Final Technical Report: - Southwest Fisheries Science Center - NOAA

Table 19. Data type (remotely sensed [RS] or combined remotely sensed and in situ [CB]) and number of sightings
used to build, validate, and parameterize the final models for the CCE. The sightings used to build the final models
are from the SWFSC’s 1991, 1993, 1996, and 2001 surveys of the CCE. Sightings from SWFSC’s 2005 survey
were used to validate the best models. The best models were re-fit to all years of data (i.e. 1991-2005) to
parameterize the final predictive models. Numbers reflect sightings for which remotely sensed SST data were
available (remotely sensed models) or for which both the remotely sensed and in situ grid data were available
(combined models). The numbers reflect sightings in Beaufort sea states 0-5.
Species
Data
Type
81
Total number of sightings
build validate re-fit
Striped dolphin RS 51 23 74
Short-beaked common dolphin CB 298 87 385
Risso’s dolphin RS 90 13 103
Pacific white-sided dolphin CB 49 4 53
Northern right whale dolphin CB 56 5 61
Dall’s porpoise CB 311 50 361
Sperm whale CB 47 21 68
Fin whale RS 152 86 238
Blue whale CB 157 24 181
Humpback whale RS 98 52 150
Baird’s beaked whale RS 13 5 18
Small beaked whales RS 68 11 79
Model validation using the novel 2005 dataset revealed that the models for Risso’s
dolphin and Baird’s beaked whale were not effective at capturing their distribution patterns,
indicating that the models required re-examination and subsequent replacement of continuous
habitat predictors with static variables (see Section 4.7). Models for both species were
substantially improved using the static variables; the final models for all species showed that
density estimates were similar to those derived by Barlow (2003) using line-transect analyses
(Table 20).