Evaluating Three Modelling Frameworks for Assessing Changes in Fin Whale Distribution in the Mediterranean Sea.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the habitat of highly migratory species is aided by using species distribution models to identify species-habitat relationships and to inform conservation and management plans. While Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) are commonly used in ecology, and particularly the habitat modeling of marine mammals, there remains a debate between modeling habitat (presence/absence) versus density (# individuals). Our study assesses the performance and predictive capabilities of GAMs compared to boosted regression trees (BRTs) for modeling both fin whale density and habitat suitability alongside Hurdle Models treating presence/absence and density as a two-stage process to address the challenge of zero-inflated data. Fin whale data were collected from 2008 to 2022 along fixed transects cros

SUBMITTER: Grossi F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11886417 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature