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Summary

NCEI Accession 0128190

Short Citation
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 2024: Alaska Steller Sea Lion Non-pup Count Database, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/24582.
Full Citation Examples

DOI: 10.7289/v54f1np1

Abstract

This database contains counts of adult and juvenile (non-pup) Steller sea lions on rookeries and haulouts in Alaska made between 1904 and 2019. Non-pup counts have been conducted throughout the year. Breeding season (June-mid July) non-pup counts are used for population trend analysis, while counts at other times are used for analyses of distribution and for other purposes. Non-pups are counted from the ground (by walking along the rookery), from cliff-side overlooks, and from aerial imagery (oblique and vertical orientation). Non-pup counts represent only a fraction of the total number of animals that may use a site. Sea lions haul-out less frequently in winter than in summer; thus, winter counts represent a smaller fraction of the total population than summer counts.

Distribution Information

Access Constraints:

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.

Use Constraints:

User must read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to use. Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. Communication and collaboration with data set authors is strongly encouraged.

Cite data as: NMFS/AFSC/MML/Alaska Ecosystem Program (2021). Counts of Alaska Steller sea lion adult and juvenile (non-pup) conducted on rookeries and haul-outs in Alaska Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and others from 1904-01-01 to 2019-07-03 (NCEI Accession 0128190). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7289/v54f1np1. Accessed [date].

Controlled Theme Keywords

biota, oceans

Child Items

Type Title
Entity SSLnonpupcounts2019.csv

Contact Information

Point of Contact
Kathryn Sweeney
katie.sweeney@noaa.gov

Metadata Contact
Brian Fadely
brian.fadely@noaa.gov
206-526-6173

Extents

Geographic Area 1

172° W, -131° E, 63° N, 52° S

Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska to Southeast Alaska coastline

Time Frame 1
1904 - Present

Item Identification

Title: Alaska Steller Sea Lion Non-pup Count Database
Short Name: AFSC/MML: Alaska Steller Sea Lion Non-pup Count Database
Status: In Work
Creation Date: 2015-04-23
Revision Date: 2021-06-10
Publication Date: 2016
Abstract:

This database contains counts of adult and juvenile (non-pup) Steller sea lions on rookeries and haulouts in Alaska made between 1904 and 2019. Non-pup counts have been conducted throughout the year. Breeding season (June-mid July) non-pup counts are used for population trend analysis, while counts at other times are used for analyses of distribution and for other purposes. Non-pups are counted from the ground (by walking along the rookery), from cliff-side overlooks, and from aerial imagery (oblique and vertical orientation). Non-pup counts represent only a fraction of the total number of animals that may use a site. Sea lions haul-out less frequently in winter than in summer; thus, winter counts represent a smaller fraction of the total population than summer counts.

Purpose:

Counts of Steller sea lions pups, adults, and juveniles are used to monitor trends in the population and used in the development of population models.

Notes:

Loaded by FGDC Metadata Uploader, batch 5911, 04-23-2015 19:21

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

- Taxonomy (FGDC:taxonomy)

- Lineage (FGDC:lineage)

Other Citation Details:

Cite data as: NMFS/AFSC/MML/Alaska Ecosystem Program (2021). Counts of Alaska Steller sea lion adult and juvenile (non-pup) conducted on rookeries and haul-outs in Alaska Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and others from 1904-01-01 to 2019-07-03 (NCEI Accession 0128190). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7289/v54f1np1. Accessed [date].

DOI (Digital Object Identifier): 10.7289/v54f1np1
DOI Registration Authority: DOI Registration Authority
DOI Issue Date: 2015-08-13

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
ISO 19115 Topic Category
biota
ISO 19115 Topic Category
oceans
UNCONTROLLED
None Aerial survey
None Eumetopias jubatus
None otariid
None pinniped
None population
None Steller sea lion
None Survey

Temporal Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
UNCONTROLLED
None fall
None summer
None winter

Spatial Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
UNCONTROLLED
None Alaska
None Aleutian Islands
None Bering Sea
None British Columbia
None Gulf of Alaska
None Prince William Sound
None Southeast Alaska

Physical Location

Organization: Alaska Fisheries Science Center
City: Seattle
State/Province: WA
Country: USA

Data Set Information

Data Set Scope Code: Data Set
Data Set Type: CSV Files
Maintenance Frequency: As Needed
Data Presentation Form: Table (digital)
Entity Attribute Overview:

Table is comprised of Steller sea lion non-pup counts with associated spatial and temporal data.

Distribution Liability:

Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.

Data Set Credit: Cite data set as: NMFS/AFSC/MML/Alaska Ecosystem Program (2021). Counts of Alaska Steller sea lion adult and juvenile (non-pup) conducted on rookeries and haul-outs in Alaska Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and others from 1904-01-01 to 2019-07-03 (NCEI Accession 0128190). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7289/v54f1np1. Accessed [date].

Support Roles

Data Steward

CC ID: 739830
Date Effective From: 2017
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Sweeney, Kathryn
Email Address: katie.sweeney@noaa.gov

Distributor

CC ID: 237371
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Email Address: ncei.info@noaa.gov
URL: NCEI Contact Information

Metadata Contact

CC ID: 198223
Date Effective From: 2015-04-23
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Fadely, Brian
Address: SEATTLE, WA
USA
Email Address: brian.fadely@noaa.gov
Phone: 206-526-6173
Fax: 206-526-6615

Originator

CC ID: 198225
Date Effective From: 2015-04-23
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Fritz, Lowell
Email Address: lowell.fritz@noaa.gov

Point of Contact

CC ID: 198224
Date Effective From: 2017
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Sweeney, Kathryn
Email Address: katie.sweeney@noaa.gov
View Historical Support Roles

Extents

Currentness Reference: Ground Condition

Extent Group 1

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 198222
W° Bound: 172
E° Bound: -131
N° Bound: 63
S° Bound: 52
Description

Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska to Southeast Alaska coastline

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 198221
Time Frame Type: Continuing
Start: 1904

Access Information

Security Class: Unclassified
Security Classification System:

None.

Security Handling Description:

None.

Data Access Policy:

The data set is in the process of being archived with the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Once the archival process is complete and verified, the data set will be publicly available. Communication and collaboration with data set authors is strongly encouraged prior to use.

Data Access Procedure:

Data are available through download at the listed URLs.

Data Access Constraints:

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.

Data Use Constraints:

User must read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to use. Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. Communication and collaboration with data set authors is strongly encouraged.

Cite data as: NMFS/AFSC/MML/Alaska Ecosystem Program (2021). Counts of Alaska Steller sea lion adult and juvenile (non-pup) conducted on rookeries and haul-outs in Alaska Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and others from 1904-01-01 to 2019-07-03 (NCEI Accession 0128190). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7289/v54f1np1. Accessed [date].

Metadata Access Constraints:

None

Metadata Use Constraints:

Metadata are subject to revision at any time and information within the metadata record should not be cited without author consent. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.

Distribution Information

Distribution 1

CC ID: 237377
Download URL: https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/OAS/prd/download/128190.2.4.tar.gz
Distributor: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (2015 - Present)
File Name: 128190.2.4.tar.gz
Description:

Download most recent version.

File Type (Deprecated): .gz
File Size: 1.492 MB
Compression: GZ / GZIP

URLs

URL 1

CC ID: 198227
URL: http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0128190
URL Type:
Online Resource
File Resource Format: HTML
Description:

Link to metadata and data hosted at NODC Ocean Archive System

URL 2

CC ID: 326148
URL: http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0129877
URL Type:
Online Resource
File Resource Format: HTML
Description:

Link to rookery and haulout name and location data, corresponding with "sitename" data field.

URL 3

CC ID: 1069771
URL: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0128190
Name: NCEI Accession 0128190
URL Type:
Browse Graphic

Technical Environment

Description:

Data table output as a .csv file from a SQL database.

Data Quality

Representativeness:

STELLER SEA LION NON-PUP COUNT DATABASE

Last Update: June 10, 2021

The file "SSLnonpupcounts2019.csv" contains counts from Alaska of non-pup (adult and juvenile) Steller sea lions in the NMML database. The counts were made between 1904 and 2019. This file includes counts obtained during breeding season aerial surveys, as well as counts obtained during winter aerial surveys, boat surveys, cliff counts, and other miscellaneous counts.

The non-pup count data file (SSLnonpupcounts2019.csv) is in ASCII text format and fields are comma-delimited (.csv).

Completeness Report:

There are several issues with the data that users need to be aware of before using this database.

1. This database is continually being updated and modified. Users should check for the date the database was last modified.

2. This data set includes counts from all times year, some of which may not be appropriate for particular analyses. The number of sea lions at a given site is extremely seasonally dependent. Comparison of counts from November in one year and from July in another year is likely to produce confounded results. Population trend analyses typically are performed using data only from the breeding season June and July.

3. The most precise counts, and thus the counts preferred for population trend analyses, are aerial survey counts made from photographs. Counts made from skiffs or ships may be very accurate for small numbers of sea lions but imprecise for large groups. Visual estimates made from the air are best used as qualitative not quantitative data.

4. In general, this database includes counts of non-pup (adult and juvenile) Steller sea lions. This means that counts made during the breeding season (June and July) do not include newborn pups. After pups undergo their first molt in the fall or early winter, however, they are the same color as older sea lions and they are difficult or impossible to distinguish from juveniles. For this reason, counts made outside of the breeding season do include pups of the year that are 4 to 12 months old.

5. A zero in the COUNT field means the site was surveyed and no sea lions were present. If a site was not surveyed in a given year it is not included in the database; there are no records with the COUNT field blank.

6. Throughout the database "99" indicates that a day, month, platform, or source is unknown.

7. There are blanks in the COMMENT field. This may cause problems when end users import the ASCII text file into their preferred software format.

8. Site names are not consistent throughout the database. Surveys prior to 1990 frequently combined separate haul-out sites on an island into a single count, whereas more recent surveys usually list sites separately (e.g., Agattu versus Agattu/Cape Sabak and Agattu/Gillon Point). Also, the NMML continues to refine the definition of individual sites and occasionally adds new sites.

Conceptual Consistency:

Not applicable.

Quality Control Procedures Employed:

See discussion in http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Publications/AFSC-TM/NOAA-TM-AFSC-251.pdf

Data Management

Have Resources for Management of these Data Been Identified?: No
Approximate Percentage of Budget for these Data Devoted to Data Management: 0
Do these Data Comply with the Data Access Directive?: Yes
Is Access to the Data Limited Based on an Approved Waiver?: No
If Distributor (Data Hosting Service) is Needed, Please Indicate: Yes
Approximate Delay Between Data Collection and Dissemination: Annual
If Delay is Longer than Latency of Automated Processing, Indicate Under What Authority Data Access is Delayed:

Data are not automatically processed.

Actual or Planned Long-Term Data Archive Location: NCEI-MD
Approximate Delay Between Data Collection and Archiving: Unknown
How Will the Data Be Protected from Accidental or Malicious Modification or Deletion Prior to Receipt by the Archive?:

IT Security and Contingency Plan for the system establishes procedures and applies to the functions, operations, and resources necessary to recover and restore data as hosted in the Western Regional Support Center in Seattle, Washington, following a disruption.

Lineage

Lineage Statement:

The Marine Mammal Laboratory (MML) conducted aerial surveys to photograph and count Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) non-pups (adults and juveniles ≥1 years old) on known terrestrial rookery and haulout sites in Alaska in June-July 2019 (Sweeney et al. 2019). On odd years, MML focuses their survey effort on the Gulf of Alaska (Southeast Alaska towards the western Gulf of Alaska) portion of the Steller sea lion range in Alaska. The occupied aircraft survey team conducted their survey from 24 June to 4 July from southeast Alaska (Dixon Entrance, 132°W) through the western Gulf of Alaska (Sanak Islands, 163°W). On even years, MML focuses their survey effort in the Aleutian Islands (from the western through the eastern Aleutian Islands regions), and sometimes into the western Gulf of Alaska region if not surveyed the previous year.

The ship-based survey team on board the R/V Tiĝlâx did not conduct visual counts or collect aerial imagery using an unoccupied aircraft system (UAS or drone) during the cruise from 20 June to 2 July. The survey team did travel the Aleutian Islands between Adak Island (176°W) and Attu Island (172°E) focusing on other research priorities.

No surveys were conducted in 2020 due to global COVID-19 pandemic.

For surveys back to 2008, see discussions in Fritz et al. (2013), Fritz et al. (2016), Sweeney et al. (2016), Sweeney et al. (2017), and Sweeney et al. (2018).

Sources

Fritz, L., K. Sweeney, D. Johnson, M. Lynn, T. Gelatt, and J. Gilpatrick. 2013. Aerial and ship-based surveys of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) conducted in Alaska in June-July 2008 through 2012, and an update on the status and trend of the western distinct population segment in Alaska. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFSAFSC-251, 91 p.

CC ID: 237366
Contact Role Type: Publisher
Contact Type: Organization
Contact Name: Alaska Fisheries Science Center, AFSC
Publish Date: 2013-05-01
Extent Type: Range
Extent Start Date/Time: 2008
Extent End Date/Time: 2012
Citation URL: http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Publications/AFSC-TM/NOAA-TM-AFSC-251.pdf
Citation URL Description:

Technical Memorandum describing Steller sea lion surveys in Alaska 2008-2012.

Fritz, L., K. Sweeney, R. Towell, and T. Gelatt. 2016. Aerial and shipbased surveys of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) conducted in Alaska in June-July 2013 through 2015, and an update on the status and trend of the western distinct population segment in Alaska. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-321, 72 p. doi:10.7289/V5/TM-AFSC-321.

CC ID: 325265
Contact Role Type: Publisher
Contact Type: Organization
Contact Name: Alaska Fisheries Science Center, AFSC
Publish Date: 2016-05-02
Extent Type: Range
Extent Start Date/Time: 2013
Extent End Date/Time: 2015
Citation URL: http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Publications/AFSC-TM/NOAA-TM-AFSC-321.pdf
Citation URL Description:

Technical Memorandum detailing Steller sea lion surveys in Alaska 2013-1015.

Sweeney, K., Burkemeier, B., Luxa, K, and T. Gelatt. 2019. Results of Steller sea lion surveys in Alaska, June-July 2019. Memorandum to The Record, 6 December 2019. NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA. 21 pp.

CC ID: 1071177
Contact Role Type: Originator
Contact Type: Person
Contact Name: Kathryn Sweeney
Publish Date: 2019-12-06
Extent Type: Range
Extent Start Date/Time: 2019-06-24
Extent End Date/Time: 2019-07-15
Citation URL: https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/dam-migration/ssl_aerial_survey_2019_final_508.pdf
Citation URL Description:

Memorandum describing 2019 Steller sea lion surveys in Alaska.

Sweeney, K., L. Fritz, R. Towell, and T. Gelatt. 2016. Results of Steller Sea Lion Surveys in Alaska, June-July 2016. Memorandum to The Record, 5 December 2016. NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA. 16 pp.

CC ID: 1071178
Contact Role Type: Originator
Contact Type: Person
Contact Name: Kathryn Sweeney
Publish Date: 2016-12-05
Extent Type: Range
Extent Start Date/Time: 2016-06-23
Extent End Date/Time: 2016-07-11
Citation URL: https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/dam-migration/ssl_aerial_survey_2016_fisheries-508.pdf
Citation URL Description:

Memorandum describing 2016 Steller sea lion surveys in Alaska.

Sweeney, K., L. Fritz, R. Towell, and T. Gelatt. 2017. Results of Steller Sea Lion Surveys in Alaska, June-July 2017. Memorandum to the Record, 29 November 2017. NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA. 17 pp.

CC ID: 1071179
Contact Role Type: Originator
Contact Type: Person
Contact Name: Kathryn Sweeney
Publish Date: 2017-11-29
Extent Type: Range
Extent Start Date/Time: 2017-06-22
Extent End Date/Time: 2017-07-07
Citation URL: https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/18790
Citation URL Description:

Memorandum describing 2017 Steller sea lion surveys in Alaska.

Sweeney, K., Towell, R., and T. Gelatt. 2018. Results of Steller Sea Lion Surveys in Alaska, June-July 2018. Memorandum to the Record, 4 December 2018. NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA. 19 pp.

CC ID: 1071180
Contact Role Type: Originator
Contact Type: Person
Contact Name: Kathryn Sweeney
Publish Date: 2018-12-04
Extent Type: Range
Extent Start Date/Time: 2018-06-23
Extent End Date/Time: 2018-06-23
Citation URL: https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/dam-migration/ssl_aerial_survey_2018_final.pdf
Citation URL Name: ssl_aerial_survey_2018_final.pdf
Citation URL Description:

Memorandum describing 2018 Steller sea lion surveys in Alaska.

Process Steps

Process Step 1

CC ID: 1071181
Description:

See Sweeney et al. (2019) for process steps.

Process Date/Time: 2019-12-06 00:00:00
Process Contact: Sweeney, Kathryn
Email Address: katie.sweeney@noaa.gov
Source: Sweeney, K., Burkemeier, B., Luxa, K, and T. Gelatt. 2019. Results of Steller sea lion surveys in Alaska, June-July 2019. Memorandum to The Record, 6 December 2019. NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA. 21 pp.

Child Items

Rubric scores updated every 15m

Rubric Score Type Title
Entity SSLnonpupcounts2019.csv

Catalog Details

Catalog Item ID: 24582
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:24582
Metadata Record Created By: Brian Fadely
Metadata Record Created: 2015-04-23 19:19+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By: SysAdmin InPortAdmin
Metadata Record Last Modified: 2024-10-03 18:16+0000
Metadata Record Published: 2021-06-29
Owner Org: AFSC
Metadata Publication Status: Published Externally
Do Not Publish?: N
Metadata Last Review Date: 2021-06-29
Metadata Review Frequency: 1 Year
Metadata Next Review Date: 2022-06-29