Mismatches between the current marine Natura 2000 network and seabird distributions call for enhanced protected areas off metropolitan France

Seabirds are among the most threatened vertebrates, under pressure from fisheries bycatch, climate change, overfishing, and human disturbance. In France, demographic studies have highlighted adult survival as a key factor in population trends, which calls for large-scale marine conservation efforts. In this context, the Natura 2000 policy requires the designation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) to protect seabirds under the Birds Directive. To assess the completeness of the French marine SPA network, data from aerial, boat, and coastal surveys, as well as tracking devices and distribution models, were collected for 57 seabird taxa. This data collection allowed the EU minimum criteria for a coherent SPA network to be spatially implemented, and the most ecologically valuable areas for seabirds around metropolitan France to be identified and prioritised, and overlaid with the current French SPA network and Marine Important Bird Areas (mIBAs) to identify potential inconsistencies. This analysis revealed seabird hotspots outside the existing ecological network, confirming some insufficiencies for coherent seabird conservation. Although data dependent, this analysis highlighted the limitations of using global proportion coverage to assess network coherence when coverage of biodiversity and abundance hotspots was not achieved. Furthermore, these results summarised the main target areas for policy makers to effectively improve seabird conservation around metropolitan France. In a context of increasing demands for marine spatial planning, improvements in this knowledge, the SPA network and conservation actions are required. • At-sea data were compiled on 57 seabird taxa around metropolitan France. • Application of European criteria identified hotspots, including outside protected areas. • Identified hotspots call for an extension of the current French Natura 2000 network. • Knowledge on seabird marine distribution still needs to be improved.

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Publication Details

Journal
Marine Policy
Published
2025-06-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2025.106779
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.11

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article

Mismatches between the current marine Natura 2000 network and seabird distributions call for enhanced protected areas off metropolitan France

Raül Ramos, Simona Imperio, H. A. Douglas, Emilie Milon et al.
1 citations
Marine Policy
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
1.11
article

Mismatches between the current marine Natura 2000 network and seabird distributions call for enhanced protected areas off metropolitan France

Raül Ramos, Simona Imperio, H. A. Douglas, Emilie Milon, Iker Castège, Diego Rubolini, Olivier Scher, Jaime A. Ramos, Nicolas Courbin, Clara Péron, Jude V. Lane, Amélie Lescroël, J. de Mazières, Francesco Pezzo, Nicola Baccetti, Federico De Pascalis, Jamie Darby, Matthieu Authier, Lorenzo Serra, Giorgia Gaibani, Noëmie Michez, Timothée Poupart, Vítor H. Paiva, Thibaut de Bettignies, Ghislain Dorémus, Gilles Faggio, Fabrice Gallien, Luca Börger, Jacopo Giuseppe Cecere, Maite Louzao, Pascal Provost, Solène Robert, Karine Delord, David Grémillet, Ellie Owen, Jacob González-Solís, Cécile Gicquel
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Seabirds are among the most threatened vertebrates, under pressure from fisheries bycatch, climate change, overfishing, and human disturbance. In France, demographic studies have highlighted adult survival as a key factor in population trends, which calls for large-scale marine conservation efforts. In this context, the Natura 2000 policy requires the designation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) to protect seabirds under the Birds Directive. To assess the completeness of the French marine SPA network, data from aerial, boat, and coastal surveys, as well as tracking devices and distribution models, were collected for 57 seabird taxa. This data collection allowed the EU minimum criteria for a coherent SPA network to be spatially implemented, and the most ecologically valuable areas for seabirds around metropolitan France to be identified and prioritised, and overlaid with the current French SPA network and Marine Important Bird Areas (mIBAs) to identify potential inconsistencies. This analysis revealed seabird hotspots outside the existing ecological network, confirming some insufficiencies for coherent seabird conservation. Although data dependent, this analysis highlighted the limitations of using global proportion coverage to assess network coherence when coverage of biodiversity and abundance hotspots was not achieved. Furthermore, these results summarised the main target areas for policy makers to effectively improve seabird conservation around metropolitan France. In a context of increasing demands for marine spatial planning, improvements in this knowledge, the SPA network and conservation actions are required. • At-sea data were compiled on 57 seabird taxa around metropolitan France. • Application of European criteria identified hotspots, including outside protected areas. • Identified hotspots call for an extension of the current French Natura 2000 network. • Knowledge on seabird marine distribution still needs to be improved.

Marine PolicyVol. 180
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (GB), Université de Corse Pascal Paoli (FR), University of Cape Town (ZA), École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR), Université de Montpellier (FR), Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse (FR), University College Cork (IE), Swansea University (GB), Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (FR), Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (FR), Laboratoire Écologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (FR), Regional Health (US), French National Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments (FR), Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé (FR), Lega Italiana Protezione Uccelli (IT), Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (IT), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (FR), Délégation Normandie (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Universitat de Barcelona (ES), La Rochelle Université (FR)
Ministero della transizione ecologica
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 23%
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
1.11
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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