Whale Shark Satellite Tracking and Habitat Suitability in the Indo-Pacific, 2015-2025

Long-term satellite tracking data from 2015 to 2025 for 70 whale sharks tagged at four aggregation sites in Indonesia. The dataset, authored by Mochamad Iqbal Herwata Putra and shared on figshare, integrates movement data with state-space modeling and MaxEnt habitat suitability analyses to assess critical habitats across the central Indo-Pacific.

Use Cases

• Modeling critical foraging and migratory habitats based on behavioral state classifications.
• Analyzing demographic-specific habitat preferences across sexes and life stages.
• Identifying key aggregation sites and seasonal corridors using oceanographic and seafloor geomorphic predictors.

Strengths

• Data spans a decade (2015-2025), providing a long-term perspective on movement ecology.
• Includes tracking data for 70 individual whale sharks from four distinct aggregation sites.
• Integrates multiple analysis methods: satellite tracking, state-space modeling, and MaxEnt habitat suitability modeling.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The primary data file is a 996.1 KB DOCX document, which is a small and non-standard format for structured ecological data.

Provenance

Source

figshare, author Mochamad Iqbal Herwata Putra.

Collection Method

Long-term satellite tracking data integrated with state-space and MaxEnt habitat modeling.

Time Range

2015 to 2025

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 04:16:50; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Central Indo-Pacific, focusing on Indonesian aggregation sites (Cenderawasih Bay, Kaimana, Saleh Bay, Gulf of Tomini) and surrounding seas.