North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database Active
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) contains survey transect data designed and conducted by numerous partners primarily to census seabirds at sea. The NPPSD includes more than 486,000 transect segments and includes observations of over 20 million birds of 258 species collected over the span of 50 years (from 1973 to 2022).
Return to Ecosystems >> Marine Ecosystems >> Seabirds and Forage Fish Ecology
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center and contains survey transect data designed and conducted by numerous partners primarily to census seabirds at sea. The recently released version (4.1) of the database includes more than 486,000 transect segments and includes abundance and distribution information on over 20,600,000 birds of 258 species and over 380,000 mammals of 41 species collected over the span of 50 years (from 1973 to 2022). The area of the surveys includes more than 80% of U.S. continental shelf waters, the most productive U.S. commercial fishery, all Pacific U.S. marine sanctuaries, and Alaska Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing areas. Survey efforts include international cooperation between the United States, Canada, Russia, and Japan.
The NPPSD is a powerful tool for examining abundance and distribution of seabirds across marine ecosystems of the Arctic and North Pacific and possible drivers of change to seabird ranges and populations, such as climate, commercial fisheries, vessel traffic and oil and gas development. NPPSD data are available from USGS at the links below.
Data
- NPPSD v.4.1
- Previous Versions
- NPPSD v.4
- NPPSD v.3 Database [91MB]
- includes Access database, csv files, and User's Guide
- NPPSD v.3 Poster
- NPPSD v.2 Database [70MB]
Suggested Citation
Drew, G.S., Schoen, S.K., Hood, M.D., Arimitsu, M.L., Piatt, J.F., 2005, North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) (ver. 4.1, May 2023): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7WQ01T3
Version History:
First release: August 2005
Revised:
August 2015 (ver. 2.0)
February 2020 (ver. 3.0)
January 2023 (ver. 4.0)
May 2023 (ver. 4.1)
NPPSD Sampling Effort Maps
Maps showing the extent of sampling done and entered into the NPPSD.
Making data contributions
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) is managed by the USGS Alaska Science Center and is compiled from thousands of at-sea surveys of seabirds and marine mammals conducted in the North Pacific since 1973 by numerous partners. While we are continually accepting and archiving datasets, we are beginning a major update of the database and are soliciting contributions of at-sea data from researchers. Contributors can provide raw, cleaned datasets or data summarized by transects. We do not distribute raw data, only summarized data (by transect and behavior). The document, "NPPSD Data Prep.pdf - [PDF file 34 KB]", provides detailed information regarding data preparation for eventual addition to the NPPSD. Contact Sarah Schoen sschoen@usgs.gov for assistance.
Web Apps associated with this project
SeaLog:
SeaLog is a robust data-logging application designed to collect at-sea data of marine birds and mammals. This software was developed collaboratively with the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and ABR, Inc. SeaLog is Windows 10 compatible, is highly customizable, and provides user designed maps to allow visual feedback of observations. The software can be found here: https://sealog.abrinc.com/pages/sealog.html.
QA/QSea:
QA/QSea, an application constructed to work in conjunction with SeaLog, provides proofing tools, an interactive map display, the ability to split data at user defined distances, and it generates exportable data files in multiple formats including those used in the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD). QA/QSea is a Shiny app written in the R environment that reads comma delimited text files (csv) output directly from SeaLog, and can also read other data files if they are formatted in the same structure as SeaLog files. The program can be found here: https://sealog.abrinc.com/pages/qaqsea.html.
Please contact Sarah Schoen sschoen@usgs.gov with questions.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Seabirds and Forage Fish Ecology
Below are publications associated with this project.
Advection, pelagic food webs and the biogeography of seabirds in Beringia
Monitoring seabird populations in areas of oil and gas development on the Alaskan Continental Shelf: A computerized pelagic seabird atlas for Alaska
Marine birds and mammals of the Pacific Subarctic Gyres
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) contains survey transect data designed and conducted by numerous partners primarily to census seabirds at sea. The NPPSD includes more than 486,000 transect segments and includes observations of over 20 million birds of 258 species collected over the span of 50 years (from 1973 to 2022).
Return to Ecosystems >> Marine Ecosystems >> Seabirds and Forage Fish Ecology
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center and contains survey transect data designed and conducted by numerous partners primarily to census seabirds at sea. The recently released version (4.1) of the database includes more than 486,000 transect segments and includes abundance and distribution information on over 20,600,000 birds of 258 species and over 380,000 mammals of 41 species collected over the span of 50 years (from 1973 to 2022). The area of the surveys includes more than 80% of U.S. continental shelf waters, the most productive U.S. commercial fishery, all Pacific U.S. marine sanctuaries, and Alaska Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing areas. Survey efforts include international cooperation between the United States, Canada, Russia, and Japan.
The NPPSD is a powerful tool for examining abundance and distribution of seabirds across marine ecosystems of the Arctic and North Pacific and possible drivers of change to seabird ranges and populations, such as climate, commercial fisheries, vessel traffic and oil and gas development. NPPSD data are available from USGS at the links below.
Data
- NPPSD v.4.1
- Previous Versions
- NPPSD v.4
- NPPSD v.3 Database [91MB]
- includes Access database, csv files, and User's Guide
- NPPSD v.3 Poster
- NPPSD v.2 Database [70MB]
Suggested Citation
Drew, G.S., Schoen, S.K., Hood, M.D., Arimitsu, M.L., Piatt, J.F., 2005, North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) (ver. 4.1, May 2023): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7WQ01T3
Version History:
First release: August 2005
Revised:
August 2015 (ver. 2.0)
February 2020 (ver. 3.0)
January 2023 (ver. 4.0)
May 2023 (ver. 4.1)NPPSD Sampling Effort Maps
Maps showing the extent of sampling done and entered into the NPPSD.
Making data contributions
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) is managed by the USGS Alaska Science Center and is compiled from thousands of at-sea surveys of seabirds and marine mammals conducted in the North Pacific since 1973 by numerous partners. While we are continually accepting and archiving datasets, we are beginning a major update of the database and are soliciting contributions of at-sea data from researchers. Contributors can provide raw, cleaned datasets or data summarized by transects. We do not distribute raw data, only summarized data (by transect and behavior). The document, "NPPSD Data Prep.pdf - [PDF file 34 KB]", provides detailed information regarding data preparation for eventual addition to the NPPSD. Contact Sarah Schoen sschoen@usgs.gov for assistance.
Web Apps associated with this project
SeaLog:
SeaLog is a robust data-logging application designed to collect at-sea data of marine birds and mammals. This software was developed collaboratively with the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and ABR, Inc. SeaLog is Windows 10 compatible, is highly customizable, and provides user designed maps to allow visual feedback of observations. The software can be found here: https://sealog.abrinc.com/pages/sealog.html.
QA/QSea:
QA/QSea, an application constructed to work in conjunction with SeaLog, provides proofing tools, an interactive map display, the ability to split data at user defined distances, and it generates exportable data files in multiple formats including those used in the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD). QA/QSea is a Shiny app written in the R environment that reads comma delimited text files (csv) output directly from SeaLog, and can also read other data files if they are formatted in the same structure as SeaLog files. The program can be found here: https://sealog.abrinc.com/pages/qaqsea.html.
Please contact Sarah Schoen sschoen@usgs.gov with questions.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Seabirds and Forage Fish Ecology
Alaska's coastal and offshore waters provide foraging habitat for an estimated 100 million birds comprising more than 90 different species; from loons and seaducks that nest inland, to petrels and puffins that breed on islands off shore. All these birds depend on the sea to provide a wide variety of food types— from clams, crabs and urchins nearshore— to krill, forage fish, and squid offshore. The... - Data
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 15Advection, pelagic food webs and the biogeography of seabirds in Beringia
Despite its great distance from productive shelf-edge habitat, the inner shelf area of the Bering Sea, from St. Lawrence Island to the Bering Strait, supports a surprisingly large number (>5 million) of seabirds during summer, mostly small plantivorous auklets (65%) and large piscivorous murres (19%) and kittiwakes (5%). This paradox of seabird biogeography is explained by the Anadyr “Green Belt”AuthorsJohn F. Piatt, Alan M. SpringerMonitoring seabird populations in areas of oil and gas development on the Alaskan Continental Shelf: A computerized pelagic seabird atlas for Alaska
Seabirds are the most visible and vulnerable victims of oil pollution in marine waters. As demonstrated by the "Exxon Valdez" spill (Piatt et al. 1990), we cannot predict when or where an accident leading to pollution might occur in Alaska, or where oil will eventually end up traveling from a point source of pollution. It is therefore prudent to document the abundance and distribution of seabirdsAuthorsJohn F. Piatt, R. Glenn FordMarine birds and mammals of the Pacific Subarctic Gyres
The importance of the subarctic gyres of the North Pacific Ocean to marine birds and mammals is poorly known because of a paucity of data spanning appropriate scales of time and space. The little information that is available indicates the western subarctic gyre (WSAG) is more productive than the eastern subarctic gyre (ESAG). In summer the WSAG supports a greater density and higher biomass of seaAuthorsA.M. Springer, John F. Piatt, V.P. Shuntov, Gus B. Van Vliet, V.L. Vladimirov, A.E. Kuzin, A.S. Perlov - Software
- Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 18