Biology subjects

Boerder, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Boerder, K..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

AquaX: An enhanced and revised AquaMaps framework to model marine species distributions and biodiversity

Marine biodiversity underpins ecosystem health and is critical for the provision of essential ecological services. Global efforts to mitigate biodiversity loss are underway but require comprehensive knowledge on the biogeography of species to be effective. However, key challenges limit comprehensive mapping of species distributions, including the complexity of ocean ecosystems and the difficulty of sampling the marine realm. Global initiatives such as AquaMaps pioneered large-scale marine species mapping using species distribution models or Ecological Niche models and provided the knowledge base for effective marine conservation and management. Recently, methodological and data advances have enabled a more modern and robust approach that enables higher resolution outputs more suited to conservation applications at all scales. Building on AquaMaps, we develop a next-generation marine species habitat suitability modelling platform called AquaX, providing a suite of advances that include an ensemble of ten machine learning algorithms, enabling spatial uncertainty assessments, validation indices, and ecological niche representation at a ten-fold improved spatial resolution of 0.05{degrees}. Furthermore, AquaX integrates (i) accepted taxonomy from the World Register of Marine Species, (ii) species-specific ecological, physiological, and biogeographical information (D3-Ocean system), (iii) updated occurrence records validated through expert input, and (iv) refined species range maps using expert knowledge and biogeographical divisions. AquaX also projects species habitat suitability for both present and future conditions based on two time periods and three climate scenarios. This work provides species range maps for numerous species compared to previously available datasets and improves the accurate use of observational data. The approaches described here improve predictive accuracy at scales more relevant to marine biodiversity conservation and offer an openly accessible tool to support marine biodiversity research and conservation planning under accelerating environmental change. AquaX represents an important step forward in species distribution modeling, enabling researchers and policymakers to better understand marine biodiversity patterns and develop more effective conservation strategies.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Species' traits and exposure as a future lens for quantifying seabird bycatch vulnerability in global fisheries

Fisheries bycatch, the incidental mortality of non-target species, is a global threat to seabirds and a major driver of their declines worldwide. Identifying the most vulnerable species is core to developing sustainable fisheries management strategies that aim to improve conservation outcomes. To advance this goal, we present a preliminary vulnerability framework that integrates dimensions of species exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to fisheries bycatch to classify species into five vulnerability classes. The framework combines species traits and distribution ranges for 341 seabirds, along with a spatially resolved fishing effort dataset. Overall, we find most species have high vulnerability scores for the sensitivity and adaptive capacity dimensions. By contrast, exposure is more variable across species, and thus the median scores calculated within seabird families is low. We further find 46 species have high exposure to fishing activities, but are not identified as vulnerable to bycatch, whilst 133 species have lower exposure, but are vulnerable to bycatch. Thus, the framework has been valuable for revealing patterns between and within the vulnerability dimensions. Still, further methodological development, additional traits, and greater availability of threat data are required to advance the framework and provide a new lens for quantifying seabird bycatch vulnerability that complements existing efforts, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Bycatch mitigation could prevent strong changes in the ecological strategies of seabird communities across the globe

Fisheries bycatch, the incidental mortality of non-target species, is a major threat to seabirds worldwide. Mitigating bycatch is an important factor to reduce seabird population declines and consequent changes in ocean trophic dynamics and ecosystem functioning. However, it remains an open question how and where mitigating bycatch at a global scale may conserve seabird traits and the ecological strategies that traits represent. Here we combine a dataset of species traits and distribution ranges for 341 seabirds with spatially resolved fishing effort data for gillnet, longline, trawl, and purse seine gears to: (1) understand spatial variation in seabird community traits; and (2) test whether mitigating fisheries bycatch may prevent shifts in traits of seabird communities and loss of ecological strategies. We find distinct spatial variation in the community weighted mean of five seabird traits (clutch size, body mass, generation length, foraging guild, and diet guild). Furthermore, our analysis suggests that successful bycatch mitigation could prevent strong shifts in the traits of seabird communities across the globe particularly in the North Atlantic and Southern Oceans. Specifically, changes in dominant foraging and diet guilds, and shifts towards communities with faster reproductive speeds (larger clutch sizes and shorter generation lengths) and smaller body masses could be avoided. Therefore, bycatch mitigation may have important indirect benefits for sustaining ecosystem functioning, as mediated by species traits. Incorporating species traits into management actions will provide valuable tools for marine spatial planning and when evaluating the success of conservation initiatives.

ecology↗