Surveying the Past: North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database Gary S. Drew and John F. Piatt

1. Surveying the Past: North Pacific Pelagic Seabird DatabaseGary S. Drew and John F. Piatt

2. Assessing Seabird Abundance and Distribution

4. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program - OCSEAP • 1974-1982 • 273 Surveys • Standard Protocols • Central Data Repository • Limitations • Data format • Surveys not integrated • Lack of documentation

5. Objectives of the NPPSD • Compile databases in native formats • Merge datasets using common unit of measure • Provide extensive documentation • Develop database programs for accessing and querying the database • Create web site for disseminating data

6. Lack of documentation Variable QAQC Lack of documentation Variable QAQC Different formats Different protocols Obstacles OCSEAP Post OCSEAP

7. Design • Comprehensive archiving plan • Extensive QAQC • Use of relational database • Selection of density for units of measure • Reclassification of some fields • Extensive documentation • Metadata database • Taxonomic code list • Users guide

8. Archiving • Original Format (Raw) • Level 1 - Post QAQC (Access DT) • Level 2 - Standardized (Access DT) • NPPSD Summary Database (Access DT)

9. QAQC • Out of Range • Data type mismatch • Documentation data mismatch

10. Calculating Density • Time x Speed x Transect Width • Distance x Transect Width • Use Lat Long Start/Stop and Great Circle Distance Formula x Transect Width

11. Standardization • Survey Type • Survey Platform • Behavior

12. NPPSD Metadata Metadata • FDGC Compliant • Access Database

13. Taxonomic Code List

14. Marine Mammals Data on marine mammals was collected on most seabird surveys

15. Kodiak Surveys Divoky Surveys Robert Day Surveys USFWS Surveys OCSEAP Surveys George Hunt Surveys Data processing queries NPPSD Marine Mammal Numbers Seabird Numbers Seabird Density Marine Mammal Density USFWS Ecological Services Mapped Data Products Short-Tailed Albatross Datasets for Analysis

16. LOCATION L2 ENVIRONMENT L1 LOCATION L1 Make Location L2 (4) Location L2 (2) Great Circle XY Distance Calc Make Location L2 (2) Make Location L2 (1) Export to Excel Make Location L2 (3) Copy Distance Calculations ImporttoAccess Access Table Location L2 (2) Access Select Query Excel Spreadsheet Make Table Query

17. Make Data Birds L2 (1) LOCATION L2 DATA L1 Make Data Birds L2 (2) Access Table Access Select Query Make Table Query Make Data Birds L2 (3) Numbers/Density Make Data Mammals L2 (3) Numbers / Density Make Data Birds L2 (4) Number Make Data Birds L2 (4) Density Make Data Mammals L2 (4) Number Make Data Mammals L2 (4) Density

18. Data Table Number of Surveys Number of Transects Seabird Density 377 57,660 Seabird Number 406 61,195 Marine Mammal Density 377 57,660 Marine Mammal Number 406 61,195 NPPSD Data Tables Version 1.0

19. Data Set Number of Surveys Number of Transects Shuntov (Russia) 8 2900 Piatt (USGS) 12 1356 Irons (USFWS) 19 5088 Byrd/Piatt (USFWS/USGS) 9 225 Day 8 653 Acquired Datasets

20. Acquired data setswill fill data gaps • Russia • Prince William Sound • Glacier Bay

21. Products and Collaborations • Distribution of Black-Footed and Laysan Albatrosses - USFWS and NMFS

22. Distribution of Laysan and Black-Footed Albatross in the North Pacific.

23. Products and Collaborations • Distribution of Black-Footed and Laysan Albatrosses - USFWS and NMFS • Distribution and density data for Kittlitz’s Murrelet - USFWS for “Petition for Listing” • Distribution maps for Kittlitz’s Murrelets - USGS inventory plans for this species

24. Kittlitz’s Murrelet Distribution

25. Products and Collaborations • Distribution of Black-Footed and Laysan Albatrosses - USFWS and NMFS • Distribution and density data for Kittlitz’s Murrelet - USFWS for “Petition for Listing” • Distribution maps for Kittlitz’s Murrelets - USGS inventory plans for this species • Broad-scale map of Alaskan seabird distribution – MMS to assess environmental risk

26. Seabird Density Map Based On Surveys Conducted Between 1974-1982.

27. Products and Collaborations • Distribution of Black-Footed and Laysan Albatrosses - USFWS and NMFS • Distribution and density data for Kittlitz’s Murrelet - USFWS for “Petition for Listing” • Distribution maps for Kittlitz’s Murrelets - USGS inventory plans for this species • Broad-scale map of Alaskan seabird distribution – MMS to assess environmental risk • Developed a database for Short-tailed Albatross (STAL) - USFWS ESO

29. Products and Collaborations • Distribution of Black-Footed and Laysan Albatrosses - USFWS and NMFS • Distribution and density data for Kittlitz’s Murrelet - USFWS for “Petition for Listing” • Distribution maps for Kittlitz’s Murrelets - USGS inventory plans for this species • Broad-scale map of Alaskan seabird distribution – MMS to assess environmental risk • Developed a database for Short-tailed Albatross (STAL) - USFWS ESO • Collaborated with George Hunt and Jaime Jahncke (UC Irving) on a presentation at PICES • Coauthored the paper “Prey Consumption and Energy Transfer by Seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska” Deep Sea Research II (in press) with George Hunt and Jaime Jahncke of UC Irving

30. Prey Consumption and Energy Transfer by Marine Birds in the Gulf of Alaska PICES Presentation – Hunt, G.S. et al. 2004 Deep Sea Research II Publication in press 2005

31. Products and Collaborations • Distribution of Black-Footed and Laysan Albatrosses - USFWS and NMFS • Distribution and density data for Kittlitz’s Murrelet - USFWS for “Petition for Listing” • Distribution maps for Kittlitz’s Murrelets - USGS inventory plans for this species • Broad-scale map of Alaskan seabird distribution – MMS to assess environmental risk • Developed a database for Short-tailed Albatross (STAL) - USFWS ESO • Collaborated with George Hunt and Jaime Jahncke (UC Irving) on a presentation at PICES • Coauthored the paper “Prey Consumption and Energy Transfer by Seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska” Deep Sea Research II (in press) with George Hunt and Jaime Jahncke of UC Irving • Distribution of pink-footed shearwater for the “North American Conservation Action Plan” prepared by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation

32. Products and Collaborations • Distribution of Black-Footed and Laysan Albatrosses - USFWS and NMFS • Distribution and density data for Kittlitz’s Murrelet - USFWS for “Petition for Listing” • Distribution maps for Kittlitz’s Murrelets - USGS inventory plans for this species • Broad-scale map of Alaskan seabird distribution – MMS to assess environmental risk • Developed a database for Short-tailed Albatross (STAL) - USFWS ESO • Collaborated with George Hunt and Jaime Jahncke (UC Irving) on a presentation at PICES • Coauthored the paper “Prey Consumption and Energy Transfer by Seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska” Deep Sea Research II (in press) with George Hunt and Jaime Jahncke of UC Irving • Distribution of pink-footed shearwater for the “North American Conservation Action Plan” prepared by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation • Collaborated with Bruce Robson (World Wildlife Fund) on the planned Pribilof Islands Habitat Conservation Area.

34. Products and Collaborations • Distribution of Black-Footed and Laysan Albatrosses - USFWS and NMFS • Distribution and density data for Kittlitz’s Murrelet - USFWS for “Petition for Listing” • Distribution maps for Kittlitz’s Murrelets - USGS inventory plans for this species • Broad-scale map of Alaskan seabird distribution – MMS to assess environmental risk • Developed a database for Short-tailed Albatross (STAL) - USFWS ESO • Collaborated with George Hunt and Jaime Jahncke (UC Irving) on a presentation at PICES • Coauthored the paper “Prey Consumption and Energy Transfer by Seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska” Deep Sea Research II (in press) with George Hunt and Jaime Jahncke of UC Irving • Distribution of pink-footed shearwater for the “North American Conservation Action Plan” prepared by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation • Collaborated with Bruce Robson (World Wildlife Fund) on the planned Pribilof Islands Habitat Conservation Area. • Preliminary assessment of marine bird abundance and species composition in the vicinity of the Selendang Ayu grounding

35. M/V Selendang Ayu Grounding

36. Conclusions • Integration of seabird surveys is a complex process. • Retention of original data and format is critical • Documentation is a critical aspect • The utility of integrated datasets is manifold and unpredictable

37. What Next? • Complete integration of acquired data • Develop more user friendly interface • Identify a host to serve the data • Develop a web based GIS interface • Hard Copy Atlas

38. Acknowledgements We are grateful to NPRB and NPMRI as well as the USFWS and USGS for funding this research. We thank Shiway Wang, Michelle St. Peters, and Jennifer Wetzal for their tedious work on data entry, proofing, and documentation. Dave Irons, Jay Johnson, Kathy Kulitz, and Shawn Stevenson provide valuable guidance as part of a “NPPSD Working Group”. Dave and Shawn were also invaluable in finding hard copy data sheets and cruise reports for many of the historical USFWS surveys. We also want to thank Bob Day and George Hunt who have been strong supporters of this work and have provided considerable data to the effort.