https://doi.org/10.82144/00c3e9b1 https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/326 https://www.gbif.org/dataset/83186c73-57e4-4718-b1fc-7ca7285dbdd0 https://obis.org/dataset/18f1f267-2d78-497f-b51a-6960171d8243 Charlotte Dunn Charlotte Dunn Primary contact unknown@dummy.com OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

A328 LSRC building Durham NC 27708 US

seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

A328 LSRC building Durham NC 27708 US

seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu distributor Charlotte Dunn Charlotte Dunn Primary contact unknown@dummy.com owner 2025-07-31 eng Original provider: Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Dataset credits: Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Abstract: The Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation has a long-term study that has been documenting the occurrence, distribution, and abundance of marine mammals around the islands of The Bahamas since 1991. With more than 1,900 marine mammal encounters in the Bahamas, we are providing the only comprehensive documentation of the marine mammal fauna in this part of the world. Our research is based on the use of systematic boat-based surveys for describing the distribution and habitat use of different marine mammal species. We employ photo-identification techniques for the recognition of individual whales and dolphins, and we have developed new statistical approaches for using these data to determine abundance estimates and occupancy patterns. This photographic sampling is complemented by the collection of skin and faecal samples for molecular genetic analysis, which are being used to assess levels of genetic diversity and investigate the structuring of marine mammal populations.<br><br> The dataset presented here includes only sea turtle sightings, and other marine mammal strandings and sightings are included in separate datasets in OBIS-SEAMAP. The entire dataset includes 89 stranding records between 1944 and 2005, including 15 species with Cuvier's beaked whale being the most common. Marine mammal sightings data include 444 sightings between 1988 and 2005, including sightings reported from the public. The dataset includes 1,934 BMMS vessel encounters with marine mammals between 1991 and 2005, comprising 20 different species, with the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin representing 60% of all encounters. Finally, the dataset presented here includes 101 sightings of turtles comprising 3 different species between 1991 and 2005. Occurrence GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type.xml Observation GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml Marine Biology Visual sighting Vessels Sightings Turtles Sea turtles N/A This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 License. https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/326 Oceans,Bahamas -78.9724167 -76.4874833 26.9677833 24.65535 1991-01-26 2005-10-10 Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). species Caretta caretta Loggerhead sea turtle species Chelonia mydas Green sea turtle family Cheloniidae Sea turtles species Dermochelys coriacea Leatherback sea turtle species Eretmochelys imbricata Hawksbill sea turtle notPlanned Charlotte Dunn Charlotte Dunn Primary contact unknown@dummy.com NA NA NA Charlotte Dunn owner NA zd_326 2025-07-31T14:13:38-04:00 dataset Dunn, C. 2006. Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Turtles. Version 1.0.0. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. https://doi.org/10.82144/00c3e9b1. OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page UTF-8 Interactive map https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/326 FGDC Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/326/fgdc EML Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/326/eml OBIS-SEAMAP zd_326 zd_326 Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation. 2006. Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Turtles Sightings. Unpublished data.