AFSC/NMML: Video Analysis for Group Count and Calf Proximity of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska, 2005 - 2022

Description

As a part of NMFS management of the endangered beluga whale population in Cook Inlet, Alaska, aerial surveys have been conducted during summer since 1993 to monitor their distribution and abundance. When beluga whale groups are found, observers make counts from the bubble windows while one observer records the group with a video camera. The video has been used to count the number of animals in the group to correct for missed animals in the observer counts. In 1996, a second video camera was added; the first video camera had a lens set at a wide angle to view the entire beluga group while the second video camera was zoomed to approximately 10x to magnify a subsample of individual whales in the group. The zoomed video has been used to examine color ratios of white adults relative to smaller and darker juveniles and calves and correct for those individuals missed due to their size or coloration. In 2005, a computer program was designed to digitize the process for analyzing the video, which had been conducted manually prior to that year. The program allows an analyst to digitally mark and number each individual whale image, track it across the screen, and measure relative whale size. The dataset described here includes the data from the years that video was analyzed using the computer program, 2005-2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
0 csv files http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0133936
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25718
0 AKFSC Home Page https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/alaska-fisheries-science-center
0 Annual Calf Indices for Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Cook Inlet, Alaska 2006-2012 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/peer-reviewed-research/annual-calf-indices-beluga-whales-cook-inlet-alaska-2006-2012
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/afsc/dmp/pdf/25718.pdf
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2024. GCMD Keywords, Version 19. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 csv files http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0133936
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25718
0 AKFSC Home Page https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/alaska-fisheries-science-center
0 The information provided on this page seeks to define how the GCMD Keywords are structured, used and accessed. It also provides information on how users can participate in the further development of the keywords. https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/find-data/idn/gcmd-keywords
0 The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has conducted aerial surveys to estimate abundance of the beluga population in Cook Inlet, Alaska, each June, July, or both from 1993 to 2012, after which biennial surveys began in 2014. The current document presents survey results and subsequent analyses yielding an abundance estimate and population trend based on data collected during June 2018. https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/22918
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/afsc/dmp/pdf/25718.pdf
0 Annual Calf Indices for Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Cook Inlet, Alaska 2006-2012 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/peer-reviewed-research/annual-calf-indices-beluga-whales-cook-inlet-alaska-2006-2012
0 The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has conducted aerial surveys to estimate abundance of the beluga population in Cook Inlet, Alaska, each June, July, or both from 1993 to 2012, after which biennial surveys began in 2014. The current document presents survey results and subsequent analyses yielding an abundance estimate and population trend based on data collected during June 2018. https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/22918
0 csv files https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0133936
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25718
0 AKFSC Home Page https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/alaska-fisheries-science-center
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2024. GCMD Keywords, Version 19. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/afsc/dmp/pdf/25718.pdf
0 Annual Calf Indices for Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Cook Inlet, Alaska 2006-2012 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/peer-reviewed-research/annual-calf-indices-beluga-whales-cook-inlet-alaska-2006-2012
0 The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has conducted aerial surveys to estimate abundance of the beluga population in Cook Inlet, Alaska, each June, July, or both from 1993 to 2012, after which biennial surveys began in 2014. The current document presents survey results and subsequent analyses yielding an abundance estimate and population trend based on data collected during June 2018. https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/22918

Tags

  • alaska fisheries science center
  • alaska
  • aerial
  • noaa
  • video analysis
  • summer
  • u.s. department of commerce
  • national marine fisheries service
  • cook inlet
  • doc/noaa/nmfs/afsc
  • abundance
  • cetacean assessment and ecology program

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Categories