Document of bibliographic reference 392360

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

BibLvlCode

AS

Title

Thermal vulnerability of sea turtle foraging grounds around the globe

Abstract

Anticipating and mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity requires a comprehensive understanding on key habitats utilized by species. Yet, such information for high mobile marine megafauna species remains limited. Here, we compile a global database comprising published satellite tracking data (n = 1035 individuals) to spatially delineate foraging grounds for seven sea turtle species and assess their thermal stability. We identified 133 foraging areas distributed around the globe, of which only 2% of the total surface is enclosed within an existing protected area. One-third of the total coverage of foraging hotspots is situated in high seas, where conservation focus is often neglected. Our analyses revealed that more than two-thirds of these vital marine habitats will experience new sea surface temperature (SST) conditions by 2100, exposing sea turtles to potential thermal risks. Our findings underline the importance of global ocean conservation efforts, which can meet climate challenges even in remote environments.

Bibliographic citation

Goudarzi, F.; Doxa, A.; Hemami, M.-R.; Mazaris, A.D. (2024). Thermal vulnerability of sea turtle foraging grounds around the globe. Communications Biology 7(1): 347. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06013-y

Topic

Marine

Is peer reviewed

true

Access rights

open access

Is accessible for free

true