SEA Sentinels project – A collaborative, multi-disciplinary framework using seabirds and marine mammals as indicators in rapidly changing seas

Associate Prof. Mary-Anne Lea¹, Dr Racheal  Alderman², Prof. John Arnould³, Dr Cathy Bulman⁴, Dr  Andre Chiaradia⁵, Dr Peter Dann⁵, Prof.  Simon Goldsworthy⁶, Prof. Rob Harcourt⁷, Dr  Eric Woehler⁸, Dr Rebecca McIntosh⁵, Dr Alistair Hobday⁴

¹IMAS, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia, ²Marine Conservation Group, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Hobart, Australia, ³Deakin University, Burwood, Australia, ⁴CSIRO Marine and Atmosphere, Hobart, Australia, ⁵Phillip Island Nature Parks, Cowes, Australia, ⁶SARDI, Adelaide, Australia, ⁷Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, ⁸Birdlife Tasmania, Hobart, Australia

South-eastern Australian seas are a marine biodiversity hot-spot and one of the most rapidly warming regions of the global oceans. This project proposes an innovative, multi-disciplinary and applied research approach using top-order marine vertebrates (seabirds and marine mammals) as ecosystem sentinels to better inform adaptive sustainable use management of our unique marine ecosystems. Marine vertebrates in this region contend with multiple cumulative stressors both on land and at sea, against a backdrop of warming and less predictable oceanic conditions. Key threats include large coastal human populations and coastal development, expanding marine industries, pathogens, predation, pollutants, marine debris, interactions with fisheries and changes in marine productivity associated with warming. This collaborative initiative draws on a network of marine vertebrate researchers and managers and takes a smart sentinel approach (emerging and cost-effective technologies) to enhance the limited long-term data series in the region. The primary goal of the SEA Sentinels project is to provide early-warning triggers for failing ecosystem health, so that the ecosystems and blue economies can be managed optimally into the future.

Biography:

Mary-Anne Lea an Associate Professor at the Ecology and Biodiversity Centre at the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania. She is passionate about understanding the way in which the environment affects the behaviour, distribution and life history of marine vertebrates. She has studied the ecology of many species of seals and seabirds throughout the in temperate, Southern Ocean and Alaskan Waters and has participated in over 25 expeditions and voyages. Her research focuses on the way in which marine predators, especially migratory animals, interact with their environment at different temporal and spatial scales, and the fine-scale relationships between animal behaviour and prey dynamics. Much of her research has focused specifically on the influence of climate change and variability within the marine environment on top predator behaviour and distributions in the Southern Ocean. She is a member of the SCAR Expert Group of Birds and Marine Mammals, the IUCn Marine Migratory Connectivity Group and a keen advocate for equity.