Seabirds Could Lead Ocean Conservation Efforts Soaring

By Student Delegate Samantha Morrison 

The  Seychelles  has  been successful  in  creating  a  network  of  protected  areas  and  reviving  endangered  avian  species. Continued research on seabird distributions and habitats could lead States like the Seychelles to have better-informed planning for marine protected areas and ocean governance.

Seabirds  are  considered  a  fundamental  component  of  marine  ecosystems  and  serve  as valuable indicators of ecosystem health. They spend the majority of their lives over the ocean, returning to land to breed and care for their young. Because seabirds move across entire oceans, effective conservation of their habitats requires international cooperation.

Seabird conservation work in the Seychelles (SeyCCAT website)

Seabird conservation work in the Seychelles (SeyCCAT website)

With  over  a  hundred  small  islands  and  rich  tropical  seas,  the  Republic  of  Seychelles (Seychelles) is an idyllic location for seabirds to flourish. In fact, the Seychelles small islands are nesting  grounds  for  numerous  species  of  seabirds. While  the  Seychelles  makes  for  an  ideal location for seabirds, seabirds continue to suffer, and are threatened throughout their entire life cycle from overfishing of prey, pollution, and climate change.

Seabirds can be found within coastal ecosystems such as seagrass and mangroves, and are  particularly  sensitive  and  vulnerable  to  changes  in ocean  climate. Thus,  seabirds could be an informative and cost-effective tool to indicate the status of ocean and coastal habitat health. As  States  begin  to  integrate  oceans  into  their  Nationally  Determined  Contributions (NDCs),  it  is  important  to  identify  vital  parts  of  marine  ecosystems, including seabirds. In turn, monitoring the response of seabirds to climate change, particularly how seabirds interact in these coastal wetland habitats, may support developing countries in their efforts to determine the level of ocean health and employ mechanisms to integrate oceans into their NDCs.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater in flight (Philip Griffin)

Wedge-tailed Shearwater in flight (Philip Griffin)

The health of our oceans plays a critical role in climate change mitigation. Coastal ecosystems absorb excess water and act as both a buffer against rising sea levels as well as a carbon sink, storing carbon pollution within their vegetation. By taking in carbon, oceans and coasts  naturally  reduce  the  impact  of  greenhouse  gas  emissions  on  the  atmosphere.  Thus, preserving  coastal  ecosystems,  particularly  seagrass,  mangroves,  and  saltmarshes,  increases  the resilience  of  our  oceans  to  climate  change. When  damaged,  coastal  wetlands  may  emit  a significant amount of carbon back into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

Observing seabirds could assist States in determining the effects of various disturbances and pollution occurring in the oceans and potential damages to coastal ecosystems. Additionally, because seabirds may breed in  the  same  area  each  year, their  responses  to  their  habitats  may  be  particularly  useful  in documenting  any  changes  in  ocean  health  and  implementing  effective  ocean  conservation measures, while reducing the effects of climate change.

 

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