Occurrence

MMS Low Altitude Survey for Mammals, Southern California Bight 1975-1978

Latest version published by OBIS-SEAMAP on 24 April 2021 OBIS-SEAMAP
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Publication date:
24 April 2021
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Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 1,319 records in English (164 KB) - Update frequency: not planned
Metadata as an EML file download in English (20 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (15 KB)

Description

Original provider: Minerals Management Service Dataset credits: Minerals Management Service Abstract: This dataset is from the marine mammal and seabird surveys of the southern California Bight studies: Southern California Bight low aerial [Mammals] study code: SM, Contract number: AA550-CT7-36, Principal investigators: K. S. Norris and B. J. Le Boeuf, University of California, Santa Cruz, and G. L. Hunt, University of California, Irvine. Time period: May 1975 through March 1978 Study area: The Southern California Bight, from Point Conception to the United States-Mexico boundary and offshore to the 2,000 m isobath. Methodology: Aerial and ship surveys were conducted along pre-established transects designed to systematically sample marine mammal and seabird abundance in all waters of the study area. Aerial surveys were conducted at two altitudes (200 ft and about 750-1,000 ft ASL) alternating at 2-3 week intervals. Seabirds and pinnipeds were recorded only on the low-altitude surveys which predominantly sampled along eight lines of latitude, separated by 25 nm, and connecting lines of longitude. High-altitude surveys sampled cetacean abundance along 15 Loran lines oriented northeast-southwest and separated by 12-15 nm. On low-altitude surveys, seabirds were counted only within a 50 m corridor on the shaded side of the aircraft. Marine mammals were counted in an unbounded corridor on one side of the aircraft on low-altitude surveys and both sides of the aircraft on high-altitude surveys. A clinometer or marks on the wing-strut were used to estimate the declination, and the measurement or estimate later used to calculate probability density functions of frequency with right-angle distance. Ships were used for surveys of inshore waters along standard (i.e., predetermined and replicate) transects and for search, catch, and tagging/tracking of small cetaceans. The standard ship transect cruises sampled abundance of seabirds and marine mammals over banks, basins, and ridges in waters inshore of the Patton Escarpment (the shelf break). Seabirds and marine mammals were counted on both sides of the cruise track and distance estimated or measured with a range-finder. Catch cruises attempted to find and remain with schools of common dolphin and other small cetaceans; therefore, data on sightings from these cruises cannot be used as samples of animal abundance. The Southern California Bight Study also included ground and aerial censuses of pinniped and seabird colonies, and special studies of productivity, mortality rates, and foraging range. Databases produced: 1) sightings of seabirds and marine mammals on 24 low-altitude aerial surveys, 2) sightings of cetaceans on 35 high-altitude aerial surveys, 3) sightings of seabirds and marine mammals on 29 ship transect surveys, and 4) sightings of cetaceans on 34 catch cruises. Included in this database are the following: High Altitude Mammal Observations: 75,489 km of effort, 695 sightings of 68,557 individual animals Low Altitude Mammal Observations: 37,843 km of effort, 1,320 sightings of 15,070 individual animals Low Altitude Bird Observations: 35,445 km of effort, 7,950 sightings of 63,359 individual animals Ship Observations: 17,903 km of effort, 23,519 sightings of 181,287 individual animals Purpose: Objectives of the study were to characterize the marine mammal and seabird fauna of the Southern California Bight, estimate abundance of species, describe the distribution, determine the timing and routes of migrations and movements, and document seasonal changes in numbers or patterns of habitat-use. In addition, studies were conducted to determine the size and status of breeding colonies of seabirds and pinnipeds, their productivity, and trends in growth. Supplemental information: This dataset includes Low Altitude Mammal Observations (37,843 km of effort, 1,320 sightings of 15,070 individual animals) from the database described in the abstract. Low Altitude Bird Observations are available in MMS Low Altitude Survey for Seabirds, Southern California Bight 1975-1978

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 1,319 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Ford, G. and J. Casey. 2013. MMS Low Altitude Survey for Mammals, Southern California Bight 1975-1978. Data downloaded from OBIS-SEAMAP (http://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/51) on yyyy-mm-dd.

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is OBIS-SEAMAP. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 499ecbae-d968-4884-b0c0-7934fdc0579f.  OBIS-SEAMAP publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Ocean Biodiversity Information System.

Keywords

Occurrence,Marine Animal Survey,Marine Biology,Marine mammals,Sea turtles,Vessel,Visual Sighting; Observation; Occurrence

External data

The resource data is also available in other formats

OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page http://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/51 UTF-8 Interactive map
FGDC Metadata http://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/51/xml UTF-8 XML

Contacts

Janet Casey
  • Owner
  • Originator
  • Point Of Contact
Primary contact
Janet Casey
Glenn Ford
  • Owner
  • Originator
  • Point Of Contact
Primary contact
Glenn Ford
OBIS-SEAMAP
  • Metadata Provider
  • Distributor
Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University
A328 LSRC building
27708 Durham
NC
US

Geographic Coverage

Northeastern Pacific Ocean

Bounding Coordinates South West [32.2, -121.008], North East [34.467, -117.283]

Taxonomic Coverage

Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Order Cetacea (cetaceans), Cetacea (cetaceans), Cetacea (cetaceans)
Suborder Caniformia (pinnipeds)
Genus Mesoplodon (beaked whales)
Species Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Minke Whale), Balaenoptera musculus (Blue Whale), Balaenoptera physalus (Fin Whale), Berardius bairdii (Baird's Beaked Whale), Callorhinus ursinus (Northern Fur Seal), Delphinus delphis (Short-beaked Common Dolphin), Eschrichtius robustus (Gray Whale), Eumetopias jubatus (Steller Sea Lion), Globicephala melas (Long-finned Pilot Whale), Grampus griseus (Risso's Dolphin), Lagenorhynchus obliquidens (Pacific White-sided Dolphin), Lissodelphis borealis (Northern Right Whale Dolphin), Megaptera novaeangliae (Humpback Whale), Mirounga angustirostris (Northern Elephant Seal), Phoca vitulina (Harbor Seal), Phocoenoides dalli (Dall's Porpoise), Zalophus californianus (California Sea Lion), Ziphius cavirostris (Cuvier's Beaked Whale)
Subspecies Tursiops truncatus truncatus

Temporal Coverage

Start Date / End Date 1975-05-16 / 1978-03-18

Project Data

No Description available

Title MMS Low Altitude Survey for Mammals, Southern California Bight 1975-1978
Funding NA

The personnel involved in the project:

Janet Casey
  • Owner
Glenn Ford
  • Owner

Sampling Methods

NA

Study Extent NA

Method step description:

  1. NA

Collection Data

Collection Name zd_51
Collection Identifier zd_51
Parent Collection Identifier OBIS-SEAMAP

Additional Metadata

marine, harvested by iOBIS

Purpose Objectives of the study were to characterize the marine mammal and seabird fauna of the Southern California Bight, estimate abundance of species, describe the distribution, determine the timing and routes of migrations and movements, and document seasonal changes in numbers or patterns of habitat-use. In addition, studies were conducted to determine the size and status of breeding colonies of seabirds and pinnipeds, their productivity, and trends in growth.
Alternative Identifiers http://ipt.env.duke.edu/resource?r=zd_51