Southern Ocean’s Hidden Treasures: Scientists identify crucial wildlife conservation sites

Becker, Brooks and their team set off to identify Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in the Southern Ocean that species depend on for their populations to persist.

They used existing tracking data for 13 Antarctic and sub-Antarctic seabirds and seals-for example Adélie penguins, sooty albatrosses and southern elephant seals- and identified 30 KBAs across the Southern Ocean. These sites represent marine habitats that species travel to for foraging, breeding and migration.

Prior work in identifying conservation zones in the Southern Ocean at a large scale tended to group different species into a single dataset to look for areas important for multiple species. While this approach is a vital component of conservation planning, it can overlook some areas crucial for certain species due to their unique life stages and migration patterns, Becker said.

For example, the team found two large sites in the waters near Amanda Bay in East Antarctica that serve as key foraging grounds for many emperor penguins as they recover after breeding. The researchers also identified several sites in the waters near Campbell Island South of New Zealand where a breeding population of endangered grey-headed albatross forage. Other similar large-scale conservation designation efforts, such as Important Bird Areas or Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas, had not flagged these sites as priorities.

"Our study bridges the gap between the broad-scale perspective and the specific needs of individual populations, adding an important layer of detail," Becker said.

The researchers hope international bodies and governments will consider these findings when developing conservation strategies and determining areas where fishing should be restricted.

"By reducing fishing or tourism interactions in these key biodiversity areas, we can potentially give these animals the best chance of adapting and becoming resilient to climate change," said Brooks, who is also a fellow of CU Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.

The Southern Ocean is one of the most pivotal buffers of climate change. Its cold water captures 40% of human-generated carbon dioxide emissions around the world and 60-90% of the excess heat from climate change.

"Antarctica is far away, but what happens there doesn't stop there," Brooks said. "Wildfires here in Colorado are tied to what's happening in the Southern Ocean. Through doing more to safeguard the Antarctic, we actually stand to create a more livable world for us all."

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