ESR Special

Beyond Marine Mammal Habitat Modeling: Applications For Ecology And Conservation

 

Guest Editors: Edward Gregr, Mark Baumgartner, Kristin Laidre, Daniel Palacios

 

Habitat modeling for marine mammals has made tremendous advances in the past decade. The application of statistical models to elucidate relationships between species and their environment has become commonplace in the literature. While these models have provided some insights into marine mammal–habitat associations, the biological or ecological significance of many relationships remains frustratingly unclear. Only by combining these largely descriptive efforts with additional oceanographic and ecosystem studies will we begin to provide insights into the processes that govern marine mammal distribution and behavior and ultimately contribute to conservation. Emerging from an ongoing series of workshops on marine mammal habitat modeling (www.whoi.edu/sites/marinemammalmodeling), this ESR Theme Section will showcase studies that emphasize the ecological and management implications of modeled species-environment relationships.

 

We seek contributions that use marine habitat models together with supporting ecological information (e.g., descriptions of species behavior, prey characteristics, or oceanographic processes) to (1) elucidate the underlying physical and biological mechanisms influencing marine mammal distribution, and/or (2) significantly inform management and conservation efforts (e.g., delineation of critical habitat or marine protected areas). Contributions should not focus on a particular tool or method, but instead on how the results improve our understanding of marine mammal ecology or provide the scientific foundation for management action.

 

Please send a 300-word abstract of your intended paper to Guest Editor, Edward Gregr (ed(at)scitechconsulting.com) or Editor-in-Chief Brendan Godley (b.j.godley(at)exeter.ac.uk).

 

CONTENT

 

Gilles A, Adler S, Kaschner K, Scheidat M, Siebert U

Modelling harbour porpoise seasonal density as a function of the German Bight environment: implications for management

ESR 14:157-169 | Full text in pdf format

 

Corkeron PJ, Minton G, Collins T, Findlay K, Willson A, Baldwin R

Spatial models of sparse data to inform cetacean conservation planning: an example from Oman

ESR 15:39-52 | Full text in pdf format

 

Gerrodette T, Eguchi T

Precautionary design of a marine protected area based on a habitat model

ESR 15:159-166 | Full text in pdf format

 

Lambert E, MacLeod CD, Hall K, Brereton T, Dunn TE, Wall D, Jepson PD, Deaville R, Pierce GJ

Quantifying likely cetacean range shifts in response to global climatic change: implications for conservation strategies in a changing world

ESR 15:205-222 | Full text in pdf format

Gregr EJ

Insights into North Pacific right whale Eubalaena japonica habitat from historic whaling records

ESR 15:223-239 | Full text in pdf format