Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

COLLABORATING WITH MARINE BIRDS TO MONITOR THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT WITHIN COASTAL MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

  • Rachael A. Orben
  • , Adam Peck-Richardson
  • , Alexa Piggott
  • , James Lerczak
  • , Greg Wilson
  • , Jessica C. Garwood
  • , Xiaohui Liu
  • , Sabir Bin Muzaffar
  • , Alexa D. Foster
  • , Humood A. Naser
  • , Mohamed Almusallami
  • , Tycho Anker-Nilssen
  • , John P.Y. Arnould
  • , Michael L. Berumen
  • , Thomas Cansse
  • , Susana Cárdenas-Alayza
  • , Signe Christensen-Dalsgaard
  • , Abdul Qader Khamis
  • , Tegan Carpenter-Kling
  • , Nina Dehnhard
  • Mindaugas Dagys, Annette Fayet, Rebecca M. Forney, Stefan Garthe, Scott A. Hatch, Michael E. Johns, Miran Kim, Kate Layton-Matthews, Ariel K. Lenske, Gregory T.W. McClelland, Julius Morkūnas, Areen O. Nasif, Gayomini Panagoda, Jong Hyun Park, Victor R.A. Pimenta, Flavio Quintana, Matt J. Rayner, Tone Kristin Reiertsen, Sampath S. Seneviratne, Mariëlle van Toor, Pete Warzybok, Eleanor A. Weideman, Jinhee Yi, Yat Tung Yu, Carlos B. Zavalaga
  • Oregon State University
  • United Arab Emirates University
  • King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
  • University of Bahrain
  • Environment Agency Abu Dhabi
  • Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
  • Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences
  • Arab Regional Center for World Heritage
  • Nelson Mandela University
  • Nature Research Centre
  • Point Blue Conservation Science
  • Kiel University
  • Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation
  • Seabirds Lab. of Korea
  • Environment and Climate Change Canada
  • Klaipėda University
  • University of Colombo
  • HAE-IN Ecological Research Institute
  • Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina
  • Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum
  • School of Biological Sciences
  • Linnaeus University, Kalmar
  • Seabird Conservation Programme
  • Wildlife Ecological Conservation Institute
  • Hong Kong Bird Watching Society
  • Universidad Científica del Sur

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Animal telemetry is maturing into a viable method for observing the ocean as it can be used to monitor both environmental conditions and biological metrics along the movement trajectories of marine animals. As part of the Cormorant Oceanography Project, we have augmented a biologging tag with an external fast response temperature sensor to collect ocean temperature profiles from the backs of foraging marine birds. Cormorants dive between 50 and 250+ times a day to forage for prey so they can provide hard-to-match temporal and spatial coverage of coastal ocean conditions within their foraging areas. We process tag measurements to obtain fundamental oceanographic data (e.g., temperature profiles, bottom soundings, surface current measurements). Together, we have tracked 17 marine bird species (including two Spheniscus penguins spp. and a sea duck), originating from 17 countries and foraging along the edges of all major oceans. Tagged birds’ distribution included 191 MPAs in 26 countries, offering a unique ocean monitoring method to complement more widely used methods.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)32-37
Number of pages6
JournalOceanography
Volume38
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 14 - Life Below Water
    SDG 14 Life Below Water

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'COLLABORATING WITH MARINE BIRDS TO MONITOR THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT WITHIN COASTAL MARINE PROTECTED AREAS'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this