Dear MARMAM collegues,
We are pleased to share our recent publication, which uses a large, multi-year
satellite telemetry dataset collected by MarEcoTel of Washington State to
identify year-round habitats of fin whales in the California Current System.
Scales KL, Schorr GS, Hazen EL, Bograd SJ, Miller PI, Andrews RD, Zerbini AN &
Falcone EA (2017) Should I stay or should I go? Modelling year-round habitat
suitability and drivers of residency for fin whales in the California Current.
Diversity & Distributions, In Press.
The article is now online as Early View, which can be accessed at
https://doi.org/10./ddi.12611
Alternatively, please email Greg Schorr at gsch...@marecotel.org for a
full-text PDF offprint.
ABSTRACT
Aim: Understanding the spatial ecology of endangered species is crucial to
predicting habitat use at scales relevant to conservation and management. Here,
we aim to model the influence of biophysical conditions on habitat suitability
for fin whales Balaenoptera physalus, with a view to informing management in a
heavily impacted ocean region.
Location: We satellite-tracked the movements of 67 fin whales through the
California Current System (CCS), a dynamic eastern boundary upwelling ecosystem
in the Northeast Pacific.
Methods: We use a multi-scale modelling framework to elucidate biophysical
influences on habitat suitability for fin whales in the CCS. Using generalized
additive mixed models, we quantify the influence of a suite of remotely-sensed
variables on broad-scale patterns of occupancy and present the first
year-round, high-resolution predictions of seasonal habitat suitability.
Further, we model the influence of contemporaneous biophysical conditions on
individual-level residence times in high-use habitat.
Results: We present evidence of year-round habitat suitability in the southern
California Current System, robust to interannual variability, establishing that
North Pacific fin whales do not follow the canonical baleen whale migration
model. Within the high-use habitat in the Southern California Bight (SCB),
individual-level residency in localized areas (n = 16 for >30 days; n = 4 for
>6 months) was associated with warm, shallow, nearshore waters (>18°C, <500 m),
with cool waters (14–15°C) occurring over complex seafloor topographies and
with convergent (sub)mesoscale structures at the surface.
Main Conclusions: Biophysical conditions in the southern CCS generate
productive foraging habitats that can support the fin whale population
year-round and allow for extended periods of residency in localized areas.
High-use habitats for fin whales are co-located with areas of intense human
use, including international shipping routes and a major naval training range.
Seasonal habitat suitability maps presented here could inform the management of
anthropogenic threats to endangered baleen whales in this globally significant
biodiversity hotspot.
Best regards,
Dr. Kylie L. Scales
ksca...@usc.edu.au
Lecturer in Animal Ecology, University of Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Formerly Project Scientist, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center &
University of California, Santa Cruz
USC, Locked Bag 4, Maroochydore DC, Queensland, 4558 Australia.
CRICOS Provider No: 01595D
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