Marine Species Density Models in the NAVEUR/C6F Study Area (Northeast Atlantic)
Modelers: Ana Cañadas, Jason J. Roberts, Tina M. Yack and Patrick N. Halpin/MGEL/Duke University.Collaborators: AZTI/Spain, Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute/Spain, Cetaceans and Marine Research/Canary Islands/Spain, Coordinadora para el Estudio de los mamíferos marinos/Spain, Interdisciplinary Center of Marine and Environmental Research/Portugal, Conservation Information and Research on Cetaceans/Spain, Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Spain, Department of Communications/Climate Action & Environment/Ireland, University College Cork/Ireland, Departmento de Oceanografia e Pescas/University of the Azores, Euskal Izurde eta Balezaleen Elkartea/Spain, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources/Greenland, Spanish Institute of Oceanography/Spain, Institute for Marine Research/Norway, Marine and Freshwater Research Institute/Iceland, Museu da Baleia/Madeira/Portugal, Soc. para el estudio de los cetáceos en el Archipiélago Canario/Spain, Sea Mammal Research Unit/St Andrews University/Scotland, Institute of Bioscience/Aarhus University/Denmark, Aveiro University/Portugal, University of La Rochelle/France, Hannover University/Germany, Royal Belgian Institute of natural Sciences/Belgium, Wageningen University & Research/Netherlands
Abstract
The Duke Marine Geospatial Ecology Laboratory leads an ongoing collaboration of scientific research organizations who pool data and expertise to develop marine mammal species density models spanning the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. At the time of this publication in November 2021, the project incorporated over 2 million kilometers (km) of line-transect surveys conducted by many teams from 1983–2018 under the auspices of 22 collaborating organizations. The models estimate absolute density, rendered as maps of the number of individual animals per 100 km2, by statistically correlating sightings reported on shipboard and aerial surveys with oceanographic conditions. This page lists the eight species and two taxa groups modeled and provides a link to download their GIS files and the final project report that documents the methodology and results.
This work was funded by the U.S. Navy to to assess the potential impacts to protected marine species that could result from conducting military readiness activities. Specifically, under U.S. law, all marine mammals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and some marine species receive additional protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as well as other laws and Executive Orders. Executive Order 12114 applies to the Global Commons (High Seas), Foreign Nation Exclusive Economic Zones, and within Foreign Nation Territorial Seas, while the ESA and the MMPA apply to the Global Commons (High Seas). To comply with these mandates, information on the potential location and numbers of protected marine species is required in order to estimate how many animals might be affected by a specific activity. The Navy performs quantitative analyses to estimate the number of marine mammals that could be affected by at-sea training and testing activities. A key element of this quantitative analysis is knowledge of the abundance and density (the number of individual animals found per square kilometer of area) of the species in the areas where those activities will occur. The Navy uses the density model outputs available here as input to their analysis.
Citation
Cañadas, A., Roberts, J., Yack, T. & Halpin, P.N. 2021. Development of Exploratory Marine Species Density Models in the NAVEUR/6CF Study Area. Final Report. Report prepared for Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic under Contract No. N62470-15-D-8006, Task Order 18F4048, by the Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Durham, North Carolina. November 2021.
Model resolution and units
All model outputs are given as GIS-compatible raster files in an Albers Equal Area projection with a spatial resolution of 10 x 10 km. The unit of density is individuals / 100 km2. For each model, six rasters are given, one for each of the months of May through October, representing the mean estimated density for each month averaged over the focal period for the modeled taxon. Typically, this period was 1998–2018 but extended back to 1994 for certain taxa. Please see the final project report for more details.
Downloads
Download zip file with all ten taxa (74MB)
| Modeled Taxon | Scientific Name | Version | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaked whales | Mesoplodon spp. and Ziphius cavirostris | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
| Blue whale | Balaenoptera musculus | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
| Cuvier's beaked whale | Ziphius cavirostris | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
| Fin whale | Balaenoptera physalus | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
| Humpback whale | Megaptera novaeangliae | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
| Mesoplodont beaked whales | Mesoplodon spp.* | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
| Northern bottlenose whale | Hyperoodon ampullatus | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
| Sei whale | Balaenoptera borealis | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
| Sowerby's beaked whale | Mesoplodon bidens | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
| Sperm whale | Physeter macrocephalus | 1 | 2021-11-01 |
*Includes Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), Gervais’ beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus), Sowerby’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens), as well as unidentified Mesoplodons (those for which the species could not be determined).
Acknowledgments
This project would not be possible without the contributions of many individuals and organizations. Above all, we acknowledge the work of those who collected, processed, and shared marine mammal and covariate data with us, and to those who funded the production of those data. In particular, we thank the observers, pilots, ship captains, and crew who collected the marine mammal observations that form the core of this analysis. The logos of these organizations appear at the top of this page and they are named within our project report. Thank you all for the opportunity to analyze the data you produced; we hope you find this project a satisfactory outcome of your efforts.
Funding for this project was provided by United States Fleet Forces Command and was managed on their behalf by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic.
Conflict of Interest Statement
U.S. Fleet Forces Command, U.S. Navy was the principal funder of this modeling project. The Navy was given the opportunity to suggest spatial, temporal, and taxonomical resolutions and a geographic extent that would facilitate the Navy's use of the results in U.S. environmental regulatory processes. When the analysis was complete, the Navy was given opportunity to view preliminary results. The Navy did not participate in the analysis itself.