The use of habitat selection models to predict the likely occurrence of wild populations is an important tool in conservation planning and wildlife management. The goal of our study was to build habitat selection models for the dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) in Golfo Nuevo, Argentina. Random transects were surveyed by boat in 2002-2007. A grid of 1.5 3 1.5-km squares (cells) was constructed for the study area. We characterized each cell by depth, slope, distance from shore, sea-surface temperature, concentration of chlorophyll a, presence-absence of dolphins, and a coefficient of use by dusky dolphins. Models were developed for warm and cold seasons and for all data combined. Data collected during 2002-2005 were pooled to develop the model, and data collected during 2006-2007 were used for cross-validation. Logistic regression with a binomial error structure and a logit-link function were used to relate the presence of dolphins to habitat variables. Models with gamma structure and log-link function were used to relate area use to habitat variables. Models were selected with deviance analysis and Akaike's information criterion. All predictor variables significantly influenced distribution of dolphins, which preferred steep areas at depths of 50-60 m, distance from shore of 3-5 km, and higher values of chlorophyll. In the warm season dolphins preferred colder waters and avoided deeper and warmer areas. Dusky dolphins in Golfo Nuevo are exploited as a tourism resource, and selected models should be considered when deciding the impact of dolphin-watching activities on management.Habitat selection is a hierarchical process involving a series of innate and learned behavioral decisions made by an animal about what habitat it would use at different scales of the environment (Hutto 1985). Animals actively select where they live within the constraints of their physiology and life-history strategies or passively persist in certain habitats; therefore habitat selection is a behavioral consequence (Boyce and McDonald 1999). Availability of resources generally is not uniform in nature and use can change as availability changes. Therefore, habitat resources that are used should be compared to further available resources to reach valid conclusions concerning resource selection. When resources are used disproportionately to their availability, use is said to be selective (Manly et al. 2002).The use of habitat selection models to predict the likely occurrence or distribution of wild populations is an important tool in conservation planning and wildlife management. Habitat models allow analysis of resource selection and prediction of the occurrence of a species. For example, Gross et al. (2002) developed habitat models from observation of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in alpine habitats near Mt. Evans, Colorado. These models provided a way to use readily available data and simple techniques to identify suitable habitat quickly over large geographical areas. Poirazidis et al. (2004) modeled nesting preference for the...
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