https://doi.org/10.82144/211d93af https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/708 https://www.gbif.org/dataset/cfd45dbd-7749-42ed-a1aa-4faf3f4a1d82 https://obis.org/dataset/220431d9-a6de-4e0c-839d-dc155dd70044 Brooke Bessesen Phoenix Zoo Primary contact brooke@brookebessesen.com http://www.brookebessesen.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 Brooke Bessesen Phoenix Zoo Primary contact brooke@brookebessesen.com http://www.brookebessesen.com/ owner 2025-07-31 eng Original provider: Brooke Bessesen Dataset credits: Brooke Bessesen Abstract: During the months of January and February 2010, 30 daily marine fauna sighting surveys were systematically conducted across the waters of Golfo Dulce, a tropical fiord-like embayment in the South Pacific region of Costa Rica. Special focus was placed on cetaceans, chelonids, whale sharks and pelagic sea snakes. Within the 233 logged observation hours, 234 first-hand sightings were recorded from a small panga; photo-identification was collected for 76% of those sightings. Dozens of marine species were documented during the survey period, but those that played most prominently in the survey were Humpback whales (<i>Megaptera novaengiae</i>), bottlenose dolphins (<i>Turciops truncatus</i>), pantropical spotted dolphins (<i>Stenella attenuata</i>), green/black sea turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas agassizii</i>), olive ridley sea turtles (<i>Lepidochelys olivacea</i>), hawksbill sea turtles (<i>Eretmochelys imbricata</i>), and pelagic sea snakes (<i>Pelamis platurus</i>). The study was marked by a lack of sightings for whale sharks (<i>Rhinocodon typus</i>), a species expected inside Golfo Dulce at the time of study. 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 marine sighting survey dry season whales dolphins sea turtles N/A The best estimate recorded was used as the obs_count; when it was blank, the minimum estimated number of animals was used; when it was blank, too, the sum of the number of adults and young was used. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 License. https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/708 Oceans,Golfo Dulce,Costa Rica,Eastern Pacific,Central America -83.4824 -83.113533 8.729017 8.340317 2010-01-13 2010-02-24 Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). species Chelonia mydas Green sea turtle family Cheloniidae Sea turtles family Delphinidae Dolphins species Eretmochelys imbricata Hawksbill sea turtle species Lepidochelys olivacea Olive ridley species Megaptera novaeangliae Humpback whale species Stenella attenuata Pantropical spotted dolphin species Tursiops truncatus Common bottlenose dolphin This pilot project was designed to collect baseline data regarding the marine species that enter or reside in Golfo Dulce during the dry season months of January and February, and to determine spatialdistribution for species seen during the study period. Sighting coordinates are based on the display of a handheld Garmin handheld GPS III. Measure accuracy is untested. Several other data attributes were also collected during our survey, including: Geographical area, distinctive markings, initial distance from boat, closest approach distance, swim direction, behavior, associated fauna, and environmental conditions (bi-daily). notPlanned Brooke Bessesen Phoenix Zoo Primary contact brooke@brookebessesen.com http://www.brookebessesen.com/ NA NA NA Brooke Bessesen owner NA zd_708 2025-07-31T15:32:44-04:00 dataset Bessesen, B. 2011. Multi-species marine sighting survey in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica, Jan-Feb 2010. Version 1.0.0. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. https://doi.org/10.82144/211d93af. OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page UTF-8 Interactive map https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/708 FGDC Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/708/fgdc EML Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/708/eml OBIS-SEAMAP zd_708 zd_708 Bessesen, B.L. 2010. Project Report and Summary of Multi-Species Marine Sighting Survey in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica, January – February 2010. 26 pp.