MEGAFAUNA · Detecting, Predicting and Protecting Pelagic Megafauna Hotspots in the Coral Sea
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-02-01 → 2022-01-31
- EU contribution
- €196,708
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-RI
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Detecting, Predicting and Protecting Pelagic Megafauna Hotspots in the Coral Sea
Marine megafauna, including marine mammals, sea turtles, sharks and rays, plays critical roles in marine ecosystems such as food webs regulation and nutrients transfer. Aside from these key ecological functions, marine megafauna also provides important socio-economic benefits to society through ecotourism, as many species in this group are charismatic. However, marine megafauna is highly threatened worldwide due to cumulative human-derived pressures from fishing, habitat loss, pollution, and climate change. Together, these pressures have triggered population declines and many species are now rare or on the brink of extinction. Efficient and fast techniques are thus urgently needed to survey marine megafauna in space and time and inform the strategic placement of new marine reserves for their effective conservation. Delineating key areas for conservation is particularly timely given the new ambitious target of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. This project focused on New Caledonia, an overseas Territory of France that hosts an exceptional diversity of marine megafauna species, half of which are listed as threatened by the IUCN. The objectives of this project were: (1) to develop a novel cutting-edge technique to detect marine megafauna in New Caledonia, (2) to derive maps of marine megafauna hotspots in these waters, and (3) to design a network of reserves effectively protecting marine megafauna across New Caledonia.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The EU faces the challenge to protect pelagic biodiversity over immense Overseas Countries and Territories. However, cost-efficient, safe and reproducible methods are still missing for assessing the diversity and abundance of pelagic megafauna (marine mammals, sea turtles and sharks). We will adapt image-based surveys and deep learning—a new method based on artificial intelligence—to pelagic megafauna. A Coral Sea Nature Park (CSNP) was recently created in New Caledonia Overseas Territory but this area still lacks reserves in pelagic ecosystems. We will propose a reserve network that optimises the trade-off between critical habitat protection of pelagic megafauna and fisheries economic profitability in this area. This network will directly advise decision makers of the CSNP and help fulfil IUCN target of 30% of oceans protected by reserves by 2030. Our objectives are: RO1—Detect pelagic megafauna, RO2—Predict pelagic megafauna hotspots, and RO3—Protect hotspots in the Coral Sea. To reach RO1, image-based surveys will be conducted and megafauna will be automatically detected on images using deep learning. To reach RO2, habitat models will be used to predict megafauna diversity and abundance as a function of environmental variables. To reach RO3, fisheries economic data will be incorporated to propose a reserve network optimising both conservation and economic needs. This project will be jointly hosted by the Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation Laboratory (MARBEC) and the Montpellier Laboratory of Informatics, Robotics, and Microelectronics (LIRMM), both part of the University of Montpellier. Supervised by D. Mouillot (MARBEC) and M. Chaumont (LIRMM), I will receive the best appropriate interdisciplinary training. After an enriching research experience in the U.S, I aim to integrate a long-term research position in Europe. This fellowship would be a superb opportunity to develop an independent and innovative research project in marine numerical ecology.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITE DE MONTPELLIER · MontpellierCoordinatorFrance
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union