Deep dives are performed by a range of marine megafauna, yet their function remains poorly understood. Proposed functions include foraging, predator avoidance, and navigation, but limited fine-scale data have hindered rigorous testing of these hypotheses. Here, depth time-series data from eight recovered and 16 non-recovered satellite tags deployed on oceanic manta rays ( Mobula birostris ) in Indonesia, Peru, and New Zealand...

Large‐scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs; > 1000 km 2 ) provide important refuge for large mobile species, but most do not encompass species' ranges. To better understand current and future LSMPA value, we concurrently tracked nine species (seabirds, cetaceans, pelagic fishes, manta rays, reef sharks) at Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef (PKMPA) in the U.S. Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. PKMPA and the U.S. E...

Monitoring provides the foundation for evaluating recovery of endangered species, yet many species lack monitoring programs designed to integrate a species’ unique attributes, specific monitoring objectives, and principles of statistical sampling theory. We developed a framework for monitoring and assessment of endangered light-footed Ridgway’s rails ( Rallus obsoletus levipes ) across their U.S. range, relative to multi-scale...

White sharks ( Carcharodon carcharias ) are among the most widespread, charismatic, and studied predators in the ocean. However, their conservation status is concerning in many ocean sectors, most notably the Mediterranean Sea, which hosts one of the least known and most endangered populations globally. Though they were historically abundant and widely distributed in the region, Mediterranean white sharks have declined to dang...

The Mediterranean spearfish ( Tetrapturus belone ) is a highly migratory predator, also exploited by commercial and recreational fisheries although its catches are poorly reported. The fishing pressure on this species is currently unknown because catch and landing data are fragmentary. Furthermore, more ecological information (e.g. migratory movements) is needed to establish eventual management measures, and ICCAT has not exam...

Marine animals often move beyond national borders and exclusive economic zones resulting in a need for trans-boundary management spanning multiple national jurisdictions. Highly migratory fish vulnerable to over-exploitation require protections at international level, as exploitation practices can be disparate between adjacent countries and marine jurisdictions. In this study we collaboratively conducted an analysis of white s...

Introduction Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT) are large, migratory pelagic predators of high economic importance. ABT are currently managed as two independent stocks assigned to discrete spawning areas (Gulf of Mexico, and Mediterranean); however, stock overlap outside spawning areas makes accurate assignment of catch to stock-of-origin difficult. Methods Within this two-stock paradigm, we characterised stock-specific spatial distr...