Fin whale ( <i>Balaenoptera physalus</i> ) distribution modeling on their Nordic and Barents Seas feeding grounds

Understanding cetacean distribution is essential for conservation planning and decision-making, particularly in regions subject to rapid environmental changes. Nevertheless, information on their spatiotemporal commonly limited, especially from remote areas. Species models (SDMs) are powerful tools, relating species occurrences variables predict the species' potential distribution. This study aims at using presence-only SDMs (MaxEnt) identify suitable habitats fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) Nordic Barents Seas feeding grounds. We used spatial-block cross-validation tune MaxEnt parameters evaluate model performance spatially independent testing data. considered spatial sampling bias correction four methods. Important were distance shore sea ice edge, variability of surface temperature salinity, depth. Suitable whale predicted along west coast Svalbard, between Svalbard eastern Norwegian Sea, coastal areas off Iceland southern East Greenland, Knipovich Ridge Jan Mayen. Results support that effective tools habitat suitability, like Arctic Ocean. constitute a cost-effective method targeting future surveys identifying top priority sites measures.