Using foraging range and colony size to assess the vulnerability of breeding seabirds to oil across regions lacking at-sea distribution data.

This article focuses on assessing the vulnerability of breeding seabirds to oil pollution in the eastern North Atlantic, a region lacking comprehensive at-sea distribution data. The authors developed a simplified Oil Vulnerability Index (OVI) by combining species-specific vulnerability scores—based on factors such as time spent on the sea, conservation status, and demographic traits—with predicted at-sea distributions derived from colony size and species-specific foraging ranges during the breeding season. Their spatial analysis identified areas off east Greenland, western Iceland, Norway, Svalbard, Jan Mayen, the Faroe Islands, and northeastern Scotland as regions where seabirds, particularly large colonies of auks (Alcidae), are most vulnerable to oil pollution. By overlaying vessel density data, the study further highlighted coastal zones near busy shipping routes where seabirds face heightened risk from oil pollution. The authors suggest that this predictive foraging radius approach, combined with the simplified OVI, offers a practical tool for mapping seabird vulnerability in data-poor regions and can inform marine spatial planning and mitigation measures such as dynamic Areas to be Avoided (ATBAs).