Snow Petrel Nest Locations in the Mawson Region

A GIS dataset from the Australian Antarctic Data Centre maps Snow Petrel nest locations in the Mawson region during the 2004-2005 season. Data includes species, activity, latitude, longitude, and nest cavity measurements. The work was completed as part of ASAC project 2704.

Use Cases

• Analyze nest site selection by correlating nest `Latitude` and `Longitude` with environmental features like `Slope` and `Aspect`.
• Model species distribution using `Species` and `Activity` data against `Substrate` and `Snow` cover variables.
• Study nesting chronology by examining `Date` records in relation to `Eggchick` and `Firstfred` observations.
• Assess nest cavity characteristics by analyzing `Cavitysize` and `Cavitydepth` measurements.
• Investigate spatial patterns of nesting density by calculating distances between nests using `Distnn` (distance to nearest neighbor).

Strengths

• Includes 18 specific descriptive fields per nest record, such as `Species`, `Latitude`, and `Cavitydepth`.
• Geospatial data was collected with differential GPS correction for improved positional accuracy.

Limitations

• Dataset is limited to a single season (2004-2005), providing only a temporal snapshot.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to the Mawson region, limiting broader Antarctic analysis.
• Sample size (row count) is unknown, which may constrain statistical power.

Provenance

Source

Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC), ASAC project 2704.

Collection Method

Nest locations recorded with handheld Trimble Geoexplorer GPS receivers, differentially corrected and stored as an ESRI shapefile.

Time Range

2004-2005 season.

Freshness

null

Geography

Mawson region, Antarctica.