Generalised additive models to investigate environmental drivers of Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) spatial density in austral summer.

The article discusses a research study on long-term changes in Antarctic minke whale density and distribution during austral summer months in Southern Ocean open waters. Researchers used generalised additive models (GAM) based on data of the Southern Ocean Whale Ecosystem Research (SOWER) and International Decade of Cetacean Research (IDCR) programmes. Results showed that covariate-density relationships for 1,000meter (m)-distance (dist) and icedist were mostly negative and higher in regions close to the sea ice edge while icedist and Optimum Interpolation version two Sea Surface Temperature (OISST) correlates highly but the covariate-density effect relationship for Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front (SACCF) distance was not easy to interpret for researchers.