Inferring spatial structure from time-series data: using multivariate state-space models to detect metapopulation structure of California sea lions in the Gulf of California, Mexico

Eric J. Ward*, Haridas Chirakkal, Manuela González-Suárez†, David Aurioles-Gamboa, Elizabeth E. Holmes and Leah Gerber National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science, Center, 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, WA 98112, USA; Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Laboratoire d’Ecologie et Evolution CNRS – UMR 7625 Université Pierre et Marie Curie 7 Quai St Bernard, 75005 Paris, France; and CICIMAR-IPN, Avenida IPN s ⁄n Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita 23096, La Paz Baja, Baja California Sur, Mexico