Spatial models for line transect sampling

This article develops methods for fitting spatial models to line transect data. These allow animal density to be related to topographical, environmental, habitat, and other spatial variables, helping wildlife managers to identify the factors that affect abundance. They also enable estimation of abundance for any subarea of interest within the surveyed region, and potentially yield estimates of abundance from sightings surveys for which the survey design could not be randomized, such as surveys conducted from platforms of opportunity. The methods are illustrated through analyses of data from a shipboard sightings survey of minke whales in the Antarctic.