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FWS Beringian Seabird 2004
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management
Dataset credit
Shawn W. Stephensen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management
David Irons, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management
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Contacts
| Role | Name | Organization | |
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| Primary contact |
Shawn Stephensen |
USFWS Division of Migratory Bird Management |
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| Data entry |
Ei Fujioka |
Duke University |
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Citation
Stephensen, S. 2020. FWS Beringian Seabird 2004. Version 1.1.1. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. https://doi.org/10.82144/be7de60f. Halpin, P.N., A.J. Read, E. Fujioka, B.D. Best, B. Donnelly, L.J. Hazen, C. Kot, K. Urian, E. LaBrecque, A. Dimatteo, J. Cleary, C. Good, L.B. Crowder, and K.D. Hyrenbach. 2009. OBIS-SEAMAP: The world data center for marine mammal, sea bird, and sea turtle distributions. Oceanography. 22(2):104-115.
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Abstract
The Beringian Seabird Colony Catalog is a computerized, GIS-based database, maintained by the Division of Migratory Bird Management, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in Anchorage, Alaska. It contains the locations and names of seabird breeding colonies in Alaska (AK) and Russia (RU), the species of birds that nest in each colony, and the numbers of each species.
The colony number consists of a map number and a site number. Map number (1 - 153) refers to a United States Geological Survey (USGS) 1:250,000 quadrangle, which is not the same as the official USGS map number. A site number refers to a specific colony and is not duplicated within the quadrangle. The site name is derived from an official name on USGS map, if one exists; otherwise a descriptive name was invented.
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Purpose
We count birds in some colonies (or in parts of the colonies) each summer. This tells us whether the birds' populations are healthy. If a population is getting smaller, we study it and try to learn what the problem is.
In the area that was affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, we study seabirds to learn whether they are recovering from the oil. We count the birds in winter and summer. We study how many eggs the birds lay and how many young birds they raise each summer. We also study how they find their food at sea.
We work with observer programs to learn how many birds are caught in fishing gear. This tells us whether seabird breeding populations are impacted by fisheries bycatch.
An earlier version of this catalog was published (see Sowls et al. 1978). Many data in the 1978 publication have been superseded by this current database, but it is still a helpful reference. For a recent description of this dataset, please refer to Stephensen and Irons (2003).
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Supplemental information
N/A
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Change History
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.
- 1.1.1 (2025-09-25) - Corrective - geographicCoverage in EML and spatialCoverage in JSON-LD are updated to better represent the bounding box that crosses the anti-meridian.
- 1.1.0 (2020-10-01) - Update - The following invalid species names were corrected according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
- Sterna aleutica (176893) => Onychoprion aleuticus (824103)
- Larus ridibundus (176835) => Chroicocephalus ridibundus (824041)
- Caspian Tern: Sterna caspia (176924)) => Hydroprogne caspia (176935)
- Larus brevirostris (176844) => Rissa brevirostris (176845)
- 1.0.0 (2005-02-24) - Initial
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References
Sowls, A.L., S.A. Hatch, and C.J. Lensink. 1978. Catalog of Alaskan seabird colonies. U.S. Fish and Wild. Serv., Biol. Services proj. FWS/OBS 78/78.
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Attributes
Overview
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 |
|---|
| survey | |
| lineno | |
| mapnumber | |
| sitenumber | |
| state | |
| sitename | |
| rectype | |
| year | Year of observation |
| date | Observed date |
| time | Time of observation |
| lon | |
| lat | |
| longitude | Longitude of observation |
| latitude | Latitude of observation |
| species | Species observed |
| nofu | |
| aush | |
| ftsp | |
| swsp | |
| lesp | |
| unsp | |
| dcco | |
| brco | |
| grco | |
| teco | |
| peco | |
| rfco | |
| unco | |
| coei | |
| bloy | |
| megu | |
| btgu | |
| hegu | |
| sbgu | |
| gwgu | |
| ghgu | |
| glgu | |
| gggu | |
| bhgu | |
| blki | |
| rlki | |
| sagu | |
| ungu | |
| cote | |
| arte | |
| alte | |
| cate | |
| unte | |
| dove | |
| comu | |
| tbmu | |
| unmu | |
| blgu | |
| pigu | |
| spgu | |
| unig | |
| mamu | |
| anmu | |
| caau | |
| paau | |
| leau | |
| whau | |
| crau | |
| rhau | |
| unau | |
| tupu | |
| hopu | |
| unpu | |
| unal | |
| toco | |
| tomu | |
| bird | |
| excluded | |
| oid | Unique ID number (generated by SEAMAP) |
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| OBIS-SEAMAP ID | 270 |
| DOI | 10.82144/be7de60f |
| Version | 1.1.1 |
| Seabirds | 6,834 |
| Marine mammals | 0 |
| Sea turtles | 0 |
| Rays and sharks | 0 |
| Other species | 528 |
| Non spatial | 0 |
| Non species | -5,195 |
| Total | 2,167 |
| Date, Begin | 2004-07-01 |
| Date, End | 2004-07-01 |
| Temporal prec. | 100000 |
| Latitude | 42.47 - 71.39 |
| Longitude | 130.93 - 229.80 |
| Coord. prec. | 4 decimal digits |
| Platform | Shore |
| Data type | Habitat survey |
| Effort | N/A |
| Registered | 2005-02-24 |
| Updated | 2025-09-25 |
| Status | Published |
Sharing policy |
CC-BY (All) |
| Shared with |
None |
| Metadata in static HTML / FGDC / EML |
| See download history / statistics |
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