Spatial distributions of fish and invertebrates in the Gulf of Mexico for 2010-01-01 estimated using a statistical model

A generalized additive modelling (GAM) approach is used to describe the abundance of 40 species groups (i.e. functional groups) across the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) using a large fisheries independent data set (SEAMAP) and climate scale oceanographic conditions. Predictor variables included in the model are chlorophyll a, sediment type, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and depth. The GAM approach was shown to be robust despite zero-inflated data. This dataset supports the publication: Drexler, M. and Ainsworth, C.H. 2013. Generalized Additive Models Used to Predict Species Abundance in the Gulf of Mexico: An Ecosystem Modeling Tool. PLOS ONE 8(5): e64458. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064458 (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0064458)