Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Program Information
• Funding

GLOBEC NEP Northern California Current Bird Data
R/V New Horizon cruises NH0005 and 0007

NOTES:
(1) Please see companion file named 'metabirds', which is supporting data for Bird Observations.

(2) The following documentation is extracted from:
David G. Ainley, Larry B. Spear, Cynthia T. Tynan, John A. Barth, Stephen D. Pierce, R. Glenn Ford and Timothy J. Cowles, 2005. Physical and biological variables affecting seabird distributions during the upwelling season of the northern California Current. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, Volume 52, Issues 1-2, January 2005, Pages 123-143

As a part of the GLOBEC-Northeast Pacific project, we investigated variation in the abundance of marine birds in the context of biological and physical habitat conditions in the northern portion of the California Current System (CCS) during cruises during the upwelling season 2000. Continuous surveys of seabirds were conducted simultaneously in June (onset of upwelling) and August (mature phase of upwelling).

(3) Caution. Wind speed and direction may not be corrected for ship motion.

(4) Additional documentation, in the form of references, was provided by Dr. Ainley.

L.B. Spear, N. Nur & D.G. Ainley. 1992. Estimating absolute densities of flying seabirds using analyses of relative movement. Auk 109:385-389.
L.B. Spear & D.G. Ainley. 1997. Flight behaviour of seabirds in relation to wind direction and wing morphology. Ibis 139: 221-233.
L.B. Spear & D.G. Ainley. 1997. Flight speed of seabirds in relation to wind speed and direction. Ibis 139: 234-251.
L.B. Spear, D.G. Ainley, B.D. Hardesty, S.N.G. Howell & S.G. Webb. 2004. Reducing biases affecting at-sea surveys of seabirds: use of multiple observer teams. Marine Ornithology 32: 147-157.

Any questions about the data, please contact the PIs:
David G. Ainley: dainley@penguinscience.com
Cyndy Tynan: ctynan@whoi.edu

updated Sept 08. 2005; gfh

Seabird surveys were conducted continuously during daylight, using a 300-m-wide transect strip. Within that strip, birds were counted that occurred within the 90 degree quadrant off the ship's bow that offered the best observation conditions.

Observed counts of seabirds recorded as flying in a steady direction were adjusted for the effect of flight speed and direction relative to that of the ship (Spear et al., 1992; Spear and Ainley, 1997b). The effect of such flux is the most serious bias encountered during seabird surveys at sea (Spear et al., 2005). Known as random directional movement (as opposed to nonrandom directional movement, which occurs when birds are attracted or repelled from the survey vessel), this problem usually results in density overestimation because most species fly faster than survey vessels; densities of birds that fly slower or at a similar speed as the survey vessel (e.g., storm-petrels), or are flying in the same direction, are usually underestimated (Spear et al., 1992)

Program in a Nutshell

Goal: To understand the effects of climate variability and climate change on the distribution, abundance and production of marine animals (including commercially important living marine resources) in the eastern North Pacific. To embody this understanding in diagnostic and prognostic ecosystem models, capable of capturing the ecosystem response to major climatic fluctuations.

Approach: To study the effects of past and present climate variability on the population ecology and population dynamics of marine biota and living marine resources, and to use this information as a proxy for how the ecosystems of the eastern North Pacific may respond to future global climate change. The strong temporal variability in the physical and biological signals of the NEP will be used to examine the biophysical mechanisms through which zooplankton and salmon populations respond to physical forcing and biological interactions in the coastal regions of the two gyres. Annual and interannual variability will be studied directly through long-term observations and detailed process studies; variability at longer time scales will be examined through retrospective analysis of directly measured and proxy data. Coupled biophysical models of the ecosystems of these regions will be developed and tested using the process studies and data collected from the long-term observation programs, then further tested and improved by hindcasting selected retrospective data series.

U.S. GLOBEC (GLOBal ocean ECosystems dynamics) is a research program organized by oceanographers and fisheries scientists to address the question of how global climate change may affect the abundance and production of animals in the sea.

The U.S. GLOBEC Program currently had major research efforts underway in the Georges Bank / Northwest Atlantic Region, and the Northeast Pacific (with components in the California Current and in the Coastal Gulf of Alaska). U.S. GLOBEC was a major contributor to International GLOBEC efforts in the Southern Ocean and Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP).