DUML vessel-based photo-id and biopsy surveys in VACAPES OPAREA off Hatteras 2009, 2011-2015

Duke University Marine Laboratory

The site off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina is subsumed within the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) Monitoring Program. The survey area encompasses approximately 16,000 km² and includes continental shelf waters and deeper waters beyond the shelf break. The area also includes a large portion of the Cape Hatteras Special Research Area (CHSRA), designated by NOAA Fisheries to address interactions between short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and the pelagic longline fisheries. A monitoring program (shipboard and aerial surveys) was implemented in 2011 to estimate density and document distribution and seasonal residency of marine mammals and sea turtles in the CHSRA.

The primary objectives of these surveys are to:
(1) document species occurrence and examine patterns of residency of marine mammals and turtles in the defined study area
(2) determine relatedness among individuals, populations and species within the study area
(3) supplement the visual surveys with acoustic monitoring using a High-frequency Acoustic Recording Package (HARP)
(4) collect baseline data on the diving behavior of deep diving cetaceans e.g. short-finned pilot whales and beaked whales

[2016-04-14] Sightings in 2015 were appended. The following columns were added (these columns are blank for the sightings before 2015):
end_time, end_lat, end_long, behav_state, totminest, totmaxest, mincalves, maxcalves, minyoy, maxyoy, totposid, totnoid, totfinbest, calfposid, calfnoid, calfinbest, yoyposid, comments, photo_notes, sighting_notes, observations, photo_grades, acoustics
of which totposid, totnoid, totfinbest, calfposid, calfnoid, calfinbest, yoyposid, comments, sighting_notes, observations, photo_grades are blank for the 2015 sightings.

[2015-05-13] The 2013-2014 data were appended.
[2014-03-21] The 2013 data were appended.

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
oid	Unique ID (created by OBIS-SEAMAP)
obs_date	Date of observation
sightno	Sighting number
obs_time	Time of the observation (local time zone)
location2	AFTT area location
location	Location
project	Project name
latitude	Latitude in decimal degrees
longitude	Longitude in decimal degrees
beauscale	Beaufort sea state
bottom_depth	Bottom depth im meters
watertemp	Water temperature (degrees Celsius)
sp_obs	Species observed
sp_tsn	Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
obs_count	Number of animals
bestcalves	Best estimate of the number of calves
bestyoy	Best estimate of the number of young of year
photos	Number of photos
end_time	definition not provided
end_lat	definition not provided
end_long	definition not provided
behav_state	definition not provided
totminest	definition not provided
totmaxest	definition not provided
mincalves	definition not provided
maxcalves	definition not provided
minyoy	definition not provided
maxyoy	definition not provided
totposid	definition not provided
totnoid	definition not provided
totfinbest	definition not provided
calfposid	definition not provided
calfnoid	definition not provided
calfinbest	definition not provided
yoyposid	definition not provided
comments	definition not provided
photo_notes	definition not provided
sighting_notes	definition not provided
observations	definition not provided
photo_grades	definition not provided
acoustics	definition not provided
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP