Vulnerability of marine megafauna to global at‐sea anthropogenic threats
journal contribution
posted on 2025-11-18, 02:11 authored by Michelle VanCompernolle, Juliet Morris, Hannah J Calich, Jorge P Rodríguez, Sarah A Marley, Jessica R Pearce, Briana Abrahms, Katya Abrantes, André S Afonso, Alex Aguilar, Andrews Agyekumhene, Tomonari Akamatsu, Susanne Åkesson, Nyimale G Alawa, Joanna Alfaro‐Shigueto, RC Anderson, Tycho Anker‐Nilssen, Javier A Arata, Gonzalo Araujo, Martin C Arostegui, Haritz Arrizabalaga, Lucy M Arrowsmith, Marie Auger‐Méthé, Isabel C Avila, Fred Bailleul, Joanna Barker, Dawn R Barlow, Adam Barnett, Hector Barrios‐Garrido, Alastair MM Baylis, Giovanni Bearzi, Lars Bejder, Eduardo J Belda, Scott R Benson, Michael L Berumen, Sophie Bestley, Natalia PA Bezerra, Antonin V Blaison, Lars Boehme, Steven J Bograd, Bolaji Dunsin Abimbola, Mark E Bond, Asunción Borrell, Phil J Bouchet, Peter Boveng, Gill Braulik, Camrin D Braun, Stephanie Brodie, Leandro Bugoni, Carlos Bustamante, Steven E Campana, Susana Cárdenas‐Alayza, Ruth H Carmichael, Gemma Carroll, Matt ID Carter, Filipe R Ceia, Salvatore Cerchio, Luciana C Ferreira, Philippine Chambault, Taylor K Chapple, Patricia Charvet, Elpis J Chavez, Damien Chevallier, Andre Chiaradia, B Louise Chilvers, Megan A Cimino, Bethany L Clark, CR Clarke, Thomas A Clay, Carl S Cloyed, Jesse EM Cochran, Tim Collins, Enric Cortes, Eduardo Cuevas, David J Curnick, Peter Dann, PJ Nico de Bruyn, Asha de Vos, Solène Derville, Maria P Dias, Bruno Diaz‐Lopez, Kara L Dodge, Alistair DM Dove, Thomas K Doyle, J Marcus Drymon, Christine L Dudgeon, Peter H Dutton, Ursula Ellenberg, Simon H Elwen, Louise Emmerson, Edem A Eniang, Mario Espinoza, Nicole Esteban, Evert Mul, Brian S Fadely, Annette L Fayet, Chris Feare, Steven H Ferguson, Laura Joan Feyrer, Brittany Finucci, Katie RN Florko, Jorge Fontes, CM Fortuna, Sabrina Fossette, Leila Fouda, Esteban Frere, Mariana MPB Fuentes, Austin J Gallagher, Pablo Garcia Borboroglu, Claire Garrigue, Pauline Gauffier, Enrico Gennari, Tilen Genov, Elitza S Germanov, Joan Giménez, Matthew H Godfrey, Brendan J Godley, Simon D Goldsworthy, Matthew Gollock, Victoria González Carman, Natasha J Gownaris, W James Grecian, Hector M Guzman, Mark Hamann, Neil Hammerschlag, Erpur S Hansen, Mike P Harris, Gordon Hastie, Danielle E Haulsee, Elliott L Hazen, Mads Peter Heide‐Jørgensen, Elizabeth E Hieb, Jeff W Higdon, Mark A Hindell, Jefferson T Hinke, Xavier Hoenner, GJ Greg Hofmeyr, Bonnie J Holmes, Erich Hoyt, Luis A Huckstadt, Nigel E Hussey, Charlie Huveneers, Lyn G Irvine, Rima W Jabado, David MP Jacoby, Audrey Jaeger, Patrick M Jagielski, Mark Jessopp, Oliver JD Jewell, David Jiménez Alvarado, Lance KB Jordan, Salvador J Jorgensen, Benjamin Kahn, Alexandros A Karamanlidis, Akiko Kato, Lucy W Keith‐Diagne, MS Kiani, Jeremy J Kiszka, Alison A Kock, R Keller Kopf, Carey Kuhn, Peter M Kyne, Kristin L Laidre, Fernanda O Lana, Michelle E Lander, Matthieu Le Corre, Olivia A Lee, Ruth H Leeney, Alexis L Levengood, J Jacob Levenson, Marcela Libertelli, Kwang‐Ming Liu, Milagros Lopez Mendilaharsu, Alexandra Loveridge, Christopher G Lowe, Heather J Lynch, Bruno CL Macena, Alice I Mackay, Jeffry Madrigal‐Mesén, Mark L Mallory, Jeffrey C Mangel, Katherine L Mansfield, David March, Marianne Marcoux, Helene Marsh, AD Marshall, Thomas Mattern, Sara M Maxwell, Rebecca L McGuire, Lachlan McLeay, Clive R McMahon, Séverine Methion, Eva KM Meyers, Candice Michelot, Cara Masere, Gianna Minton, Benjamin Morales‐Vela, Gonzalo Mucientes, Hilario Murua, MAC Nicoll, Yuri Niella, Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Steffen Oppel, Florian Orgeret, Julie N Oswald, Ellie Owen, Nathan Pacoureau, Vitor H Paiva, Daniel M Palacios, Simone Panigada, Yannis P Papastamatiou, Guido J Parra, Sylvia K Parsons, Donna L Patterson‐Fraser, S Hoyt Peckham, Stephen D Petersen, Lorien Pichegru, Simon J Pierce, Tânia Pipa, Enrico Pirotta, Pierre Pistorius, Riley A Pollom, Rui Prieto, Laura Prosdocimi, Klemens Pütz, Nuno Queiroz, John L Quinn, Jaime A Ramos, Holly C Raudino, Angela Recalde‐Salas, ALan F Rees, Richard D Reina, Ryan R Reisinger, Samantha D Reynolds, Anthony James Richardson, Nicholas G Riddoch, Federico G Riet‐Sapriza, James R Robbins, David P Robinson, Airam Rodríguez, Tracey L Rogers, Christoph A Rohner, Daniela Rojas‐Cañizales, Kevin Ruhomaun, Chandra Salgado Kent, Katsufumi Sato, Kylie L Scales, Meike Scheidat, Gail Schofield, Fabrizio Serena, Edy Setyawan, Scott A Shaffer, Brendan D Shea, Laura Shearer, Marcus Sheaves, Richard B Sherley, George L Shillinger, Takahiro Shimada, Mónica A Silva, Gregory Skomal, Reyd A Smith, Amy F Smoothey, Alen Soldo, Emily J Southall, Antje Steinfurth, D Bruce Stewart, Joshua D Stewart, Akinori Takahashi, Vikash Tatayah, Sam Thalmann, Jean‐Baptiste Thiebot, Jesús Tomás, Leigh G Torres, PN Trathan, Fritz Trillmich, Kazuoki Ueda, Frederic Vandeperre, Ralph Eric Thijl Vanstreels, Marisa Vedor, Stella Villegas‐Amtmann, Lauren J Waller, Matt Waller, Sarah Wanless, Kelly Waples, Cortney A Watt, Mia Wege, Caroline R Weir, Randall S Wells, Paul J Wensveen, Timothy D White, Scott D Whiting, Øystein Wiig, Natalie E Wildermann, David N Wiley, Jessica Lauren Williams, Rosie S Williams, Kenady Wilson, Matthew J Witt, Freya C Womersley, David J Yurkowski, Jie Zhang, Daniel P Costa, Carlos M Duarte, Mark G Meekan, Rob Harcourt, David W Sims, Graeme HaysGraeme Hays, Charitha Pattiaratchi, Víctor M Eguíluz, Ana MM SequeiraAbstract
Marine megafauna species are affected by a wide range of anthropogenic threats. To evaluate the risk of such threats, species’ vulnerability to each threat must first be determined. We build on the existing threats classification scheme and ranking system of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species by assessing the vulnerability of 256 marine megafauna species to 23 at‐sea threats. The threats we considered included individual fishing gear types, climate‐change‐related subthreats not previously assessed, and threats associated with coastal impacts and maritime disturbances. Our ratings resulted in 70 species having high vulnerability (
v
> 0.778 out of 1) to at least 1 threat, primarily drifting longlines, temperature extremes, or fixed gear. These 3 threats were also considered to have the most severe effects (i.e., steepest population declines). Overall, temperature extremes and plastics and other solid waste were rated as affecting the largest proportion of populations. Penguins, pinnipeds, and polar bears had the highest vulnerability to temperature extremes. Bony fishes had the highest vulnerability to drifting longlines and plastics and other solid waste; pelagic cetaceans to 4 maritime disturbance threats; elasmobranchs to 5 fishing threats; and flying birds to drifting longlines and 2 maritime disturbance threats. Sirenians and turtles had the highest vulnerability to at least one threat from all 4 categories. Despite not necessarily having severe effects for most taxonomic groups, temperature extremes were rated among the top threats for all taxa except bony fishes. The vulnerability scores we provide are an important first step in estimating the risk of threats to marine megafauna. Importantly, they help differentiate scope from severity, which is key to identifying threats that should be prioritized for mitigation.
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