mainly trawlers. The Southern Giant Petrels concentrated their foraging effort over Argentinean waters. The use of an abundant and predictable food source provided by the fisheries discards may be one of the factors affecting the dynamics of the Southern Giant Petrel populations in Patagonia, Argentina.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Wildlife Conservation Society, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (PICT 1/6372) and Ecocentro Puerto Madryn. S. Copello was funded by a PhD fellowship from CONICET and Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica. We thank Centro Nacional Patagónico for institutional support. We also thank Juan Buono and Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP) for fishery data, Patricia Dell’ Arciprete for spatial analysis advice and people who helped in the field. We thank Wieslawa Misiak for valuable comments on the language of the manuscript. Revisions by two anonymous referees helped to improve this manuscript.

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  1. Sofía Copello

    Present address: Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata-CONICET, Funes 3250, A7602AYJ, Mar del Plata, Argentina

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Nacional Patagónico (CONICET), Boulevard Brown 3500, U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Argentina

    Sofía Copello & Flavio Quintana

  2. Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, NY, 10460, USA

    Flavio Quintana

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  1. Sofía Copello
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  2. Flavio Quintana
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Correspondence to Sofía Copello.

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Copello, S., Quintana, F. Spatio-temporal overlap between the at-sea distribution of Southern Giant Petrels and fisheries at the Patagonian Shelf. Polar Biol 32, 1211–1220 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0620-7

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