Pedigree-Informed Abundance Estimation for the Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) via Gametic Mark-Recapture

Abstract

Pedigrees can provide important data for abundance estimation by providing a means to infer the presence of individuals that might otherwise not be detected. Such information may be particularly important for endangered species, where the addition or removal of just a few individuals can make the difference between population growth and decline. Here, we use gametic mark-recapture methods to incorporate pedigree information into male abundance estimates for the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)—a species for which there is conflicting information: some data suggest that almost all individuals have been identified by photo-identification efforts and are therefore accounted for, whereas other data suggest that a substantial number of individuals may not be identified and are therefore “missing” from abundance estimates. Our pedigree analyses did not infer a large number of North Atlantic right whales that were unaccounted for in the photo-identification data, suggesting that the photo-identification catalog is representative of the species as a whole and that abundance estimates based on those data are accurate.

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