Age- and sex-specific survivorship of the Southern Hemisphere long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas edwardii).

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity loss is a major global challenge of the 21st century. Ultimately, extinctions of species are determined by birth and death rates; thus, conservation management of at-risk species is dependent on robust demographic data. In this study, data gathered from 381 (227 females, 154 males) long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas edwardii) that died in 14 stranding events on the New Zealand coast between 2006 and 2017 were used to construct the first age- and sex-specific life tables for the subspecies. Survivorship curves were fitted to these data using (1) a traditional maximum likelihood approach, and (2) Siler's competing-risk model. Life table construction and subsequent survival curves revealed distinct differences in the age- and sex-specific survival rates, with fem

SUBMITTER: Betty EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9936501 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature