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AFSC/NMML/CCEP: California sea lion adult male migration locations, 1995-2000

Metadata Updated: April 1, 2024

The migration and movement patterns of male California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) were investigated to determine the timing and distance of the migration. Adult male sea lions were instrumented with satellite-linked instruments in Puget Sound, Washington, before the southbound migration between 1995 and 2000. This dataset contains the ARGOS location data from the instrumented animals that subsequently was analyzed by the California Current Ecosystem Program (AFSC/NOAA).

Access & Use Information

License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2000 (creation), 2000 (revision), (publication)
Frequency Of Update asNeeded

Metadata Source

Harvested from NMFS AFSC

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2000 (creation), 2000 (revision), (publication)
Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:56465
Access Constraints Cite As: Alaska Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: AFSC/NMML/CCEP: California sea lion adult male migration locations, 1995-2000 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/56465., Access Constraints: There are no legal restrictions on access to the data. They reside in public domain and can be freely distributed., 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. 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., Distribution Liability: 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.
Bbox East Long -122
Bbox North Lat 54.5
Bbox South Lat 32
Bbox West Long -132
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update asNeeded
Harvest Object Id fb11dbff-da00-4675-a647-b1ca4c3173b4
Harvest Source Id 26a29bb9-50b0-47fd-920b-edc74aa6ec76
Harvest Source Title NMFS AFSC
Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
Lineage Adult male California sea lions were captured on floating haul-out traps at Shilshole Bay near Seattle, Washington (47°40.80 N, 122° 24.66 W). After sea lions were captured, they were moved from the trap platform onto a 10 × 3 m barge where they were sorted into one of two transfer cages for handling. Sea lions were weighed, measured, and hot iron branded on the dorsal rump area with unique numbers. Sea lions also were tagged on each foreflipper with numbered plastic tags (All flex USA Inc., Dallas, TX). The combination of the brand and flipper tags made individuals readily identifiable when resighted. Satellite instruments were deployed on nine adult male California sea lions from 1995 to 2000 between March and June before the onset of the southbound migration. Seven of the instruments were satellite-linked time depth recorders (SLTDRs) and two were SPOT tags (Wildlife Computers, Bellevue, WA) which provided only position data. The satellite instruments were set in an epoxy resin mold and glued to the dorsal pelage of each sea lion using 5-minute epoxy. A VHF radio tag was attached alongside the satellite housing unit to assist in locating animals and recovering instruments at a later date. The satellite instruments were programmed to transmit location data twice daily, 0200 to 0500 hours and from 1100 to 1400 h. The instruments also were programmed to record wet or dry status used to determine if the animal was on-land and at-sea for each position. Location data obtained from satellites were summarized by the Service ARGOS (Landover, Maryland, USA) (Service ARGOS 1996). A quality code is assigned to each location based upon the estimated accuracy of the location relative to the true position of the animal. Locations were classified as Z, B, A, 0, 1, 2, 3, indicating poor to good quality locations. The potential error of a location was 150 m for quality level 3 locations, 350 m for quality level 2 locations, and 1,000 m for quality level 1 locations. The potential error for quality levels 0, A, B, and Z was not estimated by Service ARGOS. All quality level Z locations were discarded before analysis. Each location was then inspected to determine if it should be retained for the analysis. The locations were considered on a point-to-point basis using a maximum swim speed of 3 m/s (Feldkamp et al. 1989, Ponganis et al. 1990) and the elapsed time between consecutive locations to determine whether the location was within the swimming capabilities of the animal. Locations were discarded if the distance between the two points was greater than the possible travel speed of the animal. To minimize dependence among locations, only one location was selected for each day for each sea lion. When more than one location was obtained for the same day, the location with the best quality was used in the analysis. If multiple locations on the same day had the same quality, a single location was randomly chosen. Dataset reflects spatial information of instrumented male California sea lions throughout their migrations.
Metadata Language eng
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-132.0, 32.0], [-122.0, 32.0], [-122.0, 54.5], [-132.0, 54.5], [-132.0, 32.0]]]}
Progress completed
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 1995
Temporal Extent End 2000

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