Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
2019, Vol 19, Num, 1 (Pages: 29-39)
Development of Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) for Salmo rizeensis Endemic to North-Eastern Streams of Turkey
Reza Rezaei 1 ,Hatice Sengül 1
1 Hacettepe University Department of Environmental Engineering, 06800 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey
DOI :
10.4194/1303-2712-v19_01_04
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Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) are widely used statistical models for species
distribution in habitat and environmental management modeling as they enable
incorporation of non-linearity. The objective of this study is to develop relationships between
habitat variables, fish absence/presence (logistic GAM) and abundance (Poisson GAM) for the
S. rizeensis using on-site observations in Solaklı River. Logistic GAMs correctly predicted
absence/presence of adult and juvenile S. rizeensis at 79.3% and 74% of sampling areas
respectively. Response curves of logistic GAMs results show differences in probability of
finding the adult and juvenile fish. Adult S. rizeensis were mostly found in higher velocities
(0.5-0.8 m/s) than in juvenile fish (≈ 0 m/s). Also, the highest number of adult fish were
recorded in deeper habitats (≈ 0.4 m) rather than in juvenile fish (≈ 0 m). Curves show adult
fish are more independent to the presence of cover compared to juvenile fish. Velocity
shelter and bedrock formation were the most common cover types. Chi-square test results of
predicted values showed that developed Poisson GAMs of adult and juvenile S. rizeensis could
not accurately represent fish abundance. The results show that while logistic GAM is
applicable, Poisson GAM model is not applicable for the area.
Keywords :
Salmo rizeensis, Generalized Additive Models, Habitat analysis, Micro-habitat variables