Seabirds at Sea Evidence Base

GIS layers showing the abundance and distribution of seabirds in welsh waters. The datasets consists of the raw data showing observations of all seabirds and derived grids showing the density of flying and sitting species on a 3km grid scale and the survey coverage. The purpose of this data capture was to collate data from ESAS and WWT Consulting databases to produce combined database of birds recorded from surveys of Welsh waters. Other sources identified were also consulted to produce the most complete representation of the observed distribution of seabirds.

Identifier: NRW_DS114722

Alternative Title

WWT and ESAS combined seabirds at sea
Adar mor sylfaen tystiolaeth
Collated seabird distribution and abundance data in Welsh waters

Metadata Language: English

Lineage: The two main sources of seabird distribution and abundance data for welsh waters are held in JNCC's European Seabirds at Sea (ESAS) database and the Wildfowl and Wetlands (Consulting) Ltd marine aerial surveys database. A collation for Wales was created by producing a database containing all the fields from both datasets. This was then populated. The data was 'cleaned' to remove non-bird objects and data. A GIS layer was produced and supplied from the database. Density and abundance maps as well as survey coverage were derived from the database using a 3km by 3km grid created in ArcGIS. A detailed methodology and the approach taken is described in the WWT Report "Collating seabird distribution and abundance data in Welsh waters to support provision of strategic advice on the relative risk of deployment of tidal stream devices". Originally the density maps were produced to provide evidence about mobile species and their sensitivity to tidal stream devices (See NRW project 309 media 1230). This dataset is an update based on the same methodology but includes all gull species which were not required for the renewables work. The selection of the highest value from the combined JNCC ESAS and WWT datasets for each grid cell is in line with the Precautionary Principle. This may lead to an overestimation of abundance in some grid cells but will reflect the highest potential use of each cell by diving bird species. In addition diving bird density values for each grid cell were standardised according to survey effort so that those grid cells for which there is a very low level of effort may have an overestimation of overall abundance. It is important to interpret these evidence layers in conjunction with information on the underlying survey effort.

Dataset Reference Date (Publication): 2010-07-01

Temporal Extent

Begin date: 1980-08-08

End date: 2009-08-07

Topic category

Biota

Owner

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) -

Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales

http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en

Originator

Wildfowl And Wetlands Trust (WWT) -

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, GL2 7BT, England

http://www.wwt.org.uk/

Originator

Joint Nature Conservancy Committee (JNCC) -

Joint Nature Conservancy Committee (JNCC), Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough, PE1 1JY

http://www.jncc.gov.uk

Extent

Geographic Extent: Wales (WLS)

Vertical Extent

Medin Extent Keyword: troposphere

Distribution

Format Type and Description

Geographic Information System ( )

Specification

Data exists as MapInfo GIS layers and in it's native ArcGIS format

Resource Locator

Download Data and Web Services

World Wide Web page

Resource Locator

Web Mapping Service

World Wide Web page

Data quality

Quality Scope: Dataset

Conformity: Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services
Explanation: This dataset has not been assessed for conformance to the referenced INSPIRE regulation.
Degree: false

Lineage: The two main sources of seabird distribution and abundance data for welsh waters are held in JNCC's European Seabirds at Sea (ESAS) database and the Wildfowl and Wetlands (Consulting) Ltd marine aerial surveys database. A collation for Wales was created by producing a database containing all the fields from both datasets. This was then populated. The data was 'cleaned' to remove non-bird objects and data. A GIS layer was produced and supplied from the database. Density and abundance maps as well as survey coverage were derived from the database using a 3km by 3km grid created in ArcGIS. A detailed methodology and the approach taken is described in the WWT Report "Collating seabird distribution and abundance data in Welsh waters to support provision of strategic advice on the relative risk of deployment of tidal stream devices". Originally the density maps were produced to provide evidence about mobile species and their sensitivity to tidal stream devices (See NRW project 309 media 1230). This dataset is an update based on the same methodology but includes all gull species which were not required for the renewables work. The selection of the highest value from the combined JNCC ESAS and WWT datasets for each grid cell is in line with the Precautionary Principle. This may lead to an overestimation of abundance in some grid cells but will reflect the highest potential use of each cell by diving bird species. In addition diving bird density values for each grid cell were standardised according to survey effort so that those grid cells for which there is a very low level of effort may have an overestimation of overall abundance. It is important to interpret these evidence layers in conjunction with information on the underlying survey effort.

Keywords

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

Species distribution

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Publication): 2008-06-01

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.httpinspireeceuropaeutheme-theme

Keywords

NRW Thesaurus

distributions
abundance
sitting
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT)
seabirds (see also specific species)(see also shorebirds)
European Seabirds at Sea (ESAS)

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Publication): 2024-06-13

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.local.theme.converted_nrw-keywords

Keywords

SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary

Bird taxonomy-related abundance per unit area of surface

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Publication): 2024-03-28

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.rdf+xml

Keywords

IPSV Subjects List

Flying
Birds

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Publication): 2020-11-18

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.subjects

Keywords

NRW SMNR Keywords

Ecosystem (SMNR)
Marine (SMNR)
Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (SMNR)
Coastal Margins (SMNR)
Animals, Plants and Other Organisms (SMNR)
Sea and Coast (SMNR)
Management Areas (SMNR)
Natural Resources (Incl. Features and Processes) (SMNR)

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Publication): 2024-06-19

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.local.theme.converted_nrw-smnr-keywords

Code: Latitude and Longitude (EPSG::4326)

Content Information

NRW Profile

Custom Elements

Constraints

Limitations on Public Access and Use

Restriction type: Other restrictions

Access Constraints Directive

Limitations: no limitations

Access Constraints Text

Other constraints: There are no access restrictions to this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely.

Use Constraints

Use constraints type: Other restrictions

Other constraints: © CNC/NRW Data may be re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence providing it is done so, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose. Attribution statement: Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved.

Attribution Statement

Other constraints: Open Government Licence (OGL)

Licence

Other constraints: Open Government Licence (OGL)

Metadata

File Identifier: 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313134373232 XML

Metadata Language: English

Resource type: Dataset

Metadata Date: 2024-12-09T13:00:21.323Z

Metadata Standard Name: NRW

Metadata Standard Version: 1.0

pointOfContact

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) -

Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales

http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en

Publishing Body

Access the portal

Full access to the portal and metadata.

Seabirds at Sea Evidence Base

Identification

Temporal Extent

Extent

Extent

Vertical Extent

Distribution

Distribution

Quality

Data quality

Keywords

Keywords

Citation

Keywords

Citation

Keywords

Citation

Keywords

Citation

Keywords

Citation

Spatial Reference System

Content

Content Information

NRW Profile

Custom Elements

Constraints

Constraints

Limitations on Public Access and Use

Access Constraints Directive

Access Constraints Text

Use Constraints

Attribution Statement

Licence

Metadata

Metadata

Publishing Body