Visual sightings from Song of the Whale 1993-2013

International Fund for Animal Welfare, Song of the Whale Team

Dataset credit

Oliver Boisseau, Marine Conservation Research International

Contacts

RoleNameOrganization 
Primary contact Oliver Boisseau Song of the Whale team, MCR International
Data entry Ei Fujioka Duke University

Citation

Abstract

N/A

Purpose

N/A

Supplemental information

[2020-09-30] The following invalid species names were corrected according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Turtles: Testudines (173749) => Testudines (948936)

The databases from 1993 to 2013 were merged into one dataset. Attributes recorded in these databases may differ.
Since GPS data would become too huge to effectively visualize online, every 10th record was extracted. All GPS data can be requested.
Environmental attributes were recorded less frequently than the GPS data and not all GPS records get environmental attributes attached.

References

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.
Only minimum required attributes are visible and downloadable online. Other attributes may be obtained upon provider's permission.

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)Description
oidUnique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
yearYear of the surveys
regionRegion surveyed
projectProject name
keyNumeric key
indexNumeric index number
gpsindexGPS index
gpstimeGPS time in UTC
sightingnoSighting Number
datetime_utcDate and time of observation in UTC
obs_datetimeDate and time of observation (local time)
platformPlatform
distanceDistance to the animals sighted
reticleReticle in degrees
angleAngle in degrees
bearingBearing angle in degrees
anglesourceAngle source
species_codeSpecies code
species2species code for another group sighted
species3species code for the third group sighted
sp_obsSpecies name recorded
sp_tsnTaxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
confidenceConfidence
cueInitial cue for the sighting
minnoMinumum number of animals
maxnoMaximum number of animals
obs_countbest estimate of number of animals
adultsNumber of adults
juvenilesNumber of juveniles (taken from sightings)
calvesNumber of calves
birdsExistence of birds (Y/N)
seenfromSeen from
seenbySeen by (observer
sightingeffortdefinition not provided
headingHeading in degrees
behaviour1Behaviour 1
behaviour2Behaviour 2
behaviour3Behaviour 3
phototakenPhoto taken
horizon_landdefinition not provided
relbearingReal bearing
reldistanceReal distance
notesNotes
buttonrefdefinition not provided
latitudeLatitude in decimal degrees
longitudeLongitude in decimal degrees
seastateSea state
waveheightWave height
swellSwell
weatherWeather code
cloudcoverCloud cover
visibilityVisibility
pressurePressure
intensityIntensity
glare_startGlare start
glare_stopGlare stop
sail_startStart time of the sail
sail_stopEnd time of the sail
environment_notesNotes on environment
windspeedWind speed
winddirectionWind direction
temperatureWater temperature
windsideWind side
geomGeometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP
OBIS-SEAMAP ID1158
Seabirds0
Marine mammals6,531
Sea turtles257
Rays and sharks94
Other species145
Non spatial0
Non species4
Total7,031
Date, Begin1993-06-12
Date, End2013-09-26
Temporal prec.111111
Latitude-36.00 - 68.09
Longitude-74.75 - 138.45
Coord. prec.5 decimal digits
PlatformBoat
Data typeAnimal sighting
EffortYES (ID: 1159)
Traveled (km)272,785
Effort hours27,139
Contr. throughACCOBAMS
Registered2014-05-01
Updated2020-10-01
StatusPublished
Sharing policy CC-BY-NC (Minimum)
Shared with OBIS
GBIF (via DOI)
See metadata in static HTML
See metadata in FGDC XML
See download history / statistics