title: Can Static Habitat Protection Encompass Critical Areas for Highly Mobile Marine Top Predators? Insights from Coastal East Africa.
abstract: Along the East African coast, marine top predators are facing an increasing number of anthropogenic threats which requires the implementation of effective and urgent conservation measures to protect essential habitats. Understanding the role that habitat features play on the marine top predator' distribution and abundance is a crucial step to evaluate the suitability of an existing Marine Protected Area (MPA), originally designated for the protection of coral reefs. We developed species distribution models (SDM) on the IUCN data deficient Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) in southern Kenya. We followed a comprehensive ecological modelling approach to study the environmental factors influencing the occurrence and abundance of dolphins while developing SDMs. Through the combination of ensemble prediction maps, we defined recurrent, occasional and unfavourable habitats for the species. Our results showed the influence of dynamic and static predictors on the dolphins' spatial ecology: dolphins may select shallow areas (5-30 m), close to the reefs (< 500 m) and oceanic fronts (< 10 km) and adjacent to the 100 m isobath (< 5 km). We also predicted a significantly higher occurrence and abundance of dolphins within the MPA. Recurrent and occasional habitats were identified on large percentages on the existing MPA (47% and 57% using presence-absence and abundance models respectively). However, the MPA does not adequately encompass all occasional and recurrent areas and within this context, we propose to extend the MPA to incorporate all of them which are likely key habitats for the highly mobile species. The results from this study provide two key conservation and management tools: (i) an integrative habitat modelling approach to predict key marine habitats, and (ii) the first study evaluating the effectiveness of an existing MPA for marine mammals in the Western Indian Ocean.
authors.affiliation: Global Vision International Kenya (GVI) P.O. Box 10, Shimoni, 80409, Kenya; Population Ecology Group, IMEDEA (UIB-CSIC) C/ Miquel Marques 21, 07190 Esporles (Balearic Islands), Spain.
authors.forename: Sergi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pérez-Jorge
authors.affiliation: Global Vision International Kenya (GVI) P.O. Box 10, Shimoni, 80409, Kenya.
authors.forename: Thalia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Global Vision International Kenya (GVI) P.O. Box 10, Shimoni, 80409, Kenya.
authors.forename: Chloe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Corne
authors.affiliation: Global Vision International Kenya (GVI) P.O. Box 10, Shimoni, 80409, Kenya.
authors.forename: Zeno
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wijtten
authors.affiliation: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) P.O.Box 55, Ukunda, 80400, Kenya.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Omar
authors.affiliation: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) P.O.Box 55, Ukunda, 80400, Kenya.
authors.forename: Jillo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Katello
authors.affiliation: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) P.O.Box 55, Ukunda, 80400, Kenya.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kinyua
authors.affiliation: Population Ecology Group, IMEDEA (UIB-CSIC) C/ Miquel Marques 21, 07190 Esporles (Balearic Islands), Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oro
authors.affiliation: AZTI Fundazioa, Herrera Kaia, Portualdea z/g, Pasaia, Spain; Centro Oceanográfico de Xixón, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Camín de l'Arbeyal s/n, E-33212 Gijón/Xixón, Spain.
authors.forename: Maite
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Louzao
mesh_terms: D000351:Africa, Eastern; D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000502:physiology*; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009068:Movement; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*