Marine Mammal Movement Ecology in a Conservation and Management Context

Abstract

Marine mammals move through dynamic and heterogeneous environments to fulfill maintenance functions. These movements can be studied with various techniques that yield different types of information, and this is increasingly revealing the diversity of movement behaviors among marine mammals. These behaviors vary extensively in their characteristics, from the restricted ranging of some dolphin species to long-distance seasonal migrations by species such as humpback and gray whales, some of the longest migrations of any animal. As such, movements link places and processes across space and time and are therefore key to understanding the ecology of marine mammals. Given these connections, movement also exposes marine mammals to various natural and anthropogenic threats and a layer of conservation, management, and policy actions across national and international jurisdictions. We review marine mammal movement ecology in this context, using diverse examples to illustrate the implications of marine mammals’ movements for their conservation and management as well as identifying opportunities therefore. Movement behaviors across different spatiotemporal scales present a difficult challenge for the conservation of marine mammals, since marine mammals are exposed to pressures and threats varying from localized effects to global effects such as climate change, which are set within—but often beyond—the jurisdiction of many states. For example, species such as blue and humpback whales migrate through the waters of several nations, and the critical habitats of pelagic species such as elephant seals lie in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. However, both place-based conservation approaches (such as Marine Protected Areas) and pressure-based conservation approaches (such as those promoted by multilateral agreements including the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals) can integrate information on the movement ecology of marine mammals, in increasingly dynamic ways. It is clear that “movescapes” (the functional value of land- and seascapes to animals over space and time) are essential conservation features, as recognized by Important Marine Mammal Areas, for example. Further, as the patterns and consequences of connectivity among discrete sites are elucidated, the preservation of connectivity is emerging as a key challenge and opportunity for the conservation and management of marine mammals. However, to achieve effective conservation outcomes to so many pressing threats, marine mammal movescape data needs to be open, accessible, and actionable to inform design and implementation of conservation measures connecting critical habitats and migration corridors to mitigate threats. To achieve success, an improved understanding of the needs of managers, policymakers, and governments on a national and international level is required from the start and needs to be championed by the data producers with relevant stakeholders along the way.