Aerial visual survey of cetaceans and other megafauna in the Bremer Marine Park and surrounding areas (NESP Emerging Priorities Project EP2)
This dataset describes visual sightings of marine megafauna (whales, dolphins and sharks) obtained during a series of dedicated aerial surveys conducted as part of a NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub project within and around the Bremer Marine Park, southern Western Australia. The data reflect 25 hours of observer effort (on transect), and 62 sightings of four identifiable species, including killer whales (Orcinus orca), sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas), and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.). Numerous unidentified cetaceans and sharks were also seen. For more information, see: https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/project/ep2-surveying-marine-life-canyons-bremer-bay
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Creation)
- 2017-12-06
Principal investigator
Principal investigator
- Credit
- National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub
- Status
- Completed
Point of contact
- Topic category
-
- Biota
Extent
Temporal extent
- Time period
- 2017-03-16 2017-03-24
- Maintenance and update frequency
- Not planned
- Keywords (Theme)
-
- HOTSPOTS
- ABUNDANCE
- WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION
- BIOGEOGRAPHY
- Keywords (Taxon)
-
- Killer whale
- Sperm whale
- Bottlenose dolphin
- Long-finned pilot whale
- NASA/GCMD Keywords, Version 8.5
-
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION | ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES | MAMMALS | CETACEANS
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION | ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES | FISH | SHARKS/RAYS/CHIMAERAS
- EARTH SCIENCE | OCEANS | BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY | SUBMARINE CANYONS
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS | PELAGIC | OCEANIC ZONE
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS | PELAGIC
Resource constraints
- Linkage
-
http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/88x31.png
License Graphic
- Title
- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
- Website
-
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
License Text
- Other constraints
- The citation in a list of references is: citation author name/s (year metadata published), metadata title. Citation author organisation/s. File identifier and Data accessed at (add http link).
- Other constraints
- Data were analysed for the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub, a national partnership supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program (NESP) and administered by the Department of the Environment (DOE).
- Other constraints
- The data described in this record are the intellectual property of the University of Western Australia and Curtin University of Technology.
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Content Information
- Content type
- Physical measurement
- Description
- Visual survey identification and count of marine megafauna
Identifier
- Code
- Abundance of biota
Distribution Information
- OnLine resource
-
DATA ACCESS V1 [database format] - Aerial visual surveys
- OnLine resource
-
NESP:NESP_EP2_AerialSurvey
MAP - marine mammal sightings
- OnLine resource
-
NESP_EP2_AerialSurvey
This OGC WFS service returns the data in subsettable CSV format.
- OnLine resource
-
NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub Project EP2 webpage
Resource lineage
- Statement
- A total of six aerial surveys were conducted in March 2017 across the Bremer Marine Park and adjacent areas using a twin-engine over-head wing Cessna 337 aircraft fitted with bubble windows. The aircraft travelled at an altitude of 1,000 feet and a speed of 120 knots, as per widely established cetacean survey methods. Pre-determined transects were flown in passing mode (no deviation from the track line), with 'circle-backs' only permitted following encounters with killer whales (Orcinus orca; the target species). The combination of two different survey designs (A: large-scale zigzags, B: fine-scale parallel sweeps) allowed appropriate coverage of the region as a whole (i.e. park and surroundings) whilst maximising data gathering opportunities at a known killer whale aggregation site west of the area. Sightings were logged on Olympus digital recorders via headset by two trained observers each scanning either side of the aircraft. Clinometers (Suunto PM-5/360PC) and compass boards were used to record vertical and horizontal angles for each wildlife detection. For further details, see the associated Final Project report.
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Platform
Identifier
- Code
- research aeroplane
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
-
7526a44e-dea3-496c-81f4-776d908e2923
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Point of contact
- Parent metadata
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Dataset
- Metadata linkage
-
https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/7526a44e-dea3-496c-81f4-776d908e2923
Point of truth URL of this metadata record
- Date info (Creation)
- 2020-09-10T08:53:00
- Date info (Revision)
- 2020-09-10T08:53:00
Metadata standard
- Title
- ISO 19115-3:2018