Appendix 2 

 Definitions of Relevant Parameters from the Sighting Data Forms 



Field Hours: The time the boat left the dock and time it returned. Time "off effort" 

 is recorded when no systematic effort is being made to search for dolphins 



Date: The date is entered as DAY/MONTH/YEAR 



Sighting No.: This is entered serially for each day. 



Photographic Coverage: The box to the right of "Platform" is for an indication of 

 the quality of the photographic coverage of the group and is filled in during 

 photo analysis. 1 = Excellent: all dolphins in the group were photographed or 

 otherwise positively identified; 2 = Good: there are photographs of dolphins with 

 distinctive fins that might be in the catalog, but because of the photo quality it is 

 not possible to make appropriate comparisons with the catalog (e.g., it is possible 

 the out-of-focus fins may already be in the catalog, but can't be certain); 3 = Poor: 

 photo coverage is known to be incomplete, because not all dolphins were 

 approached for photographs, no photos were taken, film did not turn out, etc. 



Time: Time the dolphins were first sighted and the time they were left or last seen. 



Location: A description of the location of the initial sighting. 



LOC: A 3-letter code based on physiographical features. 



Latitude and Longitude: These coordinates are calculated from a chart or from a 

 LORAN and entered as degrees, minutes, and l/100ths of a minute. 



Conditions and COND: This refers to meteorological and sea state conditions. They 

 are described briefly, and entered as a code in the box. The condition codes are 

 given on the attached page. A running log of environmental conditions relative 

 to survey effort (noted at each major change in conditions or significant 

 location) are kept in a separate logbook. 



Field Estimates: These nine values are entered in real time in the field. The 

 number of TOTAL DOLPHINS includes all age classes in the sighting. The 

 MINimum estimated number present, the MAXimum estimated number present, 

 and the BESTestimate (between min and max) are entered. The BEST estimate is a 

 point estimate, count, or midpoint of a range of estimates. The number of TOTAL 

 CALVES includes all calves in the sighting, including young-of-the-year. The 

 number of YOUNG OF YEAR are all of the calves born within the year. 

 Typically, these are recognizable as newborns during the first six months of life. 



Photo Analysis: These values are entered after completion of photographic 



analyses, and the Dolphins Sighted section at the bottom of the page. Pos IDs 

 is the number of animals positively identified from photographs or in real time. 

 Min not IDed is the MIN minus Pos IDs, or the minimum number of dolphins 

 that were not identified. Max not IDed is the MAX minus the Pos IDs, or the 

 maximum number of dolphins not identified. Revised MIN is the sum of the 

 number of Pos IDs plus the Min not IDed. In most cases it will be the same as 

 the MIN, except when the number of Pos IDs exceeds the MIN. Similarly, the 

 Revised MAX will be the sum of the Pos IDs plus the Max not IDed. It will 

 equal the MAX except in those cases where the Pos IDs exceed the MAX. The 

 Final BEST estimate is the best point estimate, literal count, or midpoint of the 

 Revised MIN and Revised MAX estimates. It will be about the same as the BEST 

 field estimate except in those cases where Pos IDs exceed MIN, MAX, or BEST. 



Dolphins Sighted: Dolphins positively identified in real time in the field are listed 

 by their Name and a "V" is entered under Conf. as a visual confirmation. Most 

 identifications arc made in the lab, when the name and four place identification 

 Code are entered for each dolphin along with the Photographic Confirmations. 



Photos: The photographer, roll and frame numbers. 



