Assessment of mark–recapture models to estimate the abundance of a humpback whale feeding aggregation in Southeast Alaska
Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to use photographs of the unique pattern on the ventral surface of the flukes to estimate the abundance of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in a discrete feeding aggregation in northern Southeast Alaska. Location The study was located in northern Sout...
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crwiley:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01906.x 2024-06-02T08:07:57+00:00 Assessment of mark–recapture models to estimate the abundance of a humpback whale feeding aggregation in Southeast Alaska Straley, Janice M. Quinn II, Terrance J. Gabriele, Christine M. 2009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01906.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2699.2008.01906.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01906.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Journal of Biogeography volume 36, issue 3, page 427-438 ISSN 0305-0270 1365-2699 journal-article 2009 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01906.x 2024-05-03T11:02:21Z Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to use photographs of the unique pattern on the ventral surface of the flukes to estimate the abundance of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in a discrete feeding aggregation in northern Southeast Alaska. Location The study was located in northern Southeast Alaska, USA, in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Methods This study evaluated mark–recapture models, ranging from the simpler models (pooled and stratified, closed Petersen estimators) to more complex multi‐strata models (closed Darroch and open Hilborn). The Akaike Information Criterion, corrected (AICc) was used as a model comparison statistic. Results Our best estimate of whale abundance in northern Southeast Alaska in 2000 is 961 whales [95% confidence interval (657, 1076)]. This estimate comes from the Hilborn open, multi‐strata approach with constant migration over time, time‐dependent capture probabilities by area, and a fixed survival rate of 0.98. The simpler models were problematic owing to several aspects of whale behaviour, including that (1) the whales did not mix randomly throughout the study area, (2) some whales emigrated temporarily outside the study area and were not available for capture, and (3) whales were not equally identifiable because they did not behave in the same way when they showed their flukes upon diving. This led to heterogeneity in capture probability and a bias in the estimates. The more complex models stratified by area, and using migration movements among areas, compensated for some of these issues when estimating population size. Main conclusions We believe that the Hilborn open, multi‐strata model produced the best estimate because: (1) it incorporated the best information about survival, (2) it used detailed information about the various release groups, (3) the analysis provided an integrated environment in which parameters such as migration and capture probabilities are shared, (4) the three strata encompassed a large portion of the areas used by whales, and (5) the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska Wiley Online Library Pacific Petersen ENVELOPE(-101.250,-101.250,-71.917,-71.917) Journal of Biogeography 36 3 427 438 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to use photographs of the unique pattern on the ventral surface of the flukes to estimate the abundance of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in a discrete feeding aggregation in northern Southeast Alaska. Location The study was located in northern Southeast Alaska, USA, in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Methods This study evaluated mark–recapture models, ranging from the simpler models (pooled and stratified, closed Petersen estimators) to more complex multi‐strata models (closed Darroch and open Hilborn). The Akaike Information Criterion, corrected (AICc) was used as a model comparison statistic. Results Our best estimate of whale abundance in northern Southeast Alaska in 2000 is 961 whales [95% confidence interval (657, 1076)]. This estimate comes from the Hilborn open, multi‐strata approach with constant migration over time, time‐dependent capture probabilities by area, and a fixed survival rate of 0.98. The simpler models were problematic owing to several aspects of whale behaviour, including that (1) the whales did not mix randomly throughout the study area, (2) some whales emigrated temporarily outside the study area and were not available for capture, and (3) whales were not equally identifiable because they did not behave in the same way when they showed their flukes upon diving. This led to heterogeneity in capture probability and a bias in the estimates. The more complex models stratified by area, and using migration movements among areas, compensated for some of these issues when estimating population size. Main conclusions We believe that the Hilborn open, multi‐strata model produced the best estimate because: (1) it incorporated the best information about survival, (2) it used detailed information about the various release groups, (3) the analysis provided an integrated environment in which parameters such as migration and capture probabilities are shared, (4) the three strata encompassed a large portion of the areas used by whales, and (5) the ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Straley, Janice M. Quinn II, Terrance J. Gabriele, Christine M. |
spellingShingle |
Straley, Janice M. Quinn II, Terrance J. Gabriele, Christine M. Assessment of mark–recapture models to estimate the abundance of a humpback whale feeding aggregation in Southeast Alaska |
author_facet |
Straley, Janice M. Quinn II, Terrance J. Gabriele, Christine M. |
author_sort |
Straley, Janice M. |
title |
Assessment of mark–recapture models to estimate the abundance of a humpback whale feeding aggregation in Southeast Alaska |
title_short |
Assessment of mark–recapture models to estimate the abundance of a humpback whale feeding aggregation in Southeast Alaska |
title_full |
Assessment of mark–recapture models to estimate the abundance of a humpback whale feeding aggregation in Southeast Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Assessment of mark–recapture models to estimate the abundance of a humpback whale feeding aggregation in Southeast Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Assessment of mark–recapture models to estimate the abundance of a humpback whale feeding aggregation in Southeast Alaska |
title_sort |
assessment of mark–recapture models to estimate the abundance of a humpback whale feeding aggregation in southeast alaska |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01906.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2699.2008.01906.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01906.x |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-101.250,-101.250,-71.917,-71.917) |
geographic |
Pacific Petersen |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Petersen |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska |
op_source |
Journal of Biogeography volume 36, issue 3, page 427-438 ISSN 0305-0270 1365-2699 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01906.x |
container_title |
Journal of Biogeography |
container_volume |
36 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
427 |
op_container_end_page |
438 |
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1800753092820467712 |