Modelling the habitat suitability of cetaceans: Example of the sperm whale in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Praca, Emilie; Gannier, Alexandre; Das, Krishna; Laran, Sophie

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2008.11.001

Cited by 87 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the Pelagos Sanctuary, Cuvier's beaked whale exploits the upper and lower slopes along the Ligurian−Provençal coast, at depths ranging from 1000 to 2500 m (Azzellino et al 2008, Moulins et al 2008, showing preference for areas with complex topography (Moulins et al 2007, Gannier & Epinat 2008, Azzellino et al 2012. Similar habitat preferences have been found for the sperm whale, whose preferred habitat lies in the canyons in the slope area (Gannier et al 2002, Moulins et al 2008, Praca et al 2009, Azzellino et al 2012. also described a preferred habitat in oceanic waters for the sperm whale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…The environmental variables used to model species habitat are the ones commonly used to describe Cuvier's beaked whale and sperm whale distributions: depth, distance from the 200 m contour (corresponding to the shelf break) and slope (Cañadas et al 2002, Azzellino et al 2008, Praca et al 2009). All these variables were derived using ArcGIS 9.2 from a fine-resolution bathymetric grid (100 m) of the Ligurian Sea kindly provided by IFREMER (Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer, France).…”

Section: Environmental Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Habitat preferences of two deep-diving cetacean species in the northern Ligurian Sea

Tepsich¹,

Rosso²,

Halpin³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We used generalized additive models (GAMs) as exploratory habitat models for describing the distribution of 2 deep-diving species, Cuvier's beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris Cuvier, 1823 and sperm whale Physeter catodon Linnaeus, 1758, in the Pelagos Sanctuary (northwestern Mediterranean). We analyzed data collected from research surveys and whale-watching activities during summer months from 2004 to 2007. The dataset encompassed 147 Cuvier's beaked whale sightings and 52 sperm whale sightings. We defined and applied a post hoc workflow to the data, to minimize false absence bias arising from the unique ecology of the species and the lack of a dedicated sampling design. We calculated a novel topographic predictor, distance from the canyon axis, as a covariate for use in the habitat model. Given the complex topography of the area, the analysis was performed on a high-resolution spatial grid (1 km). Our methods allowed effective use of the non-dedicated sampling dataset for building habitat models of elusive and cryptic species (Cuvier's beaked whale final model sensitivity = 0.88 and specificity = 0.84; sperm whale final model sensitivity = 0.65 and specificity = 0.77). The GAM results confirmed the preference for submarine canyons for both species and also highlighted the importance of the deeper portion of the Ligurian basin, especially for Cuvier's beaked whale. Habitat overlap nevertheless is resolved by a well-defined spatial partitioning of the area, with sperm whale occupying the western part and Cuvier's beaked whale the central and eastern parts.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 48%

Section: Environmental Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat preferences of two deep-diving cetacean species in the northern Ligurian Sea

Tepsich¹,

Rosso²,

Halpin³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Mean values flanked by different letters (a, b and ab for differences in 2 species out of 3, and a, b and c for dissimilarities between all 3 species) indicate significant differences in post hoc Tukey tests (p-value < 0.05). on the whole slope and surrounding oceanic water (mean depth around 1800 m) (Praca et al, 2009;Praca and Gannier, 2008). These findings may indicate that d…”

mentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Pilot whales seem to prefer the pelagic area, Risso's dolphins prefer the upper part of the slope, and sperm whales seem to have a habitat on the whole slope and surrounding pelagic waters (Praca et al, 2009;Praca and Gannier, 2008). However, Cuvier's beaked whales seem to be restricted to the northeast Ligurian Sea (Azzelino et al, 2008;Podesta et al, 2006) and will not be included here.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This result could highlight a possible superposition in their habitat over a long-term period. However, habitat models in the NWMS showed spatial segregation between the three species in summer (Praca et al, 2009;Praca and Gannier, 2008). While Risso's dolphin seems to prefer the upper part of the slope (mean depth around 650 m), the pilot whale presents the most oceanic habitat at 2500 m mean depth (Praca and Gannier, 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Toothed whales in the northwestern Mediterranean: Insight into their feeding ecology using chemical tracers

Praca

Laran²,

Lepoint

et al. 2011

Marine Pollution Bulletin

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tRisso's dolphins, pilot whales and sperm whales rarely strand in the northwestern Mediterranean. Thus, their feeding ecology, through the analysis of stomach contents, is poorly known. The aim of this study was to gain further insight into the segregation/superposition of the diet and habitat of Risso's dolphins, pilot whales and sperm whales using chemical tracers, namely, stable isotopes (d N values were obtained in Risso's dolphins (11.7 ± 0.7‰), sperm whales (10.8 ± 0.3‰) and pilot whales (9.8 ± 0.3‰), revealing different trophic levels. These differences are presumably due to various proportions of Histioteuthidae cephalopods in each toothed whale's diet. Similar d 13 C contents between species indicated long-term habitat superposition or corroborated important seasonal migrations. Lower congener 180 concentrations (8.20 vs. 21.73 lg.g À1 lw) and higher tDDT/ tPCB ratios (0.93 vs. 0.42) were observed in sperm whales compared with Risso's dolphins and may indicate wider migrations for the former. Therefore, competition between these species seems to depend on different trophic levels and migration patterns.

show abstract

Modelling predicted sperm whale habitat in the central Mediterranean Sea: requirement for protection beyond the Pelagos Sanctuary boundaries

Aissi¹,

Ouammi

Fiori³

et al. 2013

Aquatic Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change and human activities impacts are considered to be the main causes of sperm whale habitat alteration. Despite the creation of several marine protected areas in the Mediterranean Sea, the sperm whale status remains ‘endangered’. Its spatial distribution has been reported in different areas of the Mediterranean, among them the Pelagos Sanctuary. Various biophysical parameters have been recognized to influence sperm whale distribution depending on the modelling scale. Hence, this study investigates and predicts sperm whale relative occurrence, taking into account the parameters that affect their habitats in the central Mediterranean Sea, inside and beyond the boundaries of the Pelagos Sanctuary. An artificial neural network (ANN) model was used to predict the probability of sperm whale occurrence in the central Mediterranean Sea, for each cell of a 3 × 3 minute grid using a Visual Basic script to interface with GIS software. The algorithm was trained using species presence/absence data and a set of physiographic variables such as depth, slope, distance to shore and magnetic field. Some geographic areas exhibit a consistently high probability of occurrence and may be identified as highly used areas for special management concern. Thus, this work represents a preliminary evaluation of management and conservation effort outside the Pelagos Sanctuary. The map of sperm whale predicted relative presence can be used to mitigate potentially harmful human activities and to support the design and management of marine protected areas, including the delineation of ecologically meaningful boundaries. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

show abstract

Modelling the habitat suitability of cetaceans: Example of the sperm whale in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Cited by 87 publications

References 33 publications

Habitat preferences of two deep-diving cetacean species in the northern Ligurian Sea

Habitat preferences of two deep-diving cetacean species in the northern Ligurian Sea

Toothed whales in the northwestern Mediterranean: Insight into their feeding ecology using chemical tracers

Modelling predicted sperm whale habitat in the central Mediterranean Sea: requirement for protection beyond the Pelagos Sanctuary boundaries

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About