DATA PROCESSING SEABIRDS — KING, WATSON, GOULD 



13 



others are suggested only for possible incorporation into a larger scale 

 international program. 



On the sighting cards (p. 5), the fields "distance to nearest land" 

 (columns 62-65) and "distance to nearest breeding colony" (66-69) 

 will be deleted. These distances have proved laborious to calculate 

 but will be provided automatically by the computer when the neces- 

 sary program has been written. It may be possible to incorporate a 

 fourth deck of cards into the system that will give the phenology of 



J f f I 



f 5 * 0° if** 



& ± ^ O » l> V 



&/£ & i ? 



4- * 2 T 4 « 



J V o ^ O 



£ f 



Figure 6. — Part of a data print-out of records of red-footed boobies seen on Cromwell 



cruises. 



breeding in individual colonies of seabirds in order that distribution 

 may be compared directly with breeding schedule. 



On the environment card, "relative humidity" (65-66) will be 

 replaced by "dew point" or "depression of wet bulb air temperature 

 under dry bulb." At sea, either of the latter two readings would give 

 a more meaningful indication of the moisture content of the air than 

 relative humidity. 



Clarity of water may be an important factor in the feeding of sea- 

 birds that search for food visually from the air. Depth of visibility 



