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

Long-term satellite tracking data for 70 whale sharks tagged at four major aggregation sites in Indonesia from 2015 to 2025. The dataset, authored by Mochamad Iqbal Herwata Putra, integrates state-space modeling and MaxEnt analyses to assess movement ecology and critical habitats across the central Indo-Pacific. Behavioral states were classified into foraging and migratory movements and modeled using oceanographic and seafloor geomorphic predictors.

Use Cases

• Modeling critical foraging and migratory habitats based on integrated satellite tracking and environmental data.
• Analyzing demographic-specific habitat preferences for whale sharks across sexes and life stages.
• Identifying seasonal non-aggregation habitats in regions like the Flores Sea and Timor Sea for connectivity-focused management.
• Assessing the role of seafloor geomorphic features such as canyons and escarpments in shaping migratory corridors.

Strengths

• Tracks 70 individual whale sharks over a 10-year period from 2015 to 2025.
• Integrates behavioral state classification with oceanographic and seafloor geomorphic predictors.
• Covers four major Indonesian aggregation sites: Cenderawasih Bay, Kaimana, Saleh Bay, and the Gulf of Tomini.

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 29.2 MB DOCX document, which may require extraction or conversion for analysis.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

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

Time Range

2015 to 2025

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 04:16:51; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Central Indo-Pacific Ocean, focusing on Indonesian waters including Cenderawasih Bay, Kaimana, Saleh Bay, Gulf of Tomini, Flores Sea, Ceram Sea, Timor Sea, and Banda-Arafura transition zone.