Dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool
The ecological value of the stranding record is often challenged due to the complexity in quantifying the biases associated with multiple components of the stranding process. There are biological, physical and social aspects that complicate the interpretation of stranding data particularly at a popu...
Published in: | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2017
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315417000698 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315417000698 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0025315417000698 2024-06-16T07:40:32+00:00 Dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool ten Doeschate, Mariel T.I. Brownlow, Andrew C. Davison, Nicholas J. Thompson, Paul M. 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315417000698 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315417000698 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 98, issue 5, page 1205-1209 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 journal-article 2017 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315417000698 2024-05-22T12:56:35Z The ecological value of the stranding record is often challenged due to the complexity in quantifying the biases associated with multiple components of the stranding process. There are biological, physical and social aspects that complicate the interpretation of stranding data particularly at a population level. We show how examination of baseline variability in the historical stranding record can provide useful insights into temporal trends and facilitate the detection of unusual variability in stranding rates. Seasonal variability was examined using harbour porpoise strandings between 1992 and 2014 on the east coast of Scotland. Generalized Additive Mixed modelling revealed a strong seasonal pattern, with numbers increasing from February towards a peak in April. Profiling seasonality this way facilitates detection of unusual variations in stranding frequencies and permits for any change in the incidence of strandings to be quantified by evaluation of the normalized model residuals. Consequently, this model can be used to identify unusual mortality events, and quantify the degree to which they deviate from baseline. With this study we demonstrate that a described baseline in strandings allows the detection of abnormalities at an early stage and can be used as a regional framework of reference for monitoring. This methodology provides means to quantify and partition the variability associated with strandings data and is a useful first step towards improving the stranding record as a management resource. Article in Journal/Newspaper Harbour porpoise Cambridge University Press Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 98 5 1205 1209 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
The ecological value of the stranding record is often challenged due to the complexity in quantifying the biases associated with multiple components of the stranding process. There are biological, physical and social aspects that complicate the interpretation of stranding data particularly at a population level. We show how examination of baseline variability in the historical stranding record can provide useful insights into temporal trends and facilitate the detection of unusual variability in stranding rates. Seasonal variability was examined using harbour porpoise strandings between 1992 and 2014 on the east coast of Scotland. Generalized Additive Mixed modelling revealed a strong seasonal pattern, with numbers increasing from February towards a peak in April. Profiling seasonality this way facilitates detection of unusual variations in stranding frequencies and permits for any change in the incidence of strandings to be quantified by evaluation of the normalized model residuals. Consequently, this model can be used to identify unusual mortality events, and quantify the degree to which they deviate from baseline. With this study we demonstrate that a described baseline in strandings allows the detection of abnormalities at an early stage and can be used as a regional framework of reference for monitoring. This methodology provides means to quantify and partition the variability associated with strandings data and is a useful first step towards improving the stranding record as a management resource. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
ten Doeschate, Mariel T.I. Brownlow, Andrew C. Davison, Nicholas J. Thompson, Paul M. |
spellingShingle |
ten Doeschate, Mariel T.I. Brownlow, Andrew C. Davison, Nicholas J. Thompson, Paul M. Dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool |
author_facet |
ten Doeschate, Mariel T.I. Brownlow, Andrew C. Davison, Nicholas J. Thompson, Paul M. |
author_sort |
ten Doeschate, Mariel T.I. |
title |
Dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool |
title_short |
Dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool |
title_full |
Dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool |
title_fullStr |
Dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool |
title_full_unstemmed |
Dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool |
title_sort |
dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315417000698 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315417000698 |
genre |
Harbour porpoise |
genre_facet |
Harbour porpoise |
op_source |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 98, issue 5, page 1205-1209 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315417000698 |
container_title |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
container_volume |
98 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1205 |
op_container_end_page |
1209 |
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1802007490678751232 |