Seabird Density Surfaces for UK Waters in the Non-Breeding Season

Krigged density surfaces for all modelled seabird species, created by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The data covers UK waters and is derived from ESAS survey data, focusing on the non-breeding season. It was last updated on 14 April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling marine spatial planning zones based on aggregated seabird density.
• Assessing potential impacts of offshore development on seabird populations during the non-breeding season.
• Analyzing broad-scale seabird habitat use patterns based on kriged density surfaces.
• Informing conservation policy and marine protected area design based on combined species density.

Strengths

• Data is derived from ESAS (European Seabirds at Sea) survey data, a recognized source.
• Covers a specific and ecologically significant period: the non-breeding season.
• Provides a processed, kriged surface combining all modelled species for analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and spatial resolution are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the ESAS survey methodology and UK waters focus.

Provenance

Source

Joint Nature Conservation Committee

Collection Method

Kriged density surfaces derived from ESAS (European Seabirds at Sea) data.

Time Range

Non-breeding season (specific years unknown).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-14 09:45:19.147822; freshness should be verified.

Geography

UK waters.