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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on November 5, 2008
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2009 66(1):29-40; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsn175
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© 2008 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

This article appears in the following ICES Journal of Marine Science issue: European Symposium on Marine Protected Areas as a Tool for Fisheries Management and Ecosystem Conservation [View the issue table of contents]

Spatial variability of seabird distribution associated with environmental factors: a case study of marine Important Bird Areas in the Azores

Patrícia Amorim, Miguel Figueiredo, Miguel Machete, Telmo Morato, Ana Martins and Ricardo Serrão Santos

IMAR/Azores and Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, University of the Azores, PT- 9901-862 Horta, Portugal

Correspondence to P. Amorim: tel: +351 292 200 400; fax: +351 292 200 411; e-mail: pamorim{at}uac.pt.

Amorim, P., Figueiredo, M., Machete, M., Morato, T., Martins, A., and Serrão Santos, R. 2009. Spatial variability of seabird distribution associated with environmental factors: a case study of marine Important Bird Areas in the Azores. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 29–40.

The spatial structure and distribution at sea of Cory's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea borealis), common terns (Sterna hirundo), and roseate terns (Sterna dougallii) were analysed in the Azores for various environmental factors: sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a concentration, distance to fronts, wind, distance to island shore or tern colonies, distance to seamounts, seabed slope, and depth. Data on seabird sightings were collected by observers on board fishing vessels, 2002–2006. Generalized linear modelling (GLM) explained 43 and 11% of the abundance variability for terns (both species pooled) and Cory's shearwaters, respectively. Variability in seabird abundance was mainly explained by month, wind, distance to shore and/or tern colonies, and distance to seamounts. Variogram modelling indicated that species distribution presented a small-scale spatial structure (i.e. low autocorrelation). Cory's shearwater predictive distribution maps showed widespread distribution patterns of abundance, despite occurring at a greater intensity around the islands and around some seamounts, which are areas of fishery interest. Conversely, terns were essentially concentrated near the shore. The establishment of marine important bird areas should be encouraged close to seabird colonies and around some seamount areas.

Keywords: Azores, geostatistics, marine IBAs, regression models, seabirds, spatial statistics

Received 27 October 2007; accepted 27 May 2008; advance access publication 5 November 2008.


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