Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish Waters - Behaviour, Distribution and Habitat Use- WP4 Research into Ecosystem Links and Habitat Use between Cetaceans and Fisheries in the Celtic Sea

Abstract

Visual line transect survey data for cetaceans were simultaneously collected during synoptic acoustic sampling surveys of small schooling pelagic fish, i.e. herring (Clupea harengus) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus) in the Celtic Sea, off the south coast of Ireland, from 2004 to 2009. These data were used to investigate the interactions of cetaceans with biological and environmental variables in the survey area. Geographic information systems and generalized linear and generalized additive models were used in this study.