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DWH NRDA Northern Gannet Point Count Survey

Metadata Updated: September 25, 2025

Data collection for Deepwater Horizon Bird Study #12 occurred in the Spring of 2011. Data were collected primarily by BioDiversity Research Institute (BRI) and R.G. Ford Consulting Company (RGFCC) personnel on behalf of the natural resources trustees as part of the NRDA pre-assessment efforts. The study contained two primary objectives. Objective 1 was to estimate the proportion of target species populations that are visibly oiled within the study area through a) aerial surveys to estimate population abundance, and b) foot-based and boat-based observations of those species to estimate the proportion of birds visibly oiled. Two aerial survey efforts were conducted in mid-January 2011 and mid-to-late-February 2011, by RGFCC. In order to estimate oiling levels within representative areas, BRI personnel conducted field work from February 16, 2011 to April 5, 2011, focusing on the following target species: American White Pelicans, Common Loons, and Northern Gannets. The Northern Gannet data is the subject of this dataset. Point count surveys were conducted for Northern Gannets along boat-based strip transects, spaced every 10 to 20 km extending from the shore to 40 km offshore (Northern Gannet Survey – Point Count Form dataset). Objective 2 was to collect information on target species mortality occurring within the study area using the dead bird survey data collected as part of the Waterfowl study (Bird Study #10) and potential additional dead bird surveys if necessary to adequately address the wintering open-water waterbird target species. This objective, however, was not implemented per the recommendation of the Waterfowl Technical Working Group that additional beached bird surveys after Bird Study #10 was completed were not warranted (see United States Department of the Interior Memorandum: Non-implementation of Objective #2 from the Wintering Open-Water Waterbirds Study). Additional details on Bird Study #12 surveys and results are provided in the End of Study Report (NRDA End of Study Draft Summary Report, Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon 252 Oil Spill: Winter Open-Water Waterbirds, Bird Study #12). The DWH NRDA Northern Gannet Point Count Survey dataset includes the information collected during the Northern Gannet point count surveys.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. 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 Created Date September 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 25, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI FWS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 25, 2025
Publisher U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/fws-servcat-103257
Data First Published 2011-03-15T00:00:00Z
Data Last Modified 2011-03-15T00:00:00Z
Category Generic Dataset
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:18
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/fws-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 92978b22-01a1-4455-bfef-5ff7b4b39943
Harvest Source Id f51f1f6c-4e4a-4e0a-b4e3-a5577c6dcc19
Harvest Source Title DOI FWS DCAT-US
Homepage URL https://iris.fws.gov/APPS/ServCat/Reference/Profile/103257
Program Code 010:094, 010:028
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 8ca955281c4760f1ca33cf9214d5590bdefa019a866f2a204404fb379668ebdf
Source Schema Version 1.1

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