Migratory Portfolio (subset for MARCO Portal)

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: The Nature Conservancy

Publication_Date: 2010

Title: Migratory Portfolio (subset for MARCO Portal)

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

Larger_Work_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: The Nature Conservancy

Publication_Date: 2010

Title:

The Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment: Identifying Conservation Areas in the Northwest Atlantic Marine Region. Phase Two.

Other_Citation_Details:

Please cite as: Anderson, M.G, J. Odell, M. Clark, Z. Ferdaña, and J.K. Greene. 2010. The Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment: Identifying Conservation Areas in the Northwest Atlantic Marine Region. Phase Two. The Nature Conservancy, Eastern U.S. Division, Boston, MA.

Description:

Abstract:

This data product was created as part of Phase II 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. Phase I of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment provides a comprehensive regional scale database of information on coastal and marine ecosystems, habitats and species to help inform and guide diverse conservation strategies (Greene et al. 2010). It includes specific information and maps indicating important places for specific conservation targets - the characteristic habitats and species selected to represent biodiversity and ecological functions within the Northwest Atlantic planning area. 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 about Phase I and a detailed report, please visit <http://nature.org/easternusmarine/>.
This particular data product was completed as part of Phase II of the Assessment. While the first phase focused on compiling data to understand and characterize the species, habitats, and processes that define the region, the primary objective of the second phase was to identify a set of areas that merit the highest conservation and management attention to meet broad goals for conserving the coastal and offshore marine ecosystem in the region. This dataset provides information on Toothed whales (sperm whale, bottlenose dolphin and striped dolphin) and sea turtles (green sea turtle, leatherback turtle, and loggerhead turtle). Effort corrected observations of these species were compiled to ten minute squares. For each ten minute square, the species with observations more than 2.5 standard deviations above average are indicated.
For more information or a copy of the Phase I or Phase II reports, please contact Jennifer Greene at jgreene@tnc.org or 617.542.1908 x213.

Purpose:

Our main aim is to utilize the spatial database of conservation targets to help answer this question: Where are the most critical areas for conservation ecosystems, habitats, species, and ecological processes? This dataset was used to identify areas of particular importance to migratory species, species that travel within and through this region seasonally for feeding or breeding. Details on the choice of target species, summaries of their life histories, explanation of our data sources, and information on the preparation of the various datasets are found in Chapters 8-11 in the Phase I report (Greene et al. 2010). The datasets were used to identify areas - ten minute squares of ocean space - that appear to be important to many migratory species based on their presence, abundance, and persistence through time. The five target species groups were: (1) Baleen whale group (fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, North Atlantic right whale, sei whale, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, and harbor porpoise, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, and harbor porpoise), (2) Toothed whales (sperm whale, bottlenose dolphin and striped dolphin), (3) Sea turtles (green sea turtle, leatherback turtle, and loggerhead turtle), (4) Large pelagic fish (Atlantic bluefin tuna, albacore tuna, blue marlin, swordfish, white marlin, bigeye thresher, dusky shark, great hammerhead, porbeagle, sandbar shark, sand tiger, scalloped hammerhead, shortfin mako, thresher shark), and (5) Small pelagic fish (American sand lance, Atlantic herring, Atlantic mackerel, Atlantic menhaden, butterfish, longfin inshore squid, northern sand lance, and northern shortfin squid). This particular dataset provides information on the toothed whales and sea turtles.

Supplemental_Information:

Priority conservation areas were identified through integration and analysis of the recommended datasets compiled by each of the habitat and species technical teams during the first phase of this assessment. An inclusive suite of priority conservation areas was defined and mapped; the Conservancy refers to this group of areas as a "portfolio." The priority conservation areas that comprise the portfolio were selected using criteria to explicitly define ecologically critical locations for our conservation targets, as both ecologically coherent sub-groups (such as toothed whales or demersal fish) and integrated across all groups. We believe this approach also implicitly defined areas that are critical for maintaining key ecological processes and representative biodiversity. The scale of each area is large (most over 100 square miles) and areas that emerge as important through this analysis will likely require finer-scale planning to develop effective conservation actions. As indicated above, the portfolio was selected based on ecological factors and without presumption of specific types of actions or levels of protection that may be needed to meet conservation goals. It should not be viewed as a marine protected area blueprint. The portfolio database is designed to facilitate further exploration within specifically identified priority conservation areas according to their current management status and inherent sensitivity and resilience to specific human uses. Together with the conservation target database, the flexibility to examine individual sites as well as the suite of sites across the region can inform marine spatial planning processes designed to meet multiple conservation and management objectives.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: unknown

Ending_Date: unknown

Currentness_Reference: ground condition

Status:

Progress: Complete

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -77.844798

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -63.060863

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 47.616702

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 33.125180

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword: Ecoregional Assessment

Theme_Keyword: Northwest Atlantic

Theme_Keyword: Phase II

Theme_Keyword: Integration

Access_Constraints:

The Nature Conservancy reserves all rights in data provided. All data are provided as is. This is not a survey quality dataset. TNC-derived data analysis cannot be relied on as a definitive statement of the presence or absence of individual species or significant ecological communities at given locations and cannot be substituted for ecological surveys that may be required for environmental assessment or conservation planning. The Nature Conservancy makes no warranty as to the currency, completeness, accuracy or utility of any specific data. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. It is strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data.

Use_Constraints:

These data and/or any products from them may only be distributed with prior written permission from The Nature Conservancy. This data set must be cited on all electronic and hard copy products using the language of the Data Set Credit. Use and analysis of the geographic data are limited by the scale at which the data was collected and mapped, and that, as a regional analysis, it is not intended for site level decisions.
The Nature Conservancy shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. Any sale, distribution, loan, or offering for use of these digital data, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the approval of the Nature Conservancy. The use of these data to produce other GIS products and services with the intent to sell for a profit is prohibited without the written consent of the Nature Conservancy. All parties receiving these data must be informed of these restrictions. The Nature Conservancy shall be acknowledged as data contributors to any reports or other products derived from these data.

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Jennifer Greene

Contact_Organization: Eastern Resource Office of The Nature Conservancy

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing address

Address: 99 Bedford St., 5th Floor

Address: 5th Floor

City: Boston

State_or_Province: MA

Postal_Code: 02111

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 617-532-8353

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jgreene@tnc.org

Native_Data_Set_Environment:

Microsoft Windows Vista Version 6.1 (Build 7600) ; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.3500

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator: The Nature Conservancy and US Navy

Title: Mammal SPUE

Data_Quality_Information:

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

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.

Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Jennifer Greene

Contact_Organization: The Nature Conservancy

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jgreene@tnc.org

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

SPUE data by ten minute square was analyzed to determine for each species which TMS had observations way above average (2.5 standard deviations).

Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Jennifer Greene

Contact_Organization: The Nature Conservancy

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jgreene@tnc.org

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

The larger migratory portfolio dataset was simplified such that only the fields relevant to sea turtles and toothed whales were present.

Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Chris Bruce

Contact_Organization: The Nature Conservancy

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: cbruce@tnc.org

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector

Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Planar:

Planar_Coordinate_Information:

Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair

Coordinate_Representation:

Abscissa_Resolution: 0.000000

Ordinate_Resolution: 0.000000

Planar_Distance_Units: meters

Geodetic_Model:

Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983

Ellipsoid_Name: Geodetic Reference System 80

Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000

Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222

Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Altitude_System_Definition:

Altitude_Resolution: 1.000000

Altitude_Encoding_Method:

Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: MigratoryPortfolio

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: OBJECTID

Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: SLLCHAR

Attribute_Definition: TMS ID in string form

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: SPERM_LK

Attribute_Definition: Toothed whale group: sperm whale

Attribute_Definition_Source:

Square gets locked-in if # of SPUE observations were 2 SD above the mean. Tagged with lock-in season (spring, summer, spring and summer).

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: BND_LK

Attribute_Definition: Toothed whale group: bottlenose dolphin

Attribute_Definition_Source:

Square gets locked-in if # of SPUE observations were 2 SD above the mean. Tagged with lock-in season (spring, summer, spring and summer).

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: STRIP_LK

Attribute_Definition: Toothed whale group: striped dolphin

Attribute_Definition_Source:

Square gets locked-in if # of SPUE observations were 2 SD above the mean. Tagged with lock-in season (spring, summer, spring and summer).

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: TOO_LK_NUM

Attribute_Definition: Number of species locked-in for the toothed whales group

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: PORT_TOO_S

Attribute_Definition:

Toothed whale group: names of locked-in species in each portfolio TMS

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: GREEN_LK

Attribute_Definition: Sea turtles: green sea turtle

Attribute_Definition_Source:

Square gets locked-in if # of SPUE observations were 2 SD above the mean. Tagged with lock-in season (spring, summer, spring and summer).

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: LEATH_LK

Attribute_Definition: Sea turtles: leatherback turtle

Attribute_Definition_Source:

Square gets locked-in if # of SPUE observations were 2 SD above the mean. Tagged with lock-in season (spring, summer, spring and summer).

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: LOGG_LK

Attribute_Definition: Sea turtles: loggerhead turtle

Attribute_Definition_Source:

Square gets locked-in if # of SPUE observations were 2 SD above the mean. Tagged with lock-in season (spring, summer, spring and summer).

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: ST_LK_NUM

Attribute_Definition: Number of species locked-in for sea turtles

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: PORT_ST_S

Attribute_Definition: Sea turtles: names of locked-in species in each portfolio TMS

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: SHAPE

Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Shape_Length

Attribute_Definition: Length of feature in internal units.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Shape_Area

Attribute_Definition: Area of feature in internal units squared.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.

Distribution_Information:

Resource_Description: Downloadable Data

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20110411

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: The Nature Conservancy

Contact_Person: Jennifer Greene

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address: 99 Bedford Street, 5th floor

City: Boston

State_or_Province: MA

Postal_Code: 02111-1736

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 617-542-1908 x213

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jgreene@tnc.org

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time