Avifaune et espaces océaniques : contribution à la recherche de marqueurs biogéographiques de la haute mer

Abstract

This paper deals with the seabird as a biogeographical indicator among other criteria (oceanographic, legal or economic) to contribute to a definition of the high sea. This approach invites us to start from the central areas of oceans, where live birds species staying usually far away from the coast and reaching them only to nest. These species, not really abundant, but very mobile and perfectly adapted to environmental stress are mainly albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, sometimes also penguins, frigatebirds and gannets. They belong to the landscape of high sea, separate from the coastal space, but also from the mid-oceanic islands.

Keywords

• High sea
• Seabirds
• Biogeographical indicators
• Pelagic areas