Norfolk/VA Beach Photo-ID Surveys Aug 2012-Sep 2013
HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction, Inc.

The U.S. Navy Marine Species Monitoring Program

A combination of visual line-transect survey, photo-identification (photo-ID), and automated acoustic monitoring methods is being used to gather important baseline information on the occurrence, distribution, and density of marine mammals near Naval Station Norfolk (NSN) and adjacent areas. The study area was chosen to cover areas where United States (U.S.) Navy activity is substantial, including Chesapeake Bay waters near Naval Station Norfolk, Joint Expeditionary Base (JEB) Little Creek (LC), and JEB Fort Story, as well as a Mine Exercise (MINEX) Area (W-50) in the Atlantic off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Twenty-five line-transect surveys were completed in two zones (INSHORE and MINEX) between August 2012 and November 2013, with 2,810 kilometers (km) and 8,942 minutes completed on-effort. The majority of sightings were bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), although humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) were also sighted in the study area on occasion. In addition, loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) were sighted during the study period. Conventional line-transect analysis of bottlenose dolphin sightings showed both spatial and seasonal variation in density and abundance, with greatest abundance in the INSHORE zone during summer months. INSHORE densities were calculated as 3.05 individuals per square kilometer (km2) (N=948) in fall, 0.40 individuals per km2 (N=123) in winter, 1.09 individuals per km2 (N=337) in spring, and 3.52 individuals per km2 (N=1,094) in summer. MINEX densities were calculated as 0.11 individuals per km2 (N=105) in fall, 0.00 individuals per km2 (N=0) in winter, 0.10 individuals per km2 (N=90) in spring, and 0.16 individuals per km2 (N=148) in summer. A photo-ID catalog was created using photos taken during both dedicated photo-ID and line-transect surveys through July 2013; it contains 308 identified individuals to date. Thirty-three individuals were re-sighted; however, most sightings were less than three months and 15 km apart. Additional survey effort will be required before any clear movement patterns can be determined. C-POD acoustic data loggers (www.chelonia.co.uk) were deployed at four sites throughout the study area to cover areas of high U.S. Navy activity. Harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) were detected in low numbers near NSN and JEB-LC during winter and spring deployments, and bottlenose dolphins were detected in each deployment location during all deployments from August 2012 to September 2013. Deployments, however, did not provide consistent coverage due to loss of gear. Further study is required to improve accuracy in seasonal density estimates and allow further stratification of those estimates, and to better describe the movement patterns and site fidelity of the bottlenose dolphins in these waters. Visual surveys and additional C-POD deployments are currently planned through August 2014.

The HDR Marine Species Monitoring (MSM) Team was tasked to initiate a monitoring project in coastal waters around NSN, JEB-LC, JEB-FS, and the Virginia Beach waterfront, including the VACAPES MINEX W-50 training area. The main objective is to provide quantitative data and information on the seasonal occurrence, distribution, and density of marine mammals. Effort was dedicated to working with local researchers and employing proven marine mammal monitoring and research techniques to accomplish the following:

1. Conduct monthly systematic line-transect surveys to determine distribution of marine mammals in the vicinity of NSN, JEB-LC, JEB-FS, and the MINEX W-50 area.

2. Conduct monthly photo-identification (photo-ID) surveys during summer months to determine the site fidelity and distributional patterns of marine mammals utilizing the areas listed above.

3. Supplement visual surveys by deploying and retrieving four C-POD acoustic recording devices to monitor for dolphin echolocation clicks in specific locations.

This dataset includes sightings from photo-id surveys. No images and information on individual animals are provided.

Overview

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
Only minimum required attributes are visible and downlodable online. Other attributes may be obtained upon provider's permission unless otherwise noted below.

This section explains attributes included in the original dataset. OBIS-SEAMAP restricts the attributes available to the public to date/time, lat/lon and species names/counts only. Should you need other attributes described here, you are encouraged to contact the data provider.

Attributes in dataset provided

Attribute (table column)	Description
oid	Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
altitudem	The altitude of the observation platform (plane, vessel bridge, etc) above sea level in meters
animalspeed	A calculation based on multiple resights, calculating the distance travelled by the time elapsed between sighting events in knots
areakm2	The area in km2 over which the survey took place in km2
aspectslope	Bathymetric slope aspect at location of animal in degrees
bearing	Relative bearing from the platform to the sighting, where the front of the platform is zero degrees. Formats include clock face, degrees, etc. degrees; 1
bearingabs	True (not magnetic) bearing to sighting. Calculated from relative bearing and platform bearing. degrees
beaufortscale	Beaufort sea state (0-12)
beaufortscaleleft	Beaufort sea state on the left (port) side of the platform (0-12)
beaufortscaleright	Beaufort sea state on the right (starboard) side of the platform (0-12)
behavior	Initial behavioral state of the animal or group when first observed. Examples: Travel, Mill, Rest
behaviorevent	Discrete behavioral event(s) observed during the sighting. Examples: Breach, Tail Slap, Blow
biopsy	Was a biopsy attempted for the sighting? (Y/N)
birds	Are birds present? (Y/N)
calvespresent	Are calves present? Use notes field to indicate number of calves present. (Y/N)
countcalves	The number of calves in the sighting
countfemales	The number of positively identified females in the sighting
countjuveniles	The number of positively identified juveniles in the sightings
countmales	The number of positively identified males in the sighting
countnewborns	The number of positively identified newborns/pups in the sighting
obs_count	The best estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
counttotmax	The highest estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
counttotmin	The lowest estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
countvescargo	The number of cargo ships present in the area
countvesferries	The number of ferries present in the area
countvesfishing	The number of fishing boats present in the area
countvesmilitary	The number of military vessels present in the area
countvesmotoryachts	The number of motor yachts present in the area
countvesother	The number of vessels in the area that do not fall into the above categories
countvessailing	The number of sailboats present in the area
cue	The sighting cue that initially drew the observers attention
obs_datetime	Date and Time together in one cell value (LOCAL TIME)
datetimeutc	Date and Time together in one cell value (UTC)
depth	The depth of the water at sighting location, based on known bathymetry in meters(the value comes from the software and/or GPS so the depth may not be a "true" depth)
depthsounding	Depth as determined in situ via sounding in meters
dispmax	The maximum distance between nearest neighbors within a group (in body lengths)
dispmin	The minimum distance between nearest neighbors within a group (in body lengths)
distsight	The radial distance to the animal
distsightperp	The perpendicular distance to the animal from the trackline
effortstatus	The effort status of the platform. Options: On-effort (systematic), on-effort (focal follow), on-effort (circling), on-effort (random), off-effort (connector lines), off-effort (transiting), off-effort (other)
flightofday	The sequential daily flight identifier (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.)
glareleft	The amount of glare (0-100%) on the left (port) side of the platform. Refers to glare from 0 to 90 degrees, or viewshed for which observer is reponsible (percent).
glareright	The amount of glare (0-100%) on the right (starboard) side of the platform. Refers to glare from 270-360 degrees, or viewshed for which observer is reponsible (percent).
groupid	Identifier for a particular group within a sighting
headinganimal	Heading of the animal at the time of the initial sighting (in degrees magnetic)
headingplatmagnetic	Heading of the observation platform relative to magnetic North in degrees
headingplattrue	Heading of the observation platform relative to true North in degrees
horizsun	Horizontal glare calculation on NOAA large vessel surveys (1 o
latitude	The calculated latitude of the animal at the initial time of the sighting in decimal degrees
latplatform	The latitude of the platform in decimal degrees
latvessel	The latitude of the vessel(s) (NOT the survey platform) sighted during a survey in decimal degrees
legid	Letter or number for survey leg/transect
legnotes	Notes as entered for that particular leg of the survey
legnumber	A unique identifier for the leg associated with the survey
linearity	A metric describing animal travel, calculated by dividing the distance between the first and last recorded sighting waypoints by the sum total of all distances between waypoints. Values range between 0 and 1, with a number closer to 1 representing a straight line and close to 0 representing no constant direction of the animal.”
longitude	The calculated longitude of the animal at the initial time of the sighting in decimal degrees
longplatform	The Longitude of the platform in decimal degrees
longvessel	The longitude of the vessel(s) (NOT the survey platform) sighted during a survey in decimal degrees
mitigation	Was mitigation implemented? (Y/N)
mitigationtype	Type of mitigation implemented
navydirectedleg	Marker identifying whether the platform was directed by the Navy to go to a certain location, fly at a certain altitude, or leave the immediate area (Y/N)
observer	The name of the observer who first sighted the animal
observeraft	Name of the observer in the aft position
observercenter	Name of the observer in the center position or belly window of the aircraft
observerforward	Name of the observer in the forward position
observerleft	Name of the observer on the left (port) side of the platform
observerrearleft	Name of the observer in the rear left seat of the aircraft
observerrearright	Name of the observer in the rear right seat of the aircraft
observerright	Name of the observer on the right (starboard) side of the platform
ocean	The ocean where the survey took place (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, etc.)
opticstype	Indicates the type of optic used to fix a particular sighting (e.g., bigeyes, handheld binos, theodolite, naked eye). Useful when a platform uses several methods to sight animals
ordnance	Was live ordnance in use at the time of the sighting? (Y/N)
percentcloudcover	Cloud cover as represented by a percentage (percent)
percentcloudcoverleft	Cloud cover on the left (port) side of the platform as represented by a percentage (percent)
percentcloudcoverright	Cloud cover on the right (starboard) side of the platform as represented by a percentage (percent)
photoframes	The photo frames used for the sighting; or total frames taken
photogapher	Name of the photographer
photos	Were photos taken as part of the sighting? (Y/N)
pic	Pilot in command
platformded	Indicates if the survey was a dedicated marine mammal survey, or if data was gathered opportunistically from a platform on a different mission (Y/N)
platformmodel	Model of a/c or vessel (e.g. Partenavia Observer, RHIB, etc.)
platformspeed	Speed of the platform at the time of the sighting in knots
platformtype	Type of survey platform (e.g., "aerial", "vessel")
rangecomplex	The Range complex (or complexes) associated with the survey (JAX, SOCAL, Cherry Point, etc.)
reactioninit	The type of reaction at the initial time of the sighting relative to the observation platform
reactioninitcount	The general count of animals that initially reacted to the observation platform. May be a number or text (i.e., "whole group")
reactionlater	Identifies whether a reaction occurred as a response to the survey platform after the initial sighting of the group/individual
reactionlatercount	The number of animals that reacted to the observation platform after the sighting occurred
recorder	Name of the person recording data
recorderfocal	Name of the person recording focal follow data
reorientationrate	A magnitude of course changes along the trackline, calculated by summing all course changes (degrees) along the trackline divided by duration (minutes) of the trackline (Smultea and Wursig, 1995; course changes/minute).
resolution	Bathymetric resolution in arc degrees at sighting position in decimal degrees
shoredist	Distance to nearest shore in meters
sic	Second (pilot) in command
sightingdetectionsensor	Sighting detection method (e.g. MMO, lookout, bridge, acoustic)
sightingendloe	Was Sighting 1. lost, or 2. Passed Beam (Lookout Effectiveness surveys only)
sightingmulti	Denotes if there are any additional species within a particular sighting (mixed group) (Y/N)
sightingnotes	Notes field to capture information not covered by existing attributes or other information of interest
sightingnumber	The sighting number for the particular survey day
sightingrelmovement	Relative movement of vessel and animal’s bearing (e.g. closing, opening, parallel, )
sightingtimeend	The time at which the sighting was discontinued
sightingtrialloe	Whether sighting was successful Lookout Effectiveness Trial
slope	Bathymetric slope at sighting location (angle)
sonar	Was sonar active at the time of the sighting? (Y/N)
spcscode	Species code used in authentic data (e.g., TTUR=Tursiops truncatus)
spcsconfidence	Confidence level of the observer that he or she identified species correctly (high/medium/low)
spcshauledout	Indicates if a pinniped is hauled out (Y/N)
spcsitis	ITIS numeric species code
spcsnmcom	Common name of the sighted species. Output should be singular (e.g. bottlenose dolphin)
sp_obs	Scientific name of the sighted species
sp_tsn	Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
surveyid	A survey identifier consisting of data collector, range complex, platform, year, month, and day. (Data Collector/Source)_(Range Complex)_(Platform Type or Details)_(Year)(Month)(Day) (eg. SES_SOCAL_Aerial_20120417)
surveypoint	A waypoint taken along a trackline OR a start/end point for a trackline
swell	Swell height in ft
swelldirection	Direction of swell (0º to 360º, or N/S/E/W)
tagging	Was a tag deployment attempted for the sighting? (Y/N)
theoconvhorz	Horizontal angle value from theodolite converted to a compass bearing in degrees
theoconvvert	Vertical angle value from theodolite converted to a declination angle in degrees
theorawhorz	Raw horizontal angular value from theodolite in degrees
theorawvert	Raw vertical angular value from theodolite in degrees
trkdist	Distance between two trackline points, in meters
vertangleorreticle	Reticle or declination angle in degrees
vertsun	Vertical glare calculation on NOAA large vessel surveys (0,1,2 or 3)
vesselsize	0-99 ft = small, 100-300 ft = medium, >301 ft = large
vesseltype	Type of vessel observed (e.g. frigate, sailboat, submarine)
video	Was video taken during the sighting? (Y/N)
videographer	Name of the videographer
visibility	The estimated distance at which an animal could potentially be sighted in km
visibilityleft	Sighting visibility in KM on the left (port) side of the platform in km
visibilityright	Sighting visibility in KM on the right (starboard) side of the platform in km
waveheight	Wave height in ft
winddirection	Wind direction relative to true north (0º to 360º, or N/S/E/W)
windspeed	Wind speed in knots
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP