Endangered Species Research
ESR is a gold Open Access research journal on all endangered forms of life on Earth, the threats faced by species and their habitats, and the necessary steps that must be undertaken to ensure their conservation.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01435
copiedIncorporating prey fields into North Atlantic right whale density surface models
- Camille H. Ross
- Jason J. Roberts
- Daniel E. Pendleton
- Damian C. Brady
- Karen Stamieszkin
- Nicholas R. Record
ABSTRACT:
Predictions of North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis distributions are an increasingly important tool used in conservation efforts for this Critically Endangered species. Right whales feed upon calanoid copepods, primarily Calanus finmarchicus. Incorporating prey distributions and characteristics into right whale density surface models (DSMs) has the potential to improve predicted whale distribution and provide a more mechanistic basis for interpretation. To explore this possibility, we tested different prey and prey proxy covariates to represent prey within a right whale DSM. We then assessed the relationship fitted to each prey or prey proxy covariate and determined which covariates added the most predictive power. The top-performing model included a combination of covariates representing high-density C. finmarchicus, Centropages typicus, and Pseudocalanus spp. aggregations and resulted in density predictions consistent with the observed distribution patterns of right whales. Predicted density was most prominent in the deep basins of the Gulf of Maine and the Great South Channel. Density generally increased in the summer and decreased in the winter, consistent with the current understanding of right whale foraging phenology. Continued monitoring of prey resources and development of prey fields for use in models are imperative to successful conservation of endangered marine predators.
KEYWORDS
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Camille Ross (Corresponding Author)
- Tandy Center for Ocean Forecasting, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME 04544 USA
- Darling Marine Center, School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Walpole, ME 04573, USA
- Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA 02110, USA
Jason Roberts (Co-author)
- Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
Daniel Pendleton (Co-author)
- Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Damian Brady (Co-author)
- Darling Marine Center, School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Walpole, ME 04573, USA
Karen Stamieszkin (Co-author)
- Tandy Center for Ocean Forecasting, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME 04544 USA
Nicholas Record (Co-author)
- Tandy Center for Ocean Forecasting, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME 04544 USA
Handling Editor:
Brendan Godley, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, UK
Reviewers:
L. Fouda and 2 anonymous referees
Acknowledgements:
We are grateful to the following for contributing marine mammal survey data: Susan Barco, Gary Buchanan, Tim V. N. Cole, Erin W. Cummings, Lance P. Garrison, Beth Josephson, Robert D. Kenney, Christin B. Khan, Scott D. Kraus, Kate S. Lomac-MacNair, Ryan J. McAlarney, William A. McLellan, Orfhlaith O’Brien, D. Ann Pabst, Debra L. Palka, Ester Quintana-Rizzo, Meghan E. Rickard, and Ann M. Zoidis. Marine mammal surveys were funded by: NOAA Fisheries; US Navy, Navy N45, US Fleet Forces Command, and Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic (NAVFAC); Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; Massachusetts Clean Energy Center; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Clean Energy Fund; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program; Conservation Law Foundation; National Ocean Protection Coalition; and Natural Resources Defense Council. We thank the people who participated in data collection under NOAA’s Fisheries Ecosystem Monitoring Program from (MARMAP/EcoMon) and Harvey Walsh for providing EcoMon survey data. This analysis was funded by and conducted under NOAA Fisheries Cooperative Agreement NA20NMF0080246. We are grateful to Jeffrey A. Runge, Catherine L. Johnson, and Kristina Cammen for input and for having served/presently serving on the PhD committee of C.H.R., to Brian C. Battaile and three anonymous reviewers for providing feedback, and to Peter Marino for copy editing and earlier version of the paper. This work is part of C.H.R.’s PhD dissertation.