Development and field testing of satellite-linked fluorometers for marine mammals

This dataset includes telemetry data related to the development and testing of an animal-borne satellite-linked fluorometer tag, used on northern fur seals and Steller sea lions. This study is North Pacific Research Board (NPRB) Project 1119, "Development and field testing of satellite-linked fluorometers for marine mammals: shedding light on the unknown."

Develop an instrument to provide in-situ measurements of phytoplankton fluorescence that will be used to calculate chlorophyll-a concentrations as a proxy for primary productivity. These data can help overcome the paucity of oceanographic data that are spatially and temporally matched on a scale relevant to understanding environmental factors influencing marine mammal foraging behavior.

Comma seperated values (CSV), can be opened and worked in a simple text editors and MS Excel any version. Data were downloaded using Mk10Host and processed using WC-DAP (http://www.wildlifecomputers.com/products/splash#tabs-4) on a Windows Operating System (Other operating systems are not supported).

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.

None.

None.

Communication and collaboration with data set authors is strongly encouraged prior to use.

Data files can be found at NPRB via the link in the Distribution section.

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

User must read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to data use; acknowledgement of the Originator when using the data set as a source; sharing of data products developed using the source data set with the Originator; data should not be used beyond the limits of the source scale; the data set is NOT a survey document and should not be utilized as such.

None.

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.

See project metadata at NPRB for descriptions.

Data were visually inspected and standard procedures were used to filter the data. Locations were filtered using the algorithm described in McConnell et al. (1992), resulting in 159 Argos positions. This iterative algorithm calculates for each location the root mean square (rms) of the speeds to the previous, 2nd previous, next, and 2nd next location. Elevated swim speeds can be obtained for points that are adjacent to outlier locations; thus, when the algorithm is applied to a set of locations, only the peaks in rms (that are above the maximum speed) are removed. Other locations are not removed even if they are above the speed limit and rms is then recalculated n times until all locations are below the speed threshold (package Argosfilter 0.63; Freitas 2012).

Data are not automatically processed.

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.

For lineage information go to:

http://project.nprb.org/view.jsp?id=31669ae6-dc27-4792-ad78-a277db1db46c

and to:

Lander M.E., T. Lindstrom, M. Rutishausser, A. Franzheim, and M. Holland. 2015. Development and field testing a satellite-linked fluorometer for marine vertebrates. Animal Biotelemetry 3:40. DOI:10.1186/s40317-015-0070-7.

http://www.animalbiotelemetry.com/content/3/1/40

Capture and telemetry metadata are also available at InPort 17918 Steller sea lion capture, handling data across their range 1985-2014; and, InPort 27455 Alaska Steller sea lion and northern fur seal Argos telemetry Data archive.