Distribution and abundance of ondontocete species in Hawaiian waters : preliminary results of 1993-98 aerial surveys

Abstract

Summary & Conclusions This report presents the first comprehensive abundance estimates for odontocetessurrounding the main Hawaiian Islands. The abundan ce estimates obtained in this study representonly a portion of the total populations of most, if not all, of the odontocete species, because the studyarea represents only a portion of their ranges, and correction factors for the proportion of animalsmissed were not available. Additionally, there are a number of analytical uncertainties, caused bylimitations of the survey platform, which cannot be resolved without further data. It is anticipatedthat additional surveys using a platform with dow nward visibility would provide data to reduce theuncertainty in model selection, and thus improve these abundance estimates in the future. Surveysextending farther offshore and throughout the north western Hawaiian Islands would provide morecomprehensive population estimates, but will likely require a shipboard survey platform. Acknowledgments