Sightings from R/V Song of the Whale during the winter 2019 MAPS survey (NMFS permit 14809)

Oliver Boisseau, Marine Conservation Research International

The dataset contains all sightings of cetaceans and other megafuana made during the MAPS winter cruise in Jan/Feb 2019 (NMFS permit 14809). When conductiong visual effort, two observers were situated either side of R/V Song of the Whale on an observation platform with an approximate eye-height of 5.5 m above sea-level during daylight hours. The observers scanned the trackline and in front of the vessel using naked eye; 7 x 50 binoculars were used to identify species and estimate group size. During periods of bad weather, observers were stationed on deck with an approximate eye-height of 3.5 m above sea-level.

The MAPS (Marine Mammal Passive Acoustics and Spatial Ecology) cruises form part of a BOEM project to describe the distribution and behaviour of deep-diving cetaceans in the offshore waters of North Carolina (NMFS permit 14809). MAPS is a cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the University of North Carolina Wilmington in partnership with Duke University.

Environmental attributes were recorded less frequently than the GPS data and not all GPS records get environmental attributes attached.

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

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
oid	Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
order_	Chronological order of sightings
index	Original index
gpsindex	GPS index
gpstime	GPS time of sighting (UTC)
sightingno	Sighting number during the survey
datetime_utc	Date and time of sighting (UTC)
platform	Platform (A-frame or deck)
buttonref	Reference number for sighting
magbearing	Magnetic bearing to sighting
angle	Relative bearing to sighting
anglesource	Angle source (magnetic or relative)
estdistance	Estimated distance to the animals sighted
species_name	Species name
species	Species code by provider
species2	Species code of second species in a mixed group
confidence	Confidence of species ID
cue	Initial cue for the sighting
minno	Minimum number of animals
maxno	Maximum number of animals
adults	Number of adults in group (if identifiable)
juveniles	Number of juveniles in group (if identifiable)
calves	Number of calves in group (if identifiable)
birds	Birds associated with sighting (Y/N)
seenby	Seen by (observer initials)
sightingeffort	Effort status for sighting (dedicated or incidental)
orientation	Aspect of animal(s) when first seen (relative to vessel)
heading	Heading of animal(s) when first seen (relative to vessel)
behaviour1	Behaviour code 1 (if any)
behaviour2	Behaviour code 2 (if any)
behaviour3	Behaviour code 3 (if any)
notes	Notes
latitude	Latitude in decimal degrees
longitude	Longitude in decimal degrees
sotw_heading	Heading of vessel (true degrees)
sotw_speed	Speed over ground of vessel (knots)
radial	Radial (relative) bearing to sighting
seastate	Sea state
waveheight	Wave height (m)
swell	Swell (m)
weather	Weather code
cloudcover	Cloud cover (out of 10)
visibility	Visibility (1=poor, 3=good)
pressure	Pressure (mb)
intensity	Glare intensity (0=none, 2=severe)
glarestart	Start angle of any glare (degrees relative to vessel)
glarestop	Stop angle of any glare (degrees relative to vessel)
sailstart	Start angle of any sails (degrees relative to vessel)
sailstop	Stop angle of any sails (degrees relative to vessel)
reticles	Binocular reticles to sighting (if used)
sp_tsn	Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
datetime	Date and time of observation (local time)
obs_count	best estimate of number of animals
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP