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...

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Published in:Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Main Authors: ten Doeschate, Mariel T.I., Brownlow, Andrew C., Davison, Nicholas J., Thompson, Paul M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2017
Subjects:
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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spelling 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
institution Open Polar
collection Cambridge University Press
op_collection_id 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
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container_issue 5
container_start_page 1205
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