Inter-annual and Seasonal Trends in Cetacean Distribution, Density and Abundance off Southern California

About

The present study provides new and current estimates of cetacean density for the six most commonly encountered cetacean species off southern California based on sighting data collected during 37 quarterly CalCOFI cruises from 2004 to 2013. The current study resulted from a high survey repetition rate that allowed for the examination of inter-annual and seasonal trends in density as well as temporal and spatial patterns of distribution for six common cetacean species off southern California: blue whales, fin whales, humpback whales, short-beaked common dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, and Dall’s porpoise.