SHIPBOARD SURVEYS OF MARINE BIRDS 15 



Number (37-41) Number of birds recorded within the parameters defined by Transect Width and Zone columns. 



Flight Direction (48-49) Direction of bird's flight in tens of degrees based on true north (i.e., 240 = 24, 

 80 = 08, 8 = 01, 3 = 00). 



Linkage (53) These columns are used to unite two or more records into a single sighting or to link two or more 

 related sightings. For example, if 150,000 birds were observed in one flock then two cards each of 75,000 would 

 be needed. Each of these cards would have "1" in the Linkage column (Fig. 2). Another example would be if 

 a feeding flock of more than one species were observed, all of the species sighted would be linked with a common 

 number. Successive associations that occur on one transect are consecutively numbered. 



Behavior (56-57) See codes 17 and 18, Appendix B. 



Zone (60) See code 18, Appendix B. This field increases the versatility of the transect form by allowing us to 

 record other significant observations such as large flocks, rare birds, feeding associations, dead birds, and ship 

 followers into the data base. For example, if a flock is partially within the transect, those birds within the count 

 zone are recorded with a "0" in the Zone column while the rest would be recorded with a "2" in the Zone column 

 (Fig. 2). Incidently, the sightings would be linked with a common number in the linkage column. A "0" must 

 be recorded for all sightings to be used for calculating density indexes. 



Sequence Number (78-80) These numbers make each record unique and are entered by the computer. 



