Dear Colleagues:
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southwest Regional
Office (SWR) is requesting assistance to collect information on pinniped
haulout sites in California.
Documenting the location and seasonal use of pinniped haulout sites is
important for managing activities that may impact pinnipeds and also for
prioritizing research needs. NMFS-SWR, in collaboration with
NMFS-Southwest Fisheries Science Center, has created an interactive GIS
database that will provide a comprehensive inventory of pinniped haulout
sites in California, based primarily from an extensive review of
literature and from contributions from fellow researchers.
We are requesting assistance from pinniped researchers and others who
are willing to share their information on pinniped haulout information
in California. We understand the sensitivity of sharing data, but we
want to make sure that the database incorporates both historical and
current information on pinnipeds in California. Many pinniped surveys
are conducted at the end of the breeding season when the majority of the
animals are hauled out. Much can be inferred about dispersal of
pinnipeds by comparing movement between the breeding and non-breeding
seasons. However, less is known about dispersal within the breeding and
particularly, during the non-breeding season. Thus, we hope that with
your assistance, we will be able to compile year-round information on
pinniped haulout sites in California. Primarily, we are interested in
information (past and present) on: 1) species; 2) location (e.g., name
of area and/or latitude/longitude); 3) counts; 4) date and time
observed; 5) whether the area was/is used as a rookery or non-rookery;
and 6) age class. Any other additional information would also be greatly
appreciated. We also request that you include reference information, so
that this may be included in the database as well.
Presently, the database will only be accessible to NMFS-SWR staff as we
continue to develop this database and collect information. The
information in the database will be evaluated and updated on an annual
basis. In the future, we may want to make a restricted version of this
database available to the public (likely to include the GIS map, species
and location), but we will notify participating researchers prior to
publicizing.
If you have information on pinniped haulout sites in California, but are
unsure about disseminating data, please feel free to contact me so that
we may discuss alternatives.
Please contact me with any questions.
Thank you in advance for your time.
Cheers,
Monica DeAngelis
--
Monica L. DeAngelis
Marine Mammal Biologist
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service/Southwest Region
Protected Resources Division
501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200
Long Beach, CA
Work: 562-980-3232
Fax: 562-980-4027
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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