Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Aerial Survey

Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation

Dataset credit

Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation

Contacts

RoleNameOrganization 
Primary contact Charlotte Dunn N/A
Data entry Ei Fujioka Duke University

Citation

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.


The dataset presented here includes only marine mammal sightings, and other sea turtle sightings and marine mammal strandings and sightings are included in separate datasets in OBIS-SEAMAP. The dataset presented here is a subset of 444 marine mammal sightings between 1988 and 2005, which includes sightings reported from the public. The entire dataset consists of 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. Also, the entire dataset includes 89 stranding records between 1944 and 2005, including 15 species with Cuvier's beaked whale being the most common. In addition, 101 sightings of turtles comprising 3 different species between 1991 and 2005 were recorded within the entire dataset.

Purpose

N/A

Supplemental information

Should be used with effort data.

References

Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation. 2006. Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Aerial Sightings. Unpublished data.

Attributes

Overview

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
Only minimum required attributes are visible and downloadable online. Other attributes may be obtained upon provider's permission.

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)Description
datasetdefinition not provided
linenodefinition not provided
transectnodefinition not provided
dateDate of observation
timeTime of observation
markdefinition not provided
lat_sdefinition not provided
lon_sdefinition not provided
latLatitude of observation
longLongitude of observation
legnodefinition not provided
speciesSpecies observed
tsnSpecies ITIS TSN
scientificdefinition not provided
juvnodefinition not provided
adultnodefinition not provided
configdefinition not provided
directiondefinition not provided
changedefinition not provided
yesdefinition not provided
nodefinition not provided
initialsdefinition not provided
begdefinition not provided
end_definition not provided
commentsdefinition not provided
excludeddefinition not provided
geomdefinition not provided
oidUnique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
OBIS-SEAMAP ID330
Seabirds0
Marine mammals17
Sea turtles0
Rays and sharks0
Other species0
Non spatial0
Non species0
Total17
Date, Begin1999-05-13
Date, End1999-05-28
Temporal prec.111110
Latitude25.90 - 26.84
Longitude-77.71 - -76.87
Coord. prec.6 decimal digits
PlatformPlane
Data typeAnimal sighting
EffortYES (ID: 331)
Traveled (km)570
Effort hours6
Contr. through
Registered2006-06-15
Updated2018-10-06
StatusPublished
Sharing policy CC-BY-NC (Minimum)
Shared with OBIS
GBIF (via DOI)
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