Shifting trends: detecting changes in cetacean population dynamics in shifting habitat
Data files
May 07, 2021 version files 91.52 KB
-
A_stable_random_cv_d_sy.txt
88 B
-
A_stable_random_cv_id.txt
91 B
-
A_stable_random_hh_sy.txt
5.78 KB
-
A_stable_random_hh.txt
13.74 KB
-
A_stable_random_sb_cells.txt
413 B
-
A_stable_random_x.txt
369 B
-
A_stable_random_y_cell.txt
354 B
-
A_stable_random_y_id_sy.txt
249 B
-
A_stable_random_y_id.txt
360 B
-
A_stable_random_y_sb.txt
1.27 KB
-
B_stable_shifting_cv_d_sy.txt
87 B
-
B_stable_shifting_cv_id.txt
99 B
-
B_stable_shifting_hh_sy.txt
5.71 KB
-
B_stable_shifting_hh.txt
13.77 KB
-
B_stable_shifting_sb_cells.txt
420 B
-
B_stable_shifting_x.txt
371 B
-
B_stable_shifting_y_cell.txt
342 B
-
B_stable_shifting_y_id_sy.txt
247 B
-
B_stable_shifting_y_id.txt
351 B
-
B_stable_shifting_y_sb.txt
1.32 KB
-
C_declining_random_cv_d_sy.txt
83 B
-
C_declining_random_cv_id.txt
92 B
-
C_declining_random_hh_sy.txt
5.78 KB
-
C_declining_random_hh.txt
13.74 KB
-
C_declining_random_sb_cells.txt
412 B
-
C_declining_random_x.txt
337 B
-
C_declining_random_y_cell.txt
332 B
-
C_declining_random_y_id_sy.txt
221 B
-
C_declining_random_y_id.txt
330 B
-
C_declining_random_y_sb.txt
1.16 KB
-
D_declining_shifting_cv_d_sy.txt
87 B
-
D_declining_shifting_cv_id.txt
99 B
-
D_declining_shifting_hh_sy.txt
5.71 KB
-
D_declining_shifting_hh.txt
13.77 KB
-
D_declining_shifting_sb_cells.txt
420 B
-
D_declining_shifting_x.txt
348 B
-
D_declining_shifting_y_cell.txt
332 B
-
D_declining_shifting_y_id_sy.txt
227 B
-
D_declining_shifting_y_id.txt
333 B
-
D_declining_shifting_y_sb.txt
1.17 KB
-
README.rtf
1.11 KB
Abstract
The ability to monitor population dynamics and detect major changes in population trend is essential for wildlife conservation and management. However, this is often challenging for cetaceans as surveys typically cover only a portion of a population’s range and conventional stock assessment methods cannot then distinguish whether apparent changes in abundance reflect real changes in population size or shifts in distribution. We developed and tested methods for estimating population size and trend and detecting changes in population trend in the context of shifting habitat by integrating additional data into distance-sampling analysis. Previous research has shown that incorporating habitat information can improve population size estimates for highly mobile species with dynamic spatial distributions. Here, using simulated datasets representative of a large whale population, we demonstrate that incorporating individual mark-recapture data can increase the accuracy and precision of trend estimation and the power to distinguish whether apparent changes in abundance reflect changes in population trend or distribution shifts. We recommend that similar simulation studies are conducted for specific cetacean populations to assess the potential for detecting changes in population dynamics given available data. This approach is especially important wherever population change may be confounded with long-term change in distribution patterns associated with regime shifts or climate change.
Usage notes
Please see: DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251522 Appendix S1. Simulation of test datasets