Effects of oceanographic factors on spatial distribution of Whale Shark in Cendrawasih Bay National Park, West Papua

[摘要] Whale sharks are a leading species in Cendrawasih Bay due to its benign nature and its regular appearance. Recently, whale sharks are vulnerable to scarcity and even extinction. One of the efforts to maintain the existence of the whale shark population is by knowing its spatial distribution. This study aims to analyze how the oceanographic factors affect the spatial distribution of whale sharks in Cendrawasih Bay National Park. The method used in this research is descriptive with the quantitative approach using the Generalized Additive Model (GAM) analysis. The data consisted of the whale shark monitoring data in TNTC taken by WWF-Indonesia, and image data of sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a concentration of Aqua-MODIS, and also sea surface current from Aviso. Analyses were conducted for the period of January 2012 until March 2015. The GAM result indicated that sea surface current was better than the other environment (SST and chlorophyll-a concentration) as an oceanographic predictor of whale shark appearance. High probabilities of the whale shark's to appear on the surface were observed in sea surface current velocities between 0.30-0.60 m/s, for SST ranged from 30.50-31.80 °C, and for chlorophyll-a concentration ranged from 0.20-0.40 mg/m3.

[发布机构] Marine Science Program, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Padjadjaran University, Jl. Raya Bandung-Sumedang Km. 21, Jatinangor, West Java; 45363, Indonesia^1;Department of Marine Science, Padjadjaran University, Jl. Raya Bandung-Sumedang Km. 21, Jatinangor, West Java; 45363, Indonesia^2

[效力级别] 生态环境科学

[关键词] Chlorophyll-a concentration;Generalized additive model;High probability;Image data;National parks;Quantitative approach;Sea surface temperature (SST);Sea surfaces