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MegaMove Integration Analysis

Overview

MegaMove (Marine Megafauna Movement Analytical Program) is the largest collaborative tracking initiative for marine megafauna, directed by Ana M.M. Sequeira at the Australian National University. UN-endorsed under the Decade of Ocean Science (2021-2030).

Key reference: Sequeira et al. (2025). Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets. Science 388(6751). DOI: 10.1126/science.adl0239

Data Contents

Metric Value
Total geopositions ~11 million
Individual animals tracked 15,845
Curated individual tracks 12,794
Species 121 (111 after curation)
Temporal span 1985-2018
Ocean coverage 71.7% of global ocean
Taxonomic groups 8

Taxonomic Groups

  1. Fishes (mainly sharks) — blue, tiger, whale, oceanic whitetip, mako, great white, hammerhead, silky, bull sharks
  2. Cetaceans (whales/dolphins)
  3. Pinnipeds (seals/sea lions)
  4. Sea turtles
  5. Seabirds (flying)
  6. Penguins
  7. Sirenians (dugongs, manatees)
  8. Polar bears

Data Types

  • Satellite telemetry tracking (primary)
  • Geopositions (lat/lon time-series)
  • Regularised daily location time-series
  • Behavioural state classifications (residency vs. migration)
  • Important Marine Megafauna Areas (IMMegAs) derived layers
  • Threat overlap analyses (fishing, shipping, pollution, temperature)

Data Access

Current Status: CLOSED

  • No public API exists
  • Data portal (megamove.org/data-portal/) says "coming soon" — has been for several years
  • Access requires membership in the MegaMove network (expression of interest submission)
  • Data will eventually be deposited in Movebank under CC-BY licence, but not yet enacted

Alternative Access Routes

  1. Global Shark Movement Project (GSMP) GitHub repos — actual downloadable data for published analyses
  2. Movebank public API (movebank.org) — individual studies shared by contributing researchers
  3. Apply for MegaMove membership — requires contributing tracking data or expertise

Related Projects

Global Shark Movement Project (GSMP)

  • Coordinated from Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK
  • ~1,800+ shark tracks from 20+ species
  • Directly feeds shark data into MegaMove
  • globalsharkmovement.org

Movebank

  • Free, open archive of animal tracking data (Max Planck Institute)
  • 7,500+ studies
  • Has a public REST API — most accessible route for shark tracking data
  • MegaMove will eventually deposit here

OCEARCH

Integration Value for EEA Project

What MegaMove/GSMP could add to us:

  1. Movement ecology context — which species have been tracked, where, with what methods
  2. Spatial overlap analysis — threat overlap layers relevant to our MOV and CON disciplines
  3. Method validation — real tracking data to contextualise papers about telemetry techniques

Practical Assessment

  • Low immediate integration potential due to closed data access
  • Medium-term: Contact Ana Sequeira about collaboration; apply for membership
  • Best current route: Use GSMP GitHub repos for published shark tracking datasets and Movebank API for broader marine tracking data
  • Our contribution: Our literature database could help MegaMove identify tracking studies they may have missed

Join Keys

  • Species name — maps to our sp_* columns
  • DOI — GSMP publications and Movebank studies have DOIs
  • Geographic overlap — our ocean basin and sub-basin columns vs. their tracking coverage

Created: 2026-03-09