Microbial and small zooplankton communities predict density of baleen whales in the southern California Current Ecosystem
Erin V. Satterthwaite, Trevor Ruiz, Nastassia Patin, Michaela N. Alksne, Len Thomas, Julie Dinasquet, Robert H. Lampe, Katherine G. Chan, Nicholas A Patrick, Andrew Ellis Allen, Simone Baumann‐Pickering, Brice Xavier Semmens
The paper uses microbial and small plankton communities to predict baleen whale densities in the Southern California Current Ecosystem, finding strong predictive relationships with up to 99% variability explained.
PLoS ONE · May 6, 2026Peer-reviewedEcology