geneGIS: Computational Tools for Spatial Analyses of DNA Profiles with Associated Photo-Identification and Telemetry Records of Marine Mammals

• Main Authors: Baker, C S, Wright, Dawn, Calambokidis, John
• Other Authors: OREGON STATE UNIV NEWPORT HATFIELD MARINE SCIENCE CENTER
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Biological Oceanography; Computer Programming and Software; *DATA BASES; *WHALES; CETACEA; GENETIC MARKERS; IDENTIFICATION; INFORMATION SYSTEMS; MARINE BIOLOGY; NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN; NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN; POPULATION; SURVEYS; TRACKING; DNA PROFILES; HUMPBACK WHALES; MARINE MAMMALS; MIGRATORY WHALES; RIGHT WHALES; SPLASH(STRUCTURE OF POPULATIONS LEVELS OF ABUNDANCE AND STATUS OF HUMPBACKS); Pacific; North Atlantic; North Atlantic right whale
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA573307; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA573307

We are developing computational tools for improved visual exploration and spatial analysis of DNA profiles, with accompanying photo-identification records or telemetry tracks of marine mammals. Referred to as geneGIS, the computational tools provide the ability to display, browse, select, filter and summarize spatio-temporal relationships of these individual-based records and associated data from molecular markers and ecomarkers (e.g., stable isotopes). A toolbox of software applications allows basic summaries of spatially selected data and export of data in standard tabular and database formats (e.g., XLS, CSV, MDB, KML), as well as specialized formats required for programs commonly used in molecular ecology and capture-mark-recapture. The data format complies with OBIS standards and the database architecture is compatible with the Arc Marine data model, providing a link with other datasets and tools needed for an integrated description of the genetic and environmental seascape of cetaceans. We have implemented geneGIS as toolboxes in the desktop version of ArcGIS 10.1 and through programmatic enhancements of the web-based Shepherd Project using DNA profiles and photo-identification records derived from an ocean-wide survey of humpback whales in the North Pacific (SPLASH and geneSPLASH). We have recently been granted access to a subset of photoidentification sighting records and associated DNA profiles from the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium for implementation in geneGIS. Spatio-temporal analyses of databases from long-lived, migratory whales will be suitable for informing conceptual models of cetacean populations, including the Population Consequences of Acoustic Disturbance (PCAD) and the Testing of Spatial Structure Methods (TOSSM). The original document contains color images.