Indian Ocean seabird connectivity & conservation

We are exploring the drivers of tropical seabird distributions and dispersal, to inform effective conservation strategies in the Western Indian Ocean. The Western Indian Ocean supports ~19 million seabirds of 30 species across 54 colonies, making it one of the most important tropical seabird assemblages in the world.

This ongoing project is part of the Bertarelli Programme in Marine Science.

Aims

  • To evaluate the foraging and migratory ecology of tropical seabirds, and the consequent value of regional Marine Protected Areas.

  • To understand the causes and consequences of seabird connectivity in tropical environments. In particular, the incidence and drivers of seabird prospecting, at-sea foraging habitat suitability, and the status of gene-flow among seabird colonies across the Western Indian Ocean.

Key publications

Trevail, A. M., Nicoll, M. A. C., Freeman, R., Le Corre, M., Schwarz, J., Jaeger, A., Bretagnolle, V., Calabrese, L., Feare, C., Lebarbenchon, C., Norris, K., Orlowski, S., Pinet, P., Plot, V., Rocamora, G., Shah, N., & Votier, S. C. (2023). Tracking seabird migration in the tropical indian ocean reveals basin-scale conservation need. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.10.060

Votier, S., Corcoran, G., Carr, P., Dunn, R., Freeman, R., Nicoll, M., Wood, H., & Trevail, A. (2023). Geolocation and immersion loggers reveal adult red-footed boobies are year-round residents in the tropical indian ocean. http://dx.doi.org/10.22541/au.168721566.68754438/v1

Trevail, A., Wood, H., Carr, P., Dunn, R., Nicoll, M., Votier, S., & Freeman, R. (2023). Multi-colony tracking reveals segregation in foraging range, space use, and timing in a tropical seabird. Marine Ecology Progress Series. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14479

Dunn, R. E., Freeman, R., Nicoll, M. A., Ramsden, J., Trevail, A. M., Wood, H., & Votier, S. C. (2024). From route to dive: multi-scale habitat selection in a foraging tropical seabird. Marine Biology, 171(6). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-024-04445-y

Trevail, A., Vallocchia, S., Nicoll, M. A. C., Carr, P., Votier, S. C., Wood, H., & Freeman, R. (2024). Habitat selection and foraging segregation between two geographically proximate tropical seabird colonies. http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4107714/v1

Coste, J., Votier, S. C., Dunn, R. E., Freeman, R., Nicoll, M. A., Carr, P., Wood, H., & Trevail, A. M. (2025). Homing navigation is optimized to diurnal constraints in a tropical seabird, the red-footed booby. Animal Behaviour, 222, 123116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123116

Dunn, R. E., Trevail, A. M., Nicoll, M. A. C., Freeman, R., Braman, C. A., Clark, B. L., Mitchell, C., Schiffmiller, A. W., Wood, H., & Votier, S. C. (2025). Commuting in crosswinds and foraging in fast winds: the foraging ecology of a flying fish specialist. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 292(2052). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.0774

Swaby, L., Carr, P., Dunn, R., Nicoll, M. A. C., Trevail, A. M., Votier, S. C., Wood, H., & Freeman, R. (2026). Deep neural networks to predict foraging behaviour: saltwater immersion data can accurately predict diving in seabirds. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 23(238). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2025.0172

Trevail, A. M., Dunn, R. E., Carr, P., Esteban, N., Freeman, R., Harris, J. L., Nicoll, M. A. C., Stephens, N., Stevens, G. M. W., Votier, S. C., Wood, H., & Hays, G. C. (2025). Large marine protected areas can encompass movements of diverse megafauna. Journal of Applied Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70117

Carr, P., Trevail, A., Bárrios, S., Clubbe, C., Freeman, R., Koldewey, H. J., Votier, S. C., Wilkinson, T., & Nicoll, M. A. C. (2021). Potential benefits to breeding seabirds of converting abandoned coconut plantations to native habitats after invasive predator eradication. Restoration Ecology, 29(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13386

Carr, P., Trevail, A. M., Koldewey, H. J., Sherley, R. B., Wilkinson, T., Wood, H., & Votier, S. C. (2023). Marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in the Chagos Archipelago. Bird Conservation International, 33, e29. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270922000247

Hays, G. C., Koldewey, H. J., Andrzejaczek, S., Attrill, M. J., Barley, S., Bayley, D. T. I., Benkwitt, C. E., Block, B., Schallert, R. J., Carlisle, A. B., Carr, P., Chapple, T. K., Collins, C., Diaz, C., Dunn, N., Dunbar, R. B., Eager, D. S., Engel, J., Embling, C. B., … Curnick, D. J. (2020). A review of a decade of lessons from one of the world’s largest MPAs: Conservation gains and key challenges. Marine Biology, 167(11), 159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03776-w