TITLE:
Towards a Standardized Approach of Cetacean Habitat: Past Achievements and Future Directions
AUTHORS:
Nardi Cribb, Cara Miller, Laurent Seuront
KEYWORDS:
Cetacean, Dolphins, Whales, Habitat, Modelling, Management, Conservation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Marine Science,
Vol.5 No.3,
July
30,
2015
ABSTRACT: The understanding of what
habitat means for an organism as well as the underlying factors driving
patterns of habitat use is still unknown for many species. Cetacean habitat has
been described using a range of methodologies and variables measured over
various temporal and spatial scalesthat
are often author-dependent. However, in order to develop an objective and sound
understanding of what habitat actually means for cetaceans, a standardized
approach needs to be developed. Here, after briefly reviewing the fundamental
differences between terrestrial and marine habitats, we highlight the
difficulty in defining a marine habitat, with a special focus on marine
mammals. We subsequently provide six recommendations by which future cetacean
habitat studies might be approached. This recommended approach aims to amend
the way in which we think about and undertake investigations into cetacean
habitat. It is believed that through this broadened approach, future cetacean
habitat studies will increase our understanding of underlying driving factors
of cetacean habitat, rather than just describing distribution patterns.
Finally, it is stressed how the proposed approach will be more directly
applicable within management frameworks and of benefit to conservation
initiatives.