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Estimation and simulation of foraging trips in land-based marine predators

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posted on 2023-05-19, 09:37 authored by Michelot, T, Langrock, R, Sophie BestleySophie Bestley, Jonsen, ID, Photopoulou, T, Patterson, TA
The behavior of colony-based marine predators is the focus of much research globally. Large telemetry and tracking data sets have been collected for this group of animals, and are accompanied by many empirical studies that seek to segment tracks in some useful way, as well as theoretical studies of optimal foraging strategies. However, relatively few studies have detailed statistical methods for inferring behaviors in central place foraging trips. In this paper we describe an approach based on hidden Markov models, which splits foraging trips into segments labeled as “outbound”, “search”, “forage”, and “inbound”. By structuring the hidden Markov model transition matrix appropriately, the model naturally handles the sequence of behaviors within a foraging trip. Additionally, by structuring the model in this way, we are able to develop realistic simulations from the fitted model. We demonstrate our approach on data from southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) tagged on Kerguelen Island in the Southern Ocean. We discuss the differences between our 4-state model and the widely used 2-state model, and the advantages and disadvantages of employing a more complex model.

History

Publication title

Ecology

Volume

98

Issue

7

Pagination

1932-1944

ISSN

0012-9658

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Ecological Soc Amer

Place of publication

1707 H St Nw, Ste 400, Washington, USA, Dc, 20006-3915

Rights statement

Copyright 2017 by the Ecological Society of America

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Biodiversity in Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments

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