Ensemble modeling of the potential distribution of the whale shark in the Atlantic Ocean.

ABSTRACT: The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is an endangered marine fish species which can be adversely affected by the fishing activities of the industrial purse seine fleet targeting tropical tuna. Tuna tend to aggregate around all types of floating objects, including whale sharks. We analyzed and modeled the spatial distribution and environmental preferences of whale sharks based on the presence and absence data from fishing observations in the Atlantic Ocean. We used a thorough multialgorithm analysis, based on a new presence-absence dataset, and endeavored to follow the most recent recommendations on best practices in species distribution modeling. First, we selected a subset of relevant variables using a generalized linear model that addressed multicollinearity, statistical errors, and

SUBMITTER: Baez JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6972796 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature