GL_Mackinac 2019 ESI: Bird Nesting and Migratory Sites for Oil Spill Sensitivity

2019 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) characterizes bird sensitivity to oil spills in the Great Lakes Straits of Mackinac area. It contains vector polygons and points representing nesting, migratory staging, and wintering sites for species including wading birds, shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors, diving birds, seabirds, passerine birds, and gulls and terns. Associated tables store species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, and life history information.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil spill impact sensitivity based on mapped bird nesting and wintering sites.
• Analyzing seasonal bird distributions based on migratory staging and wintering data.
• Planning coastal conservation efforts based on sensitive biological resource locations.
• Integrating species abundance and life history data with spatial features for habitat studies.

Strengths

• Data covers multiple bird groups including wading birds, shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors, diving birds, seabirds, passerine birds, and gulls and terns.
• Includes both vector polygons and points to represent different types of biological sites.
• Associated data tables provide species-specific attributes like abundance, seasonality, status, and life history.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Part of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data characterizing marine and coastal environments by sensitivity to spilled oil.

Time Range

2019

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:24:21.758112; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Straits of Mackinac, nearby portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and adjacent lands and waters in northern Michigan.