AFSC/NMML: Killer whale surveys in the Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and western and central Gulf of Alaska, 2001 - 2010

This dataset is a compilation of line-transect data collected on surveys in the Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and western and central Gulf of Alaska, 2001 - 2010. All the surveys were conducted with similar methods using line-transect protocols, allowing effort to be quantified, but there were differences in transect design in some years (some surveys were systematic, some were not). Sighting information for all cetacean and at-sea pinniped species was collected. The database was compiled with the intent of including all surveys with sighting data on killer whales, in order to assess killer whale population biology in this region. Surveys included in this database are 2001 - 2007, 2009 and 2010 NMML killer whale surveys.

This database was compiled to examine the population biology of killer whales in the waters of the northern Pacific Ocean including the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea, and the western and central Gulf of Alaska.

Loaded by FGDC Metadata Uploader, batch 7505, 11-03-2015 19:42

The following FGDC sections are not currently supported in InPort, but were preserved and will be included in the FGDC export:

- Taxonomy (FGDC:taxonomy)

The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.

NOAA denies liability if the data are misused.

Data can be accessed at http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0137766

There are no legal restrictions on access to the data. They reside in public domain and can be freely distributed.

User must read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to use. Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. Acknowledgement

of NOAA/NMFS/AFSC, as the source from which these data were obtained in any publications and/or other representations of these, data is suggested.

Access

Survey data collected with Wincruz (Windows Real Time Sighting-Effort Event Logger developed by Robert Holland at Southwest Fisheries Science Center). Surveys in 2001-2003 were conducted differently than surveys that occurred from 2004 through 2010, as described in the methodology description.

Data were collected using the software WINCRUZ(http://swfsc.noaa.gov/uploadedFiles/Divisions/PRD/WinCruz.pdf) and standard line transect protocols as described in Zerbini et al. 2006 Deep-Sea Research I 53: 1772-1790 and Zerbini et al. 2007 Marine Biology 150: 1033-1045. Accuracy was ensured by reviewing and editing the data in the field on a daily basis. Post cruise processing included data extraction and error checking using customized software (Paul Wade, National Marine Mammal Laboratory). Tracklines and sightings were plotted in ArcMap to check for accuracy.

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Visual observation with 7x or 25x binoculars by two primary observers and with 7X binoculars by data recorder according to standard line transect sampling methods. Surveys varied, depending on the cruise, in the number of observers, the observation location on the ships (bridge, bridge wings, flying bridges, etc), rotation schedules, as well as the survey goals. Surveys in 2001-2003 had a stratified systematic design using a zig-zag pattern with random starting points within survey blocks in order to produce line-transect estimates of abundance (see Zerbini et al. 2006). Surveys in 2004 through 2010 (primarily in the Aleutians) used non-systematic transects designed to maximize encounters with killer whales for photo-ID, biopsy, and tagging, most often involving strategies that included (1) running transects close to shore (particularly near pinniped rookeries or haul-outs), (2) running circuits around islands, (3) running straight lines across open water between islands, and (4) running transects through areas with known killer whale concentrations.