Project A5: Hammerhead Shark Movement Tracks in Australian State Waters

Google Earth KMZ files contain movement data for hammerhead sharks tagged with Wildlife Computers miniPAT archival and SPOT6 tags. The data includes Maximum Extent of Location Estimate (MELE) polygons, which enclose all position estimates at a 100 km error level. The Australian Ocean Data Network published this data, which was last updated on 2026-07-22.

Use Cases

• Mapping shark movement corridors based on the provided geospatial tracks.
• Analyzing habitat range boundaries based on the Maximum Extent of Location Estimate (MELE) polygons.
• Studying site fidelity and restricted movement patterns based on the description that sharks did not cross state or international boundaries.

Strengths

• Includes Maximum Extent of Location Estimate (MELE) polygons with a defined 100 km error level.
• Movement data is specifically described as restricted within Australian state waters, providing a clear geographic scope.
• Data is provided in Google Earth KMZ format, which is widely compatible with geospatial analysis tools.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Data collected from hammerhead sharks tagged with Wildlife Computers miniPAT archival tags and SPOT6 tags.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-22 01:57:50.279915; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian state waters; description notes no movements across state or international boundaries.