David W Sims

Marine Biological Association of the UK | MBA · Department of Marine Biology

Climate change is shifting animal distributions. However, the extent to which future global habitats of threatened marine megafauna will overlap existing human threats remains unresolved. Here we use global climate models and habitat suitability estimated from long-term satellite-tracking data of the world’s largest fish, the whale shark, to show t...

Ecological data are being opportunistically synthesised at unprecedented scales in response to the global biodiversity and climate crises. Such syntheses are often only possible through large-scale, international, multidisciplinary collaborations and provide important pathways for addressing urgent conservation questions. Although large collaborati...

Global climate‐driven ocean warming has decreased dissolved oxygen (DO) levels (ocean deoxygenation) leading to expansions of hypoxic zones, which will affect the movements, behaviour, physiology and distributions of marine animals. However, the precise responses of animals to low DO remains poorly understood because movements and activity levels a...

Levels of dissolved oxygen in open ocean and coastal waters are decreasing (ocean deoxygenation), with poorly understood effects on marine megafauna. All of the more than 1000 species of elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, and rays) are obligate water breathers, with a variety of life‐history strategies and oxygen requirements. This review demonstrates...

Tuna Regional Fishery Management Organizations (tRFMOs) are increasingly interested in spatiotemporal management as a tool to reduce interaction rates with vulnerable species. We use blue shark (Prionace glauca) as a case study to demonstrate the critical first steps in the implementation process, highlighting how predictions of global habitat for...

Oxygen minimum zones in the open ocean are predicted to significantly increase in volume over the coming decades as a result of anthropogenic climatic warming. The resulting reduction in dissolved oxygen (DO) in the pelagic realm is likely to have detrimental impacts on water-breathing organisms, particularly those with higher metabolic rates, such...

Rapid implementation of human mobility restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced maritime activity in early 2020. But where and when activity rebounded, or remained low, during the full extent of 2020 restrictions remains unclear. Using global high-resolution datasets, we reveal a surprising degree of complexity in maritime act...

The Western Channel Observatory (WCO) comprises a series of pelagic, benthic and atmospheric sampling sites within 40 km of Plymouth, UK, that have been sampled by the Plymouth institutes on a regular basis since 1903. This longevity of recording and the high frequency of observations provide a unique combination of data; for example temperature da...

The Western Channel Observatory (WCO) comprises a series of pelagic, benthic and atmospheric sampling sites within 40 km of Plymouth, UK, that have been sampled by the Plymouth institutes on a regular basis since 1903. This longevity of recording and the high frequency of observations provide a unique combination of data; for example temperature da...

The Western Channel Observatory (WCO) comprises a series of pelagic, benthic and atmospheric sampling sites within 40 km of Plymouth, UK, that have been sampled by the Plymouth institutes on a regular basis since 1903. This longevity of recording and the high frequency of observations provide a unique combination of data; for example temperature da...

Many predator species make regular excursions from near-surface waters to the twilight (200 to 1,000 m) and midnight (1,000 to 3,000 m) zones of the deep pelagic ocean. While the occurrence of significant vertical movements into the deep ocean has evolved independently across taxonomic groups, the functional role(s) and ecological significance of t...

The Western Channel Observatory (WCO) comprises a series of pelagic, benthic and atmospheric sampling sites within 40 km of Plymouth UK, which have been sampled by the Plymouth Institutes on a regular basis since 1903. This longevity of recording and the high frequency of observations provide a unique combination of data; for example temperature da...

As human activities increasingly shape land- and seascapes, understanding human-wildlife interactions is imperative for preserving biodiversity. Habitats are impacted not only by static modifications, such as roads, buildings and other infrastructure, but also by the dynamic movement of people and their vehicles occurring over shorter time scales....

Few fast-swimming apex fishes are classified as ‘regional endotherms’, having evolved a relatively uncommon suite of traits (e.g. elevated body temperatures, centralised red muscle, and thick-walled hearts) thought to facilitate a fast, predatory lifestyle. Unlike those apex predators, Endangered basking sharks Cetorhinus maximus are massive filter...

Species distribution models (SDMs) are becoming an important tool for marine conservation and management. Yet while there is an increasing diversity and volume of marine biodiversity data for training SDMs, little practical guidance is available on how to leverage distinct data types to build robust models. We explored the effect of different data...

The shortfin mako shark is a large‐bodied pursuit predator thought to be capable of the highest swimming speeds of any elasmobranch and potentially one of the highest energetic demands of any marine fish. Nonetheless, few direct speed measurements have been reported for this species. Here, animal‐borne bio‐loggers attached to two mako sharks were u...

Understanding population dynamics, movements, and fishing mortality is critical to establish effective shark conservation measures across international boundaries in the ocean. There are few survival and dispersal estimates of juveniles of oceanic shark species in the North Atlantic despite it being one of the most fished regions in the world. Here...

Species distribution models (SDMs) are becoming an important tool for marine conservation and management. Yet while there is an increasing diversity and volume of marine biodiversity data for training SDMs, little practical guidance is available on how to leverage distinct data types to build robust models. We explored the effect of different data...

Satellite telemetry as a tool in marine ecological research continues to adapt and grow and has become increasingly popular in recent years to study shark species on a global scale. A review of satellite tag application to shark research was published in 2010, provided insight to the advancements in satellite shark tagging, as well as highlighting...

Groups of basking sharks engaged in circling behaviour are rarely observed, and their function remains enigmatic in the absence of detailed observations. Here, underwater and aerial video recordings of multiple circling groups of basking sharks during late summer (August and September 2016–2021) in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean showed groups num...

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first globa...

Many factors influence how environmental DNA (eDNA) abundance varies in natural environments. One of the least studied contributors to eDNA variation is that of reproduction. Marine organisms that broadcast spawn are expected to shed increased quantities of DNA in association with the release of gametes and the elevated levels of activity associate...

Significance Global vessel traffic is increasing alongside world economic growth. The potential for rising lethal ship strikes on endangered species of marine megafauna, such as the plankton-feeding whale shark, remains poorly understood since areas of highest overlap are seldom determined across an entire species range. Here we show how satellite...

Global abundances of oceanic pelagic sharks have declined due to overfishing. Internationally protected shark species remain at risk due to indiscriminate bycatch in longline fisheries with under-reported catches affecting reliability of population assessments for management. However, the scale of under-reporting remains poorly understood. Here we...

Blue shark (Prionace glauca) is amongst the most abundant shark species in international trade, however this highly migratory species has little effective management and the need for spatio-temporal strategies increases, possibly involving the most vulnerable stage or sex classes. We combined 265,595 blue shark observations (capture or satellite ta...

Abstract Many sharks, skates, and rays (elasmobranchs) are highly threatened by the activities of commercial fisheries, and a clear understanding of their distributions, diversity, and abundance can guide protective measures. However, surveying and monitoring elasmobranch species can be highly invasive or resource‐intensive, and utilization of non‐...

Over the past 4 decades there has been a growing concern for the conservation status of elasmobranchs (sharks and rays). In 2002, the first elasmobranch species were added to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Less than 20 yr later, there were 39 species on Appendix II and 5 o...

The accuracy and reliability of DNA metabarcoding analyses depend on the breadth and quality of the reference libraries that underpin them. However, there are limited options available to obtain and curate the huge volumes of sequence data that are available on public repositories such as NCBI and BOLD. Here, we provide a pipeline to download, clea...

In the pelagic environment diel vertical movements (DVM) are widespread across taxa, from zooplankton ascending from day-time depths into surface layers at night to avoid visual predators, to apex predators following prey movements to maximise foraging opportunities. The drivers of DVM in large predators such as pelagic sharks have only recently be...

106,107 ✉ replying to A. V. Harry & J. M. Braccini Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03463-w (2021) Our global analysis 1 estimated the overlap and fishing exposure risk (FEI) using the space use of satellite-tracked sharks and longline fishing effort monitored by the automatic identification system (AIS). In the accompanying Comment, Harry...

This article is a response to Murua et al.'s Matters Arising article in Nature, "Shark mortality cannot be assessed by fishery overlap alone," which arose from arising from N. Queiroz et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1444-4 (2019).

Habitat selection is the process by which an individual makes an active decision to make use of a particular habitat when others are available. The ability to infer habitat selection therefore requires observations of movement through space and time which can be particularly challenging for marine species that are cryptic and do not regularly visit...

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundr...

Many sharks and other marine taxa use natal areas to maximize survival of young, meaning such areas are often attributed conservation value. The use of natal areas is often linked to predator avoidance or food resources. However, energetic constraints that may influence dispersal of young and their use of natal areas are poorly understood. We combi...

Bio‐logging data obtained by tagging animals are key to addressing global conservation challenges. However, the many thousands of existing bio‐logging datasets are not easily discoverable, universally comparable, nor readily accessible through existing repositories and across platforms, slowing down ecological research and effective management. A s...

Climate-driven expansions of ocean hypoxic zones are predicted to concentrate pelagic fish in oxygenated surface layers, but how expanding hypoxia and fisheries will interact to affect threatened pelagic sharks remains unknown. Here, analysis of satellite-tracked blue sharks and environmental modelling in the eastern tropical Atlantic oxygen minimu...

Effective ocean management and the conservation of highly migratory species depend on resolving the overlap between animal movements and distributions, and fishing effort. However, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach that combines satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fle...

Telemetry datasets are becoming increasingly large and covering a wider range of species using different technologies (GPS, Argos, light‐based geolocation). Together, such datasets hold tremendous potential to understand species' space use at broad spatial scale, through the development of species distribution or habitat suitability models (SDMs) t...

Coexistence of ecologically similar species occupying the same geographic location (sympatry) poses questions regarding how their populations persist without leading to competitive exclusion. There is increasing evidence to show that micro-variations in habitat use may promote coexistence through minimizing direct competition for space and resource...

Often the ecology of a commercially fished species and the behaviour of the fishers are inextricably linked. An understanding of both species ecology and fisher behaviour are therefore fundamental for effective fisheries management. In Europe, Rajidae are commercially fished species that are vulnerable to overfishing, have historically been grouped...

Migratory movements in response to seasonal resources often influence population structure and dynamics. Yet in mobile marine predators, population genetic consequences of such repetitious behaviour remain inaccessible without comprehensive sampling strategies. Temporal genetic sampling of seasonally recurring aggregations of planktivorous basking...

All of the >1000 species of sharks, skates and rays are obligate water-breathers with comparatively high absolute oxygen demands being relatively large-bodied, active predators. With broad distributions across aquatic habitats exhibiting large variations in physico-chemical variables including oxygen concentration indicates elasmobranch physiology,...

Efficient searching for resources such as food by animals is key to their survival. It has been proposed that diverse animals from insects to sharks and humans adopt searching patterns that resemble a simple Lévy random walk, which is theoretically optimal for 'blind foragers' to locate sparse, patchy resources. To test if such patterns are generat...

Tracking data have led to evidence-based conservation of marine megafauna, but a disconnect remains between the many 1000s of individual animals that have been tracked and the use of these data in conservation and management actions. Furthermore, the focus of most conservation efforts is within Exclusive Economic Zones despite the ability of these...

Tracking data have led to evidence-based conservation of marine megafauna, but a disconnect remains between the many thousands of individual animals that have been tracked and the use of these data in conservation and management actions. Furthermore, the focus of most conservation efforts is within Exclusive Economic Zones despite the ability of th...

Effective ocean management and the conservation of highly migratory species depend on resolving the overlap between animal movements and distributions, and fishing effort. However, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach that combines satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fle...

p>Resource partitioning is expected in sympatric assemblages of predators as a mechanism that reduces competition between individuals of different species or age classes, which in turn can affect population and community interactions as well as resource distribution and availability. However, for species such as benthic skates (Rajidae), the juveni...

Metabarcoding extra‐organismal DNA from environmental samples is now a key technique in aquatic biomonitoring and ecosystem health assessment. Of critical consideration when designing experiments, and especially so when developing community standards and legislative frameworks, is the choice of genetic marker and primer set. Mitochondrial cytochrom...

Telemetry is a key, widely used tool to understand marine megafauna distribution, habitat use, behavior, and physiology; however, a critical question remains: “How many animals should be tracked to acquire meaningful data sets?” This question has wide‐ranging implications including considerations of statistical power, animal ethics, logistics, and...

Animal telemetry is a powerful tool for observing marine animals and the physical environments that they inhabit, from coastal and continental shelf ecosystems to polar seas and open oceans. Satellite-linked biologgers and networks of acoustic receivers allow animals to be reliably monitored over scales of tens of meters to thousands of kilometers,...

In the original publication, the Supplementary Table S2 was published without accession numbers.

There have been efforts around the globe to track individuals of many marine species and assess their movements and distribution, with the putative goal of supporting their conservation and management. Determining whether, and how, tracking data have been successfully applied to address real-world conservation issues is, however, difficult. Here, w...

As environmental DNA (eDNA) becomes an increasingly valuable resource for marine ecosystem monitoring, understanding variation in its persistence across contrasting environments is critical. Here, we quantify the breakdown of macrobial eDNA over a spatio-temporal axis of locally extreme conditions, varying from ocean-influenced offshore to urban-in...

The shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus is one of the fastest sharks, reaching speeds of up to 70 km/h. Belonging to family Lamnidae it is the second-most common oceanic shark caught by high seas longlines, mainly because of the high value of shortfin mako fins and meat. North Atlantic reported catches currently exceed 3300 tons annually and the...

Background Globally, there are a large and growing number of researchers using biotelemetry as a tool to study aquatic animals. In Europe, this community lacks a formal network structure. The aim of this study is to review the use of acoustic telemetry in Europe and document the contribution of cross-boundary studies and inter-research group collab...

Clear, accessible, objective metrics of species status are critical to communicate the state of biodiversity and to measure progress towards biodiversity targets. However, the population data underpinning current species status metrics is often highly skewed towards particular taxonomic groups such as birds, butterflies and mammals, primarily due t...