Sea Turtle Sightings Per Unit Effort (Spring), Northwest Atlantic United States, 1979-2007

Description:

This data product was created as part of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment. The Nature Conservancy developed this science-based ecoregional assessment for the Northwest Atlantic Marine region (Bay of Fundy to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina). This assessment synthesizes information on oceanography, chemistry, geology, biology, and social science to inform decisions about coastal and marine ecosystems. By integrating this information at a regional level, the Conservancy is able to provide both a greater understanding of the interrelated biological diversity of the marine ecoregion, and a clearer picture of the current condition of its natural areas and the challenges to their continued persistence. The ten categories of targets identified as the primary structure for the marine ecoregional assessment are: coastal and estuarine habitats, benthic habitats, diadromous fish, demersal fish, pelagic fish, forage fish, nearshore shellfish, shorebirds and seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles. For more information and a detailed report, please visit www.nature.ly/namera.Geospatial data obtained from the United States Navy included point shapefiles of valid sightings for all turtle targets and pre-calculated effort grids for each season. Sightings data were taken from NMFS-NEFSC Aerial Surveys, NMFS-NEFSC Shipboard Surveys, and the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium Database. The validity of sightings was carefully screened and verified by United States Navy contractors before inclusion in the model. Invalid records were not included in the analysis. Sightings for each ten minute square were divided by the effort for each ten minute square to calculate Sightings Per Unit Effort (SPUE). SPUE was calculated for each target species, for each season, and for each ten minute square. Sightings Per Unit Effort (SPUE) was used to analyze areas of importance for the target sea turtle species in the Northwest Atlantic region. The Nature Conservancy. (2010). Sea Turtle Sightings Per Unit Effort (Spring), Northwest Atlantic United States, 1979-2007. Northeast Ocean Data. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/rq878xt1673. Not to be used for navigation This layer is presented in the WGS84 coordinate system for web display purposes. Downloadable data are provided in native coordinate system or projection.

Resource Link:

https://purl.stanford.edu/rq878xt1673

Identifier:

https://purl.stanford.edu/rq878xt1673

Language:

English

Creator:

Nature Conservancy (U.S.)

Publisher:

Northeast Ocean Data

Provider:

Stanford

Resource Class:

Datasets

Subject:

Sea turtles, Biogeography, Oceans, Environment, and Biology and Ecology

Temporal Coverage:

1979-2007

Date Issued:

2010

Spatial Coverage:

Albemarle Sound (N.C.), Baltimore Canyon, Fundy, Bay of, Chesapeake Bay (Md. and Va.), Delaware Bay (Del. and N.J.), Georges Bank, Great South Channel (North Atlantic Ocean), Maine, Gulf of, Ontario, Lake (N.Y. and Ont.), Long Island Sound (N.Y. and Conn.), Mid-Atlantic Bight, Nantucket Shoals (Mass.), Norfolk Canyon, Stellwagen Bank, Northeastern States, and Middle Atlantic States

Access Rights:

Public

Format:

Shapefile