Data integration for conservation: Leveraging multiple data types to advance ecological assessments and habitat modeling for marine megavertebrates using OBIS–SEAMAP Ei Fujioka a, ⁎, Connie Y. Kot a , Bryan P. Wallace a,b , Benjamin D. Best a , Jerry Moxley a , Jesse Cleary a , Ben Donnelly a , Patrick N. Halpin a a Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27707, United States b Oceanic Society, Washington, DC, United States abstract article info Article history: Received 12 April 2013 Received in revised form 18 January 2014 Accepted 19 January 2014 Available online 23 January 2014 Keywords: Biogeographic database Spatio-temporal ecological assessments Satellite telemetry Sea turtle nesting Line-transect sighting Photo-identification Spatially explicit conservation efforts to identify, designate, and prioritize protected areas or biologically signifi- cant areas require analyses beyond basic species distribution and abundance studies, including assessments of migration patterns, habitat use, and ecological drivers of behavior. With the advent of alternate survey methods and platforms within the marine environment (e.g. satellite telemetry, passive acoustics, photo identification, nesting site monitoring and genetic sampling) in addition to traditional shipboard or aerial visual surveys, re- searchers have been developing novel analytical and modeling methodologies to fulfill such in-depth ecological assessments. This trend has raised interests and needs not only in filling spatial, temporal and ‘ecological’ gaps but also in the synthesis of these disparate data from multiple methods/platforms. OBIS–SEAMAP, a thematic node of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) specializing on marine megavertebrates, takes a unique approach to data integration into the OBIS–SEAMAP database to enable novel applications of a global biogeographic database. In this paper, we summarize our efforts to accomplish this integration and to develop novel mapping and visualization tools available on the OBIS–SEAMAP web site. We also discuss advantages and implications of an integrated database in advancing ecological assessments and modeling efforts based on preliminary assessments of the OBIS–SEAMAP data and derived products. Finally, we make critical suggestions for the design and function of biogeographic databases to make contributed data more useful for conservation efforts. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Spatial conservation efforts require ecological understanding beyond the distribution or abundance of the target species for more effective conservation strategies and management. This need is particu- larly clear for the designation of marine protected areas or the delineation and prioritization of biological hotspots. For example, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has defined seven criteria for the identification of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) in the open ocean and deep seas: 1) Uniqueness or rarity; 2) Special importance for life his- tory of species; 3) Importance for threatened, endangered or declining species and/or habitats; 4) Vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, slow recov- ery; 5) Biological productivity; 6) Biological diversity; and 7) Naturalness (CBD, 2009). Identification of EBSAs that meet these criteria relies on spatio-temporal assessments of migration patterns, habitat uses (breeding and foraging), site fidelity, behavioral differences by sex or age class, and other ecological aspects (CBD, 2009; Olsen et al., 2009; Redfern et al., 2006). Such global scale ecological assessments require ex- tensive collections of high-quality biological data, which was the driving purpose for establishing global biogeographic databases such as the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS; http://www.iobis.org; Ausubel et al., 2010; Costello and Vanden Berghe, 2006; Grassle, 2000). In the case of marine megavertebrates (e.g. marine mammals, seabirds and sea turtles), most data in such databases come from museum speci- mens or sightings recorded during visual surveys (both line-transect and opportunistic surveys by ship or plane). Visual sightings provide con- firmation of species' presence in surveyed locations and are often used to examine marine biodiversity across taxa, geographic distribution and abundance of species (Mora et al., 2008; Tittensor et al., 2010; Webb et al., 2010). Given the costs and restricted spatial and temporal coverage of visual surveys (Ackleh et al., 2012; Marques et al., 2009), however, these platforms are limited in filling spatio-temporal gaps for marine megavertebrates, many of which are long-distance migratory or elusive, deep-diving species (Gedamke et al., 2001; Olsen et al., 2009). Moreover, visual surveys are not optimal platforms to collect animal characteristics Ecological Informatics 20 (2014) 13–26 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: efujioka@duke.edu (E. Fujioka). 1574-9541/$ – see front matter © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.01.003 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ecological Informatics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolinf