Marine animals are increasingly instrumented with environmental sensors that provide large volumes of oceanographic data. Here we conduct an innovative and comprehensive global analysis to determine the potential contribution of animal‐borne instruments (ABI) into ocean observing systems (OOS) and provide a foundation to establish ...
Marine animals are increasingly instrumented with environmental sensors that provide large volumes of oceanographic data. Here we conduct an innovative and comprehensive global analysis to determine the potential contribution of animal‐borne instruments (ABI) into ocean observing systems (OOS) and provide a foundation to establish future integrated ocean monitoring programs. We analyse the current gaps of the long‐term Argo observing system (>1.5 million profiles) and assess its spatial overlap with the distribution of marine animals across eight major species groups (tuna and billfishes, sharks and rays, marine turtles, pinnipeds, cetaceans, sirenians, flying seabirds, and penguins). We combine distribution ranges of 183 species and satellite tracking observations from >3,000 animals. Our analyses identify potential areas where ABI could complement OOS. Specifically, ABI has the potential to fill gaps in marginal seas, upwelling areas, the upper 10 m of the water column, shelf regions and polewards of 60º latitude. Our approach provides the global baseline required to plan the integration of animal‐borne instruments into global and regional OOS whilst integrating conservation and ocean monitoring priorities.
