Seabird foraging areas 'key for conservation' (BBC)
By Mark Kinver
Environment reporter, BBC News
The feeding patterns of seabirds around the UK coastline can be can used to help identify the location of possible marine protection areas, a study says.
Researchers compiled data on 25 species' foraging behaviour, adding that feeding sites played a vital role in the success of breeding colonies.
There is just one Marine Conservation Zone in English waters but a network is expected to be decided by 2013.
The findings appear in the journal Biological Conservation.
"There is an increasing need to protect areas of sea for marine species because the environment is facing pressures - such as oil, shipping, gas and renewable energy," explained co-author Chris Thaxter, research ecologist for the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16532920
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/8453202.stm
My grandfather's middle name was Lundy -- I used to wonder where that came from. 