DWH NRDA Waterfowl Search Effort and Live Animal Assessment

Description

Data collection for Deepwater Horizon Bird Study #10 occurred from January to March 2011. Data were collected primarily by Louisiana State University (LSU) personnel, collaboratively with BP/CardnoENTRIX personnel. The three main objectives for this study included 1) to document dead and live oiled and unoiled waterfowl in representative habitats (shorelines and near-shore waters of the Gulf of Mexico that were accessible by motorized boat and airboat); 2) to estimate the temporal and spatial abundance and distribution of waterfowl within the study area; and 3) to examine oiled and not visibly oiled waterfowl collected from representative habitats. This dataset includes the data collected as part of the first objective. For objective 1, boat and beach-based survey teams conducted searches from mid-January 2011 to early March 2011. A BP/CardnoENTRIX observer joined the boat-based survey team on February 6, 2011. For all waterfowl species detected in a habitat of interest (marsh, open water, or beach), observers recorded time, number of birds, species, and oiling status along the length of the transect. Additionally, observers conducted a point count at one location along each transect where they recorded all bird species seen. Data were documented on two data forms, the “Bird Search Effort – Wintering Waterfowl” form and the “Live Animal Assessment – Wintering Waterfowl Oiling Observations” form. As part of the verification and validation process, the DOI Data Verification/Validation Contractor consolidated these data into one comprehensive dataset, Waterfowl Search Effort and Live Animal Assessment, consistent with the way the data was collected (i.e. concurrently) and with other datasets. Additional details on the surveys, data, and results are provided in the End of Study Report (Workplan for Estimating Wintering Waterfowl Oiling and Mortality Bird Study Plan #10 Draft End of Study Report v3, Deepwater Horizon (Mississippi Canyon 252) Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Objective 1).

Resources

Name Format Description Link
53 DWH NRDA Waterfowl Search Effort and Live Animal Assessment dataset. Dataset verification and validation completed in April, 2015. https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/DownloadFile/156639?Reference=103255
53 DWH NRDA Waterfowl Search Effort and Live Animal Assessment dataset. Dataset verification and validation completed in April, 2015. https://iris.fws.gov/APPS/ServCat/DownloadFile/156639?Reference=103255

Tags

  • nrda
  • oil-spill
  • general-biology-species-birds
  • bird
  • avian
  • dwh
  • wildlife-search
  • search-effort
  • deepwater-horizon
  • waterfowl

Topics

Categories