Using individual‐based movement information to identify spatial conservation priorities for mobile species

The optimal design of reserve networks and fisheries closures depends upon species occurrence information and knowledge of how anthropogenic impacts interact with the species concerned. However, challenges in surveying mobile and cryptic species over adequate spatial and temporal scales can mask the importance of particular habitats, leading to uncertainty about which areas to protect to optimize conservation efforts. We investigated how telemetry-derived locations can help guide the scale and timing of fisheries closures with the aim of reducing threatened species bycatch. Forty juvenile speartooth sharks Glyphis glyphis were monitored over a 22-month period using acoustic transmitters and an array of hydrophone receivers. Using the decision support tool Marxan, we formulated a permanent fisheries closure that prioritized areas used more frequently by tagged sharks while preserving areas perceived as having greater value to fisheries. To explore how the extent of this permanent closure compared to an alternative set of time-area closures (i.e. where different areas were closed to fishing at different times of year), we used a cluster analysis to group months that had similar arrangements of selected planning units (informed by shark movements during that month) into one of two time-area closures. We discovered that whilst sharks were consistent in the timing and direction of migratory movements, the number of tracks made a big difference to the placement of our permanent closure with 30 individuals needed to capture behavioral heterogeneity. Furthermore, our dry season (May - January) and wet season (February - April) time-area closures opened 20% and 25% more planning units to fishing, respectively, compared to our permanent closure with boundaries fixed in space and time. We highlight telemetry's potential to not only inform spatial management for mobile species, but how the temporal component of these data can be incorporated into prioritizations to help reduce impacts on established fisheries This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.