Developing and assessing a density surface model in a Bayesian hierarchical framework with a focus on uncertainty: insights from simulations and an application to fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus)

• Published in: PeerJ
• Main Authors: Douglas B. Sigourney, Samuel Chavez-Rosales, Paul B. Conn, Lance Garrison, Elizabeth Josephson, Debra Palka
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PeerJ Inc. 2020
• Subjects: Bayesian model; Jagam; Generalized Additive Model (GAM); Tweedie distribution; Fin whales; Density surface model; Medicine; R; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Gam; Balaenoptera physalus; Fin whale
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8226; https://doaj.org/article/97ddb54f5b4b4d298cbca5189d71cbe6

Density surface models (DSMs) are an important tool in the conservation and management of cetaceans. Most previous applications of DSMs have adopted a two-step approach to model fitting (hereafter referred to as the Two-Stage Method), whereby detection probabilities are first estimated using distanc...