This collection contains the quality-control (QC) transcribed data from the Arctic Coastal Plain Aerial Breeding Pair Survey. These QC data were produced from the “raw” data using the R Package “AKaerial.” The raw data were evaluated against the current data standards in the ‘AKaerial data dictionary’ and saved to new QC data files with associated log files that document any changes that were made. The data files in this collection were named using the following naming convention: ACP_YYYY_QCObs_OOOO, where ACP=Arctic Coastal Plain, YYYY=Year, QCObs=Quality control observations, and OOOO=observer’s first initial and last name.
These data contain known errors. These data should not be used except as raw input for additional quality control. See https://github.com/USFWS/ACP-Mapping and comments within the file https://github.com/USFWS/ACP-Mapping/blob/main/ACPmapping.R
The contents also include data collected on supplemental transects within the 10-02 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 2018, 2019, and 2022, repeat transects, double observer data, and incidental observations collected off transect. These supplemental versus standard survey design transects are distinguished in the ‘code’ column of the ACP_YYY_QCObs_… files.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
OBSERVATION FILES (Data/ACP_QCObs_YYYY_Name.csv)- Data were collected by 3 observers in 2010, 1 observer in 2018, and all other years had 2 observers.
- Latitude and longitude fields are of unknown accuracy and might be 500m from the reported locations due to: (1) GPS satellite accuracy, (2) distance from observed bird to center strip of transect (observer) could be up to 200m, (3) position of bird with respect to the plane when the location is marked (in front of or behind). - There is no written protocol for this survey, but methods can be gleaned from any existing annual reports and standard operating procedures of the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey.- There are unknown deviations from a consistent observation process within and across observers due to individual observer tendencies. For example, some observers may have given different level of effort to different species, especially snow geese, owls, and raptors, among others.
Differences in densities across observers or year-observer combinations should be interpreted with caution.
