Marine bird and cetacean associations with bathymetric habitats and shallow-water topographies: implications for trophic transfer and conservation

We investigated the aggregative response of marine birds and cetaceans to bathymetric features in central California over 4 years, 1996–1997 and 2001–2002. A total of 1700 km2 of ocean habitat was surveyed over six cruises. We considered the distribution of the most abundant marine birds and mammals in relation to bathymetry. We focused our analyses on eight focal taxa: Cassinʹs auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus), common murre (Uria aalge), sooty shearwater (Puffinus grieus), phalarope species (red, and red-necked: Phalaropus fulicaria, Phalaropus lobatus), Dallʹs porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), and Rissoʹs dolphin (Grampus griseus). We evaluated associations of top predators with seven bathymetric indices and three distance measurements to shallow-water topographies. The bathymetric descriptors included (1) median depth, (2) depth coefficient of variation, (3) contour index, and shortest distance to (4) the mainland, (5) the continental shelf-break (200-m isobath), (6) the continental slope (1000-m isobath), and (7) pelagic waters (3000-m isobath). The measurements of shallow water topographies included the shortest distance to: (8) the Cordell Bank seamount, (9) the Farallon Island Archipelago (a breeding colony for auklets and murres), and (10) Monterey Canyon. We documented two instances of spatial autocorrelation (for Cassinʹs auklet and common murre) at lags (distances) of 0–3 and 3–9 km, respectively, and accounted for this spatial pattern in analyses of habitat associations. We found similar relationships between cetaceans and bathymetric features at both interannual and weekly time scales. Seabirds revealed both persistent and variable relationships through time. For the resident breeding murres, we detected an interannual trend in habitat use, with these birds shifting their distribution offshore over time. Our study demonstrates that resident and migrant marine birds and cetaceans are associated with bathymetric features and shallow-water topographies, though responses varied across species and time. In spite of this variability, we contend that bathymetric associations of upper trophic-level predators can help delineate sites of elevated trophic transfer. An understanding of marine productivity and predator aggregation patterns is essential to design ecosystem-level conservation plans for protecting marine habitats and species.