This data release contains observation data, design transects, design strata, analysis estimates output, and associated metadata from the Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain Aerial Breeding Pair Survey. The Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain Aerial Breeding Pair Survey provides data on distribution, abundance, and trend of 33 bird species that nest in northern Alaska. The survey has been conducted in its current form annually since 2007 with the exception of years 2020 and 2021. Methods generally follow the standard operating procedures for the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey. Primary uses of the survey data are to evaluate recovery status of Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) and Steller’s Eider (Polysticta stelleri), as well as monitor species of management concern including Lesser Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens caerulescens), Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii), Red-throated Loon (G. stellata), and Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans), and other waterfowl, crane, loon, and raptor species. Survey data are also used to evaluate potential impacts to migratory birds resulting from proposed oil and gas development scenarios.
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
This is a zip folder containing quality controlled observation data for distribution collected during the Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain Aerial Breeding Pair Survey from 2007-present. 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_QCObs_YYYY… 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.
