Insights into the movement of marine megafauna

Marine megafauna, including mammals, seabirds, reptiles, cetaceans and large fishes are essential components of marine ecosystems that usually occupy the upper trophic levels of food chains, sometimes functioning as apex predators. Given their iconic status and the fact that many of these species are vulnerable to human impacts due to their life history traits (low rates of reproduction, long lives and slow growth rates), they are typically the focus of public interest and conservation efforts.



Marine megafauna tend to be highly migratory, with geographical ranges that can encompass entire ocean basins. The ability to track these animals across the vast distances they travel is an essential prerequisite for any understanding of their behavior and ecology. This has been enabled through rapid technological developments in animal-borne tracking and logging devices which provides not only information on their movements but also characteristics of their habitats and insight into how they navigate. Advances in electronic tracking technologies have been coupled with rapid development of analytical techniques. These advances have allowed us to uncover their migratory routes, determine which habitats are critical, understand the interconnectedness of subpopulations, provide insight into what behaviours they engage in and understand the environmental drivers of their movement. Combined, these tools are providing important insights into the ecology of highly migratory marine megafauna that are essential for their conservation and management.