The potential of marginal coastal nursery habitats for the conservation of a culturally important Caribbean marine species Stieglitz Thomas auteur aut IRD Dujon A.M. auteur aut IRD Peel J.R. auteur aut IRD Amice E. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Aim : Identifying the potential of marginal habitats for species conservation is of key importance when their core high-quality habitats are under substantial disturbances and threats. However, there is currently a knowledge gap on how useful marine marginal habitats may be for conserving endangered marine species. Here, we investigate the potential of groundwater-fed coastal areas for the conservation of the queen conch, an economically and culturally important marine gastropod. Location The inlet of Xel-Ha, typical of groundwater-fed coastal areas widely distributed along the Yucatan Peninsula coast in Mexico and partially protected by a network of marine protected areas. Methods : We tracked 66 queen conchs (Lobatus gigas) using acoustic telemetry over a period of 3.5 years. We investigated for ontogenetic niche shift using a network analysis and by modelling their growth. Results : The queen conchs exhibited the same ontogenetic niche shift required to complete their life cycle in this marginal habitat as they do in offshore core habitats. A total of 33 individuals departed the inlet and migrated from shallow groundwater-affected nursery grounds to deeper marine habitats more suitable for breeding aggregation.Main conclusions As the broad-scale movement behaviour of queen conch in this inlet is similar to that observed on the overfished core habitats, our findings suggest that groundwater-fed coastal areas should be included in conservation planning for an effective management of this species within a network of marine protected areas. specialized MEXIQUE QUINTANA ROO YUCATAN 034BIOINV03 040PECHE 082RESER Diversity and Distributions 26 5 565-574 2020 1366-9516 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010088433 10.1111/ddi.13044 1366-9516 [F B010088433] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010088433 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2023-07/010088433.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2023-07-25 2025-02-24 fdi:010088433 fre