Marine Megafauna: Sea Turtles, Seabirds and Marine Mammals

SOFIA COPELLO; VANESSA LABRADA-MARTAGÓN; LUCIANA RICCIALDELLI; MÓNICA A. TORRES; ROCÍO MARIANO JELICICH; NATALIA A. DELLABIANCA; M. NATALIA PASO VIOLA; ANALÍA SAN MARTIN; MARCO FAVERO; PAULA BERÓN; GERMÁN GARCÍA; JESICA A. PAZ; JUAN PABLO SECO PON

Marine Biology: a functional approach to the Oceans and their Organisms

CRC Press

Lugar: Boca Raton; Año: 2022; p. 297 - 326

Marine megafauna, namely sea turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals in this chapter, conforms a group that mainly includes large vertebrates associated with the marine environment during the whole or a significant part of their life history. They are mostly characterized by extreme life span, deferred maturity and slow growing rates; while the high heterogeneity of the environment they inhabit is reflected in a large diversification of diet and feeding tactics. Some representatives of the marine megafauna are considered top predators, playing an important role in the maintenance of the ecosystem and integrating ecological variations occurring in marine ecosystems at different spatiotemporal scales. Most of them have an important role as bio-vectors, transporting nutrients across ecosystem boundaries and favoring nutrient cycling. Marine megafauna is exposed to similar threats within a complex scenario, including bycatch, pollution, climate change, human disturbance, and habitat deterioration. As a result, several populations have undergone and are currently facing declining trends. Various international instruments have played quite an important role in improving conservation policies around the world. However, there is an urgent need to develop new technologies, apply emerging management paradigms and promote collaborations as opportunities to improve marine megafauna conservation and sustainable management.