Oregon Coast Seabird Colony Aerial Survey Raw Counts from 2000

2000 marks the start of aerial photographic surveys of surface-nesting seabird colonies along the Oregon coast, with raw counts completed by 2020. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex manages this imagery program for monitoring population status and trends. Raw point counts from a subsample of 45 colonies are stored in geospatial formats, though they are not georeferenced.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term seabird population trends based on repeated aerial surveys from 1988 to 2014
• Validate sampling methodologies for wildlife monitoring based on the described stratified random subsampling approach
• Study common murre colony dynamics based on the subsample focused on this species
• Compare manual analog and digital GIS counting methods based on the description of historical data processing

Strengths

• Survey program spans multiple census years including 1988, 1994, 2006, and 2014
• Subsample includes 45 colonies counted over time
• Raw counts are archived with metadata distinguishing analog and digital processing methods

Limitations

• Raw point counts are not georeferenced and only align with the source images
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• The subsample focuses on common murre, limiting inferences for other species like Brandt's cormorant without additional data

Provenance

Source

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Collection Method

Aerial photographic colony surveys, with counts initially done manually from projected slides and later digitally

Time Range

Survey years include 1988, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2014; counts started in 2000 and completed by 2020

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-04 08:05:15.004011

Geography

Oregon coast offshore islands