A matter of scale: Identifying the best spatial and temporal scale of environmental variables to model the distribution of a small cetacean
Abstract The importance of scale when investigating ecological patterns and processes is recognised across many species. In marine ecosystems, the processes that drive species distribution have a hierarchical structure over multiple nested spatial and temporal scales. Hence, multi‐scale approaches s...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70102 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.70102 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ece3.70102 2024-09-15T18:10:42+00:00 A matter of scale: Identifying the best spatial and temporal scale of environmental variables to model the distribution of a small cetacean Goh, Tiffany Jessopp, Mark Rogan, Emer Pirotta, Enrico 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70102 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.70102 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 14, issue 8 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2024 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70102 2024-09-03T04:26:39Z Abstract The importance of scale when investigating ecological patterns and processes is recognised across many species. In marine ecosystems, the processes that drive species distribution have a hierarchical structure over multiple nested spatial and temporal scales. Hence, multi‐scale approaches should be considered when developing accurate distribution models to identify key habitats, particularly for populations of conservation concern. Here, we propose a modelling procedure to identify the best spatial and temporal scale for each modelled and remotely sensed oceanographic variable to model harbour porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) distribution within the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone. Harbour porpoise sightings were recorded during dedicated line‐transect aerial surveys conducted in the summers of 2016, 2021 and 2022. Binary generalised additive models were used to assess the relationships between porpoise presence and oceanographic variables at different spatial (5–40 km) and temporal (daily, monthly and across survey period) scales. Selected variables included sea surface temperature, thermal fronts, chlorophyll‐a, sea surface height, mixed layer depth and salinity. A total of 30,514 km was covered on‐effort with 216 harbour porpoise sightings recorded. Overall, the best spatial scale corresponded to the coarsest resolution considered in this study (40 km), while porpoise presence showed stronger association with oceanographic variables summarised at a longer temporal scale. Habitat models including covariates at coarse spatial and temporal scales may better reflect the processes driving availability and abundance of resources at these large scales. These findings support the hypothesis that a multi‐scale approach should be applied when investigating species distribution. Identifying suitable spatial and temporal scale would improve the functional interpretation of the underlying relationships, particularly when studying how a small marine predator interacts with its environment and responds to climate and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena Wiley Online Library Ecology and Evolution 14 8 |
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Abstract The importance of scale when investigating ecological patterns and processes is recognised across many species. In marine ecosystems, the processes that drive species distribution have a hierarchical structure over multiple nested spatial and temporal scales. Hence, multi‐scale approaches should be considered when developing accurate distribution models to identify key habitats, particularly for populations of conservation concern. Here, we propose a modelling procedure to identify the best spatial and temporal scale for each modelled and remotely sensed oceanographic variable to model harbour porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) distribution within the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone. Harbour porpoise sightings were recorded during dedicated line‐transect aerial surveys conducted in the summers of 2016, 2021 and 2022. Binary generalised additive models were used to assess the relationships between porpoise presence and oceanographic variables at different spatial (5–40 km) and temporal (daily, monthly and across survey period) scales. Selected variables included sea surface temperature, thermal fronts, chlorophyll‐a, sea surface height, mixed layer depth and salinity. A total of 30,514 km was covered on‐effort with 216 harbour porpoise sightings recorded. Overall, the best spatial scale corresponded to the coarsest resolution considered in this study (40 km), while porpoise presence showed stronger association with oceanographic variables summarised at a longer temporal scale. Habitat models including covariates at coarse spatial and temporal scales may better reflect the processes driving availability and abundance of resources at these large scales. These findings support the hypothesis that a multi‐scale approach should be applied when investigating species distribution. Identifying suitable spatial and temporal scale would improve the functional interpretation of the underlying relationships, particularly when studying how a small marine predator interacts with its environment and responds to climate and ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Goh, Tiffany Jessopp, Mark Rogan, Emer Pirotta, Enrico |
spellingShingle |
Goh, Tiffany Jessopp, Mark Rogan, Emer Pirotta, Enrico A matter of scale: Identifying the best spatial and temporal scale of environmental variables to model the distribution of a small cetacean |
author_facet |
Goh, Tiffany Jessopp, Mark Rogan, Emer Pirotta, Enrico |
author_sort |
Goh, Tiffany |
title |
A matter of scale: Identifying the best spatial and temporal scale of environmental variables to model the distribution of a small cetacean |
title_short |
A matter of scale: Identifying the best spatial and temporal scale of environmental variables to model the distribution of a small cetacean |
title_full |
A matter of scale: Identifying the best spatial and temporal scale of environmental variables to model the distribution of a small cetacean |
title_fullStr |
A matter of scale: Identifying the best spatial and temporal scale of environmental variables to model the distribution of a small cetacean |
title_full_unstemmed |
A matter of scale: Identifying the best spatial and temporal scale of environmental variables to model the distribution of a small cetacean |
title_sort |
matter of scale: identifying the best spatial and temporal scale of environmental variables to model the distribution of a small cetacean |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70102 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.70102 |
genre |
Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena |
genre_facet |
Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 14, issue 8 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70102 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
8 |
_version_ |
1810448283184660480 |