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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Megafauna
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1529913
Predticting the Potential Distribution of Major Marine Mammals in the Cosmonaut Sea
Provisionally accepted
Yufei Dai 1
Fanyi Meng 1
Fuxing Wu 1*
Xing Miao 1
Denghui Yan 2
Mingding Zhong 3
Shunan Cao 3
Yuli Wei 4
Longshan Lin 1*- 1 Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen, China
- 2 Beijing Normal University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 3 Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
- 4 Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
The Southern Ocean, a critical marine region on Earth, is undergoing significant environmental changes due to global climate change, including reductions in sea ice extent, ocean acidification, and alterations in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The Cosmonaut Sea, notable for its 样式定义: 正文: 左 dynamic sea ice and rich biological activity, remains one of the least explored regions in the Southern Ocean, with limited data on its marine mammal populations.This study, conducted during the 38th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) from January to March 2022, collected systematic data on marine mammal occurrences. Species distribution modeling (SDM) was used to assess the influence of environmental variables on the distribution of major the most abundant marine mammals species observed in the Cosmonaut Sea, including humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga), and Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis).Our results indicated significant performance variations among the different algorithms, with ensemble model yielding more accurate predictions. Major eEnvironmental variables such as water depth, sea surface height, and mixed layer thickness were identified as significant factors influencing habitat suitability for different species. Humpback whales were found to have the widest distribution range, followed by Antarctic minke whales and crabeater seals.theThis study provides the first comprehensive analysis of marine mammal distribution in the Cosmonaut Sea, highlighting the effectiveness of ensemble models in ecological predictions. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating high-resolution data and incorporating predatorprey interactions in future studies to improve our understanding and conservation of these complex ecosystems.
Keywords: Marine mammal distributions, Species distribution modeling, Ecological predictions, Environmental Variables, Southern Ocean
Received: 18 Nov 2024; Accepted: 20 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dai, Meng, Wu, Miao, Yan, Zhong, Cao, Wei and Lin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Fuxing Wu, Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen, China
Longshan Lin, Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen, China
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