SHIPBOARD SURVEYS OF MARINE BIRDS 13 



Appendix A. Explanation and Format of Infor- 

 mation Fields for Digital Data 



Header Card 



File Type (1-3) Always 033. Identifies marine bird transects within the NODC data base. 



Field Operation Number (4-9) This number identifies an individual field operation. Numbers are managed by 



the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7. 

 Station Number (11-13) A sequential number (001-999) for each transect or station within a field operation; this 



number cannot be duplicated during any one operation. 

 Station Type (14-15) Codes 1 and 2 (Appendix B). Column 14 indicates the type of platform, and column 15 



indicates the type of survey. 

 Record Type (10) Distinguishes information pertaining to location (always 1), environment and ice conditions 



(always 2), and census data (always 5). 



Record Type 1: Location Data 



Start Latitude (16-22) and Start Longitude (23-30) Position of platform at the start of observations in degrees 

 (DEG), minutes (MIN), seconds (S), and hemisphere (H). Seconds recorded in tens of seconds. Alpha codes 

 (N, S, E, and W) are used for hemisphere. 



Date (31-36) and Time (37-40) Year, month, day, and time at start of observations (use local time and a 24-h clock). 



End Latitude (41-47) and End Longitude (48-55) Position of platform at end of observations in degrees (DEG), 

 minutes (MIN), seconds (S), and hemisphere (H). Seconds recorded in tens of seconds. Alpha codes (N, S, E, 

 and W) are used for hemisphere. This field is required for aerial surveys, coastline counts, skiff counts, and obser- 

 vations that last 30 min or longer. 



Elapsed Time (56-57) Length of survey, in minutes. A value of 99 indicates an elapsed time equal to or greater 

 than 99 min. 



Time Zone (58-60) Time zone of time entered on transect form relative to Greenwich Mean Time. Column 58 

 is a " + " or " ". 



Speed (61-63) Platform speed made good, in whole knots. 



Course (64-65) Platform course made good, in tens of degrees (based on true north). 



Height (66-68) Height of observer's eye above water, in meters. 



Substrate (69) Codes assigned by the observer for a specific project. This code has been used only in shoreline 

 surveys up to this time. Codes from to 9 can be assigned and any set of numbers chosen for analysis. 



Region or Survey Area (70-71) Codes assigned by the observer for a specific cruise or project. Regions from 



00 to 99 can be assigned and any set of numbers chosen for analysis. 



Distance (72-74) Distance traveled between start and end of transect, to the nearest tenth of a kilometer. This 

 field must be completed for coastline surveys and transects conducted from skiffs where speeds may vary. This 

 field may be completed for transects where area calculations of greater precision are needed than will be obtained 

 from speed in whole knots, or where transects are of a fixed distance regardless of time or speed. 



Observation Conditions (75) See code 3, Appendix B. A subjective evaluation of observation conditions, on a 

 scale from 1 to 7, with 7 being ideal. Observation conditions take into account all factors that may affect the ability 

 of the observer to detect all of the birds in the count zone, including sea state, visibility, wind, light, observer's 

 position on the ship, quality of binoculars, and the condition and attentiveness of the observer. An observation 

 condition of 7 would mean all birds, even at 300 m, are probably detected and identified. Under conditions of 



1 or 2, enough birds are missed that we do not use the observations for density estimates, but occurrence and 

 large flocks are still important. 



