Evaluating transboundary environmental impacts on endangered marine migratory speciesusing an individual-based framework

Ocean basin-scale migrations of sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds, and fish expose them to multiplestressors and governance regimes. Sustainable management of these species and the ecosystems they helpregulate requires an approach which can integrate impacts across their migratory cycles. The aim of this projectis to develop and apply a framework, built on an individual-based model, for environmental impact assessmentsof marine species that explicitly incorporates connectivity across a migratory cycle and facilitates decision-making by incorporating stakeholder inputs. A secondary aim will be to incorporate strength of connectivity inmigratory populations (the degree to which breeding populations stay together during non-breeding periods) into the environmental impact assessment framework. While the final aim of this research is to inform national,regional (e.g., Secretariat for the Pacific Community) and global (e.g., the UNGA and Convention on MigratorySpecies) management and policymaking bodies.

Funding: Researching Training Program