Environmental predictors of habitat suitability and occurrence of cetaceans in the western North Atlantic Ocean

Details

• Journal Title:
  Scientific Reports
• Personal Author:
  Chavez-Rosales, Samuel ; Palka, Debra L. ; Garrison, Lance P. ; Josephson, Elizabeth A.
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center) ; SEFSC (Southeast Fisheries Science Center)
• Description:
  The objective of this study was to identify the main environmental covariates related to the abundance of 17 cetacean species/groups in the western North Atlantic Ocean based on generalized additive models, to establish a current habitat suitability baseline, and to estimate abundance that incorporates habitat characteristics. Habitat models were developed from dedicated sighting survey data collected by NOAA- Northeast and Southeast Fisheries Science Centers during July 2010 to August 2013. A group of 7 static physiographic characteristics and 9 dynamic environmental covariates were included in the models. For the small cetacean models, the explained deviance ranged from 16% to 69%. For the large whale models, the explained deviance ranged from 32% to 52.5%. Latitude, sea surface temperature, bottom temperature, primary productivity and distance to the coast were the most common covariates included and their individual contribution to the deviance explained ranged from 5.9% to 18.5%. The habitat-density models were used to produce seasonal average abundance estimates and habitat suitability maps that provided a good correspondence with observed sighting locations and historical sightings for each species in the study area. Thus, these models, maps and abundance estimates established a current habitat characterization of cetacean species in these waters and have the potential to be used to support management decisions and conservation measures in a marine spatial planning context.
• Keywords:
  Cetacea Ecological Modelling Habitat Suitability Index Models Ecological Modelling Habitat Suitability Index Models
• Source:
  Scientific Reports 9 (5833) 
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42288-6
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC6456503
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Atlantic Coast (U.S.)
• Rights Information:
  CC BY
• Compliance:
  PMC
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b8f227bff20429f2f6bcda826b55bf8f9a8d26c17166ae654ae9c371b4993336b2cb7577ae7ad999c39351de8ce06eeb901659ebcbb819d0747d5950c1befb77
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/24017/noaa_24017_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.48 MB ]