Predicting Cetacean Distributions in the Eastern North Atlantic to Support Marine Management
Data on species occurrence at the scale of their distributional range and the determination of their habitat use requirements are essential to support conservation and define management plans that account for their habitat requirements. For wide-ranging species, such as cetaceans, especially conside...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.643569/full |
| _version_ | 1818865598256381952 |
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| author | Ana M. Correia Ana M. Correia Diana Sousa-Guedes Ágatha Gil Ágatha Gil Ágatha Gil Raul Valente Raul Valente Massimiliano Rosso Massimiliano Rosso Isabel Sousa-Pinto Isabel Sousa-Pinto Neftalí Sillero Graham J. Pierce Graham J. Pierce Graham J. Pierce |
| author_facet | Ana M. Correia Ana M. Correia Diana Sousa-Guedes Ágatha Gil Ágatha Gil Ágatha Gil Raul Valente Raul Valente Massimiliano Rosso Massimiliano Rosso Isabel Sousa-Pinto Isabel Sousa-Pinto Neftalí Sillero Graham J. Pierce Graham J. Pierce Graham J. Pierce |
| author_sort | Ana M. Correia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Data on species occurrence at the scale of their distributional range and the determination of their habitat use requirements are essential to support conservation and define management plans that account for their habitat requirements. For wide-ranging species, such as cetaceans, especially considering that their marine habitats include offshore areas, collection of such data is challenging. In the absence of dedicated surveys, alternative methodologies are needed, such as the use of data collected from platforms of opportunity and modelling techniques to predict distribution in unsurveyed areas. Using 6 years of cetacean occurrence data collected along cargo ship routes between the Iberian Peninsula, northwestern African coasts and the Macaronesian islands, we developed ecological niche models to assess habitat preferences and predict suitable habitats of the eight most frequently sighted cetacean taxa in the area. Explanatory variables used for model fitting included topographic, oceanographic, detectability, geographic and seasonal features. To provide a robust habitat characterisation, along with predictions of habitat suitability, making best use of occurrence datasets, we applied two modelling techniques, GAM and Maxent, which offer complementary strengths. Coastal areas provide important habitats for common and bottlenose dophins, while other dolphin species (spotted and striped dolphins) have a more oceanic distribution. The predicted niches of Cuvier’s beaked whale and minke whales are mainly in the high seas at northern latitudes. Suitable habitats for sperm whales and pilot whales are mostly in southern areas in continental slope regions. For all the species, models indicated that areas around seamount features offer suitable habitats, likely of high relevance in oligotrophic offshore waters. As such, dedicated survey effort in such areas would facilitate development and implementation of appropriate management plans, which are currently lacking. Our models offer an important contribution to baseline knowledge of cetacean distribution at basin-scale in the region and could support the definition of priority areas, monitoring plans, and conservation measures, essential to comply with the requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:50:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bb6da3df491f43f8b653022ba3d1d39d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:50:06Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-bb6da3df491f43f8b653022ba3d1d39d2022-12-21T20:25:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452021-05-01810.3389/fmars.2021.643569643569Predicting Cetacean Distributions in the Eastern North Atlantic to Support Marine ManagementAna M. Correia0Ana M. Correia1Diana Sousa-Guedes2Ágatha Gil3Ágatha Gil4Ágatha Gil5Raul Valente6Raul Valente7Massimiliano Rosso8Massimiliano Rosso9Isabel Sousa-Pinto10Isabel Sousa-Pinto11Neftalí Sillero12Graham J. Pierce13Graham J. Pierce14Graham J. Pierce15Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), Matosinhos, PortugalDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), Porto, PortugalCentro de Investigação em Ciências Geo-Espaciais (CICGE), Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), Porto, PortugalInterdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), Matosinhos, PortugalDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), Porto, PortugalDepartment of Biology and Environment, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, PortugalInterdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), Matosinhos, PortugalDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), Porto, PortugalInterdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), Matosinhos, PortugalInternational Center for Environmental Monitoring CIMA Research Foundation, Savona, ItalyInterdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), Matosinhos, PortugalDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), Porto, PortugalCentro de Investigação em Ciências Geo-Espaciais (CICGE), Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), Porto, PortugalInstituto de Investigacións Mariñas (CSIC), Vigo, SpainOceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United KingdomCESAM and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, PortugalData on species occurrence at the scale of their distributional range and the determination of their habitat use requirements are essential to support conservation and define management plans that account for their habitat requirements. For wide-ranging species, such as cetaceans, especially considering that their marine habitats include offshore areas, collection of such data is challenging. In the absence of dedicated surveys, alternative methodologies are needed, such as the use of data collected from platforms of opportunity and modelling techniques to predict distribution in unsurveyed areas. Using 6 years of cetacean occurrence data collected along cargo ship routes between the Iberian Peninsula, northwestern African coasts and the Macaronesian islands, we developed ecological niche models to assess habitat preferences and predict suitable habitats of the eight most frequently sighted cetacean taxa in the area. Explanatory variables used for model fitting included topographic, oceanographic, detectability, geographic and seasonal features. To provide a robust habitat characterisation, along with predictions of habitat suitability, making best use of occurrence datasets, we applied two modelling techniques, GAM and Maxent, which offer complementary strengths. Coastal areas provide important habitats for common and bottlenose dophins, while other dolphin species (spotted and striped dolphins) have a more oceanic distribution. The predicted niches of Cuvier’s beaked whale and minke whales are mainly in the high seas at northern latitudes. Suitable habitats for sperm whales and pilot whales are mostly in southern areas in continental slope regions. For all the species, models indicated that areas around seamount features offer suitable habitats, likely of high relevance in oligotrophic offshore waters. As such, dedicated survey effort in such areas would facilitate development and implementation of appropriate management plans, which are currently lacking. Our models offer an important contribution to baseline knowledge of cetacean distribution at basin-scale in the region and could support the definition of priority areas, monitoring plans, and conservation measures, essential to comply with the requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.643569/fullecological niche modellingGAMMaxentbasin-scale modellinghabitat preferencessuitable habitats |
| spellingShingle | Ana M. Correia Ana M. Correia Diana Sousa-Guedes Ágatha Gil Ágatha Gil Ágatha Gil Raul Valente Raul Valente Massimiliano Rosso Massimiliano Rosso Isabel Sousa-Pinto Isabel Sousa-Pinto Neftalí Sillero Graham J. Pierce Graham J. Pierce Graham J. Pierce Predicting Cetacean Distributions in the Eastern North Atlantic to Support Marine Management Frontiers in Marine Science ecological niche modelling GAM Maxent basin-scale modelling habitat preferences suitable habitats |
| title | Predicting Cetacean Distributions in the Eastern North Atlantic to Support Marine Management |
| title_full | Predicting Cetacean Distributions in the Eastern North Atlantic to Support Marine Management |
| title_fullStr | Predicting Cetacean Distributions in the Eastern North Atlantic to Support Marine Management |
| title_full_unstemmed | Predicting Cetacean Distributions in the Eastern North Atlantic to Support Marine Management |
| title_short | Predicting Cetacean Distributions in the Eastern North Atlantic to Support Marine Management |
| title_sort | predicting cetacean distributions in the eastern north atlantic to support marine management |
| topic | ecological niche modelling GAM Maxent basin-scale modelling habitat preferences suitable habitats |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.643569/full |
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