Marine species citizen-science observations from NatureWatch NZ

Shane Orchard, NatureWatch NZ

Dataset credit

OBIS and SWP OBIS

Contacts

RoleNameOrganization 
Primary contact Shane Orchard NatureWatch NZ N/A
Secondary contact Kevin Mackay NIWA N/A

Citation

NatureWatch NZ (2016). Marine species citizen-science observations from NatureWatch NZ. Southwestern Pacific OBIS, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Wellington, New Zealand, 13030 records, Online http://nzobisipt.niwa.co.nz/resource.do?r=naturewatchnz released on March 26, 2017.
Orchard, S. 2020. Marine species citizen-science observations from NatureWatch NZ. Data downloaded from OBIS-SEAMAP (http://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/103152373) on yyyy-mm-dd and originated from OBIS (https://obis.org/dataset/23c15f33-94a8-4e3e-bb76-5d5b0bf203f8)

Abstract

The world is filled with nature watchers, from trampers to hunters, birders to beach-combers, and pros to school kids. Many of us keep notes of what we find. What if all those observations could be shared online? You might learn about the butterflies that live in your neighbourhood, or discover someone who knows all about the plants in your favourite reserve. For a long time, everyone's notes have been scattered in notebooks, private spreadsheets and dusty library shelves. As a society, we have seen a lot but collectively we remain blind to most changes in our biodiversity. If enough people record their observations on NatureWatch NZ, we can change all this. We can build a living record of life in New Zealand that scientists and environmental managers can use to monitor changes in biodiversity, and that anyone can use to learn more about New Zealand's amazing natural history.
Only "research-quality" observations are used in this data set - that is observations that have their species identification peer-reviewed by at least one independent source. All biodiversity observations are available at http://naturewatch.org.nz/.
NatureWatch NZ is run by the New Zealand Bio-Recording Network Trust, a charitable trust dedicated to bio-recording. Our lofty aims are: (1) To increase knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of New Zealand's natural history.(2) To engage and assist New Zealanders in observing and recording biological information.(3)To develop and support online tools to assist individuals and groups to record, view, share and use biological information. (4) To collaborate with people and groups interested in bio-recording. (5) To promote and provide secure, open, and ethical sources of biological information for the public.

Purpose

N/A

Supplemental information

This dataset was downloaded from OBIS (https://obis.org/). The records for only marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles and rays and sharks were extracted. Records with no longitude/latitude or no date (eventDate) were excluded.
OBIS dataset page:
https://obis.org/dataset/23c15f33-94a8-4e3e-bb76-5d5b0bf203f8
Data Provider's dataset page:
https://nzobisipt.niwa.co.nz/resource?r=naturewatchnz

References

NatureWatch NZ (2016). Marine species citizen-science observations from NatureWatch NZ. Southwestern Pacific OBIS, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Wellington, New Zealand, 13030 records, Online http://nzobisipt.niwa.co.nz/resource.do?r=naturewatchnz released on March 26, 2017.

Attributes

Overview

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 described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
All attributes are included in the downloadable file (CSV or ESRI File Geodatabase) for "Complete Set of Dataset".

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)Description
oidInternal ID
idRecord ID
dataset_idDataset ID
scientificnameScientific name
vernacularnameVernacular name
aphiaidAphia ID
taxonranktaxononic rank
individualcountGroup size / individual count
eventdateEvent date (precision varies)
eventtimeEvent time
decimallatitudeLatitude in decimal degrees
decimallongitudeLongitude in decimal degrees
coordinateprecisionCoordinate precision
catalognumberCatalog number
collectioncodeCollection code
occurrencestatusOccurrence status
basisofrecordBasis of record (HumanObservation / MachineObservation)
modifiedDate/time the record was modified
node_idNode ID
occurrenceidOccurrence ID
occurrenceremarksOccurrence remarks
eventidEvent ID
institutioncodeInstitution code
lifestageLife stage
sexGender of the animal if known
speciesSpecies by provider
datasetidDataset ID by provider
countryCountry
localityLocation of ocean
waterbodyDetails of ocean
droppedFlag indicating the record was dropped (always false)
absenceFlag indicating the record represents the absence of the species (always false)
marineFlag indicating the record is for marine life (always true)
OBIS-SEAMAP ID103152373
Seabirds1,535
Marine mammals397
Sea turtles2
Rays and sharks42
Other species0
Non spatial0
Non species0
Total1,976
Date, Begin2016-01-01
Date, End2018-12-31
Temporal prec.111000
Latitude-52.60 - -29.00
Longitude160.19 - 178.38
Coord. prec.6 decimal digits
PlatformVarious
Data typeAnimal sighting
EffortN/A
Traveled (km)0
0
Contr. throughiOBIS
Registered2020-06-30
Updated2021-02-05
StatusPublished
Sharing policy CC-BY (All)
Shared with None
See metadata in static HTML
See metadata in FGDC XML
See download history / statistics