Using opportunistic sightings to infer differential spatio-temporal use of western Mediterranean waters by the fin whale.

ABSTRACT: The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is a cosmopolitan species with a resident population in the Mediterranean Sea. Due to its habitat, open seas often far from ports and airfields, and its long-distance migratory behaviour, studying and monitoring its distribution is costly. Currently, many opportunistic sightings (OS) reports are available, which provide a source of potentially useful, low-cost information about the spatio-temporal distribution of this species. Since 1993, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography has compiled a dataset comprising 874 records of OS of nine species of cetaceans in the western Mediterranean Sea and adjacent waters. The aim of this study was to use this dataset to investigate the differential use of these waters by the fin whale when compared with other

SUBMITTER: Torreblanca E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6442671 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature