OTN Shark Spotters shark tracking - Tag Release Metadata

OBIS and Ocean Tracking Network

This is the OBIS extraction of the OTN Shark Spotters shark tracking project, consisting only of the release tagging metadata. i.e. the locations and dates of tagged animal release. If readers are interested in the full source dataset they should refer to the OTN web site (members.oceantrack.org). Abstract: South Africa's Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), located on the campus of Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, maintains the Acoustic Tracking Array Platform (ATAP). OTN supports ATAP through equipment loans, and by working with ATAP data managers to build a telemetry data node for use by African scientists. This South African node is leveraging OTN's data toolset and templates and integrating with the OTN and its partners' data systems to help build a global tracking base. Collaboration between researchers is essential for understanding large-scale movement patterns of ecologically important species. ATAP's arrays and data systems includes detections from equipment owned by itself, on loan from the OTN, or placed and maintained by independent partners who share data through the ATAP data node. The ATAP network provides comprehensive coastal and estuarine coverage across South Africa's coastline and north into the waters of Angola and Mozambique on Africa's west and east coasts, respectively. These arrays are providing scientists in the region with an unprecedented opportunity to study the movements of top predators such as white sharks as well as other migratory coastal and estuarine species. Additional details about individual tracking projects which are a part of ATAP are available by contacting the associated researcher.

N/A

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/568e2353-d282-425c-9e0d-5f11757c5ad9
Data Provider's dataset page:
https://oceantrack.org/ipt/resource?r=otnsharkspotterssharkspot

The dataset has been updated over time as outlined below. Each entry includes the version number, release date, type of change, and a short description.

Overview

Attributes are defined by OBIS.

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
oid	Internal ID
id	Record ID
dataset_id	Dataset ID
scientificname	Scientific name
vernacularname	Vernacular name
aphiaid	Aphia ID
taxonrank	taxononic rank
individualcount	Group size / individual count
eventdate	Event date (precision varies)
eventtime	Event time
decimallatitude	Latitude in decimal degrees
decimallongitude	Longitude in decimal degrees
coordinateprecision	Coordinate precision
catalognumber	Catalog number
collectioncode	Collection code
occurrencestatus	Occurrence status
basisofrecord	Basis of record (HumanObservation / MachineObservation)
modified	Date/time the record was modified
node_id	Node ID
occurrenceid	Occurrence ID
occurrenceremarks	Occurrence remarks
eventid	Event ID
institutioncode	Institution code
lifestage	Life stage
sex	Sex of the animal if known
species	Species by provider
datasetid	Dataset ID by provider
country	Country
locality	Location of ocean
waterbody	Details of ocean
dropped	Flag indicating the record was dropped (always false)
absence	Flag indicating the record represents the absence of the species (always false)
marine	Flag indicating the record is for marine life (always true)
obs_datetime
tprecision
on_land
date_in_future