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Tracking Data for Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) Active

By Alaska Science Center April 28, 2021

Available here are tracking data for the whimbrel, a striking example of a shorebird with its long and curved bill. The whimbrel is found throughout tundra and boreal habitats of Alaska during the summer and spends the winter along coast lines of the continental U.S., and central and South America. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of this iconic species.

Return to Ecosystems >> Wildlife Tracking Data Collection

USGS Alaska Science Center scientists collect data from wildlife tracking devices to: determine locations of animals throughout their annual cycles, understand patterns of habitat use, quantify time spent on various behaviors, and identify geographic areas repeatedly used by wildlife that may indicate sites of importance to species and populations. Tracking data from other wildlife species can be found at:  https://doi.org/10.5066/P9VYSWEH

Tracking Maps

Argos Wildlife Tracking Whimbrel animation
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
Argos Wildlife Tracking of Whimbrel
(Credit: David Douglas, USGS)

Whimbrel Tracking Maps

These webpages contain five different types of browse maps and other visualizations of the tracking data.

  • Maps (Animated, Static, Interactive, and Google Earth)
  • Summary graphs of the data: where, when, duration
  • Shorebirds Tagged Animal Movement Explorer interactive visualization tool
  • Note: These maps serve only as a depiction of the geographic content of the specific data provided and may be inappropriate for inferences and interpretation outside the intent of the original study. For example, maps may portray only certain ages, sexes, limited numbers of animals or variable tracking duration and start times that may limit inference for other questions. Users are advised to read the publication(s) and data set metadata associated with these maps to understand appropriate use and data limitations.

Data Packages

Argos Satellite Telemetry Data

These data packages contain the data collected from satellite transmitters attached to free-ranging animals. The packages include both raw and processed location and sensor data. The raw data includes data as originally retrieved from the Argos System. The processed data have been filtered for location plausibility, and sensor data have been decoded into standard measurement units. For most users, the processed data will be preferred.

NOTE: Processed data contains both plausible (DAF_Filter=0) and implausible (DAF_Filter=1) locations as indicated by the column “Location_DAF_filter”. Before using these data, we recommend excluding locations flagged as implausible or apply an alternative filtering method of your choice.

Suggested Citation

Tibbitts, T.L., Ruthrauff, D.R., Gill, R.E., Jr., Douglas, D.C., 2021, Tracking data for Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) (ver 2.0, May 2021): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P978PX2X

Version History
First release: June 2020
Revised: May 2021

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

link
A shorebird walking through the grasses in southwestern Alaska

USGS Alaska Science Center Wildlife Tracking Data Collection

Understanding the short- and long-distance movements of wildlife is critical for a wide variety of ecological research questions and management decisions. Since the mid-1980s, the USGS Alaska Science Center has used information from telemetry devices on wildlife species to determine locations of animals throughout their annual cycles, understand patterns of habitat use, quantify time spent on...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
link

USGS Alaska Science Center Wildlife Tracking Data Collection

Understanding the short- and long-distance movements of wildlife is critical for a wide variety of ecological research questions and management decisions. Since the mid-1980s, the USGS Alaska Science Center has used information from telemetry devices on wildlife species to determine locations of animals throughout their annual cycles, understand patterns of habitat use, quantify time spent on...
Learn More
link
A Bar-tailed Godwit with a Z0 tag on it's leg and a satellite transmitter antenna emerging from rear feathers

Shorebird Research

With its vast size and geographic position at the northern end of several migration pathways, Alaska is a critically important site for the world’s shorebirds. Thirty-seven shorebird species regularly breed in Alaska. Most of these species conduct epically long migrations to take advantage of Alaska’s abundant food resources and breeding habitat, making Alaska a global resource for shorebirds...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
link

Shorebird Research

With its vast size and geographic position at the northern end of several migration pathways, Alaska is a critically important site for the world’s shorebirds. Thirty-seven shorebird species regularly breed in Alaska. Most of these species conduct epically long migrations to take advantage of Alaska’s abundant food resources and breeding habitat, making Alaska a global resource for shorebirds...
Learn More

Below are multimedia items associated with this project.

A shorebird on the tundra in Alaska
link
Whimbrel feeding on a hummock of dwarf shrub meadow habitat
Whimbrel on the tundra on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
link
Whimbrel on the tundra on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Below are publications associated with this project.

Disparate data streams together yield novel survival estimates of Alaska-breeding Whimbrels

Survival estimates are critical components of avian ecology. In well-intentioned efforts to maximize the utility of one's research, survival estimates often derive from data that were not originally collected for survival assessments, and such post hoc analyses may include unintentional biases. We estimated the survival of Whimbrels captured and marked at two breeding sites in Alaska using diverge
Authors
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Christopher M. Harwood, T. Lee Tibbitts, Vijay P. Patil
By
Alaska Science Center

Diverse patterns of migratory timing, site use, and site fidelity by Alaska-breeding Whimbrels

Birds that conduct long-distance migrations exhibit varied patterns of consistency in migratory timing and site use. Understanding variation in these traits among populations can help uncover mechanisms driving migratory behaviors and identify potential population threats. Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) are long-distance migratory shorebirds with a Holarctic breeding distribution, and recent studie
Authors
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Christopher M. Harwood, Lee Tibbitts, Nils Warnock, Robert E. Gill
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Shorebird research at the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center

Shorebirds—which include sandpipers, plovers, and oystercatchers—are perhaps best known by their presence on sandy beaches, running along the water’s edge while they probe for food. But they are probably less recognized for their impressive long-distance migrations. Millions of individuals travel from across the globe to breed throughout Alaska each spring, making these birds a familiar and import
Authors
Dan Ruthrauff, T. Lee Tibbitts, John Pearce
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Below are news stories associated with this project.

link

Story Map of the Incredible Migration of Whimbrels

This story map describes the work of researchers from different organizations that document the migration of Whimbrels breeding in North America...

Read Article
  • Overview

    Available here are tracking data for the whimbrel, a striking example of a shorebird with its long and curved bill. The whimbrel is found throughout tundra and boreal habitats of Alaska during the summer and spends the winter along coast lines of the continental U.S., and central and South America. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of this iconic species.

    Return to Ecosystems >> Wildlife Tracking Data Collection

    USGS Alaska Science Center scientists collect data from wildlife tracking devices to: determine locations of animals throughout their annual cycles, understand patterns of habitat use, quantify time spent on various behaviors, and identify geographic areas repeatedly used by wildlife that may indicate sites of importance to species and populations. Tracking data from other wildlife species can be found at:  https://doi.org/10.5066/P9VYSWEH

    Tracking Maps

    Argos Wildlife Tracking Whimbrel animation
    Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
    Argos Wildlife Tracking of Whimbrel
    (Credit: David Douglas, USGS)

    Whimbrel Tracking Maps

    These webpages contain five different types of browse maps and other visualizations of the tracking data.

    • Maps (Animated, Static, Interactive, and Google Earth)
    • Summary graphs of the data: where, when, duration
    • Shorebirds Tagged Animal Movement Explorer interactive visualization tool
    • Note: These maps serve only as a depiction of the geographic content of the specific data provided and may be inappropriate for inferences and interpretation outside the intent of the original study. For example, maps may portray only certain ages, sexes, limited numbers of animals or variable tracking duration and start times that may limit inference for other questions. Users are advised to read the publication(s) and data set metadata associated with these maps to understand appropriate use and data limitations.

    Data Packages

    Argos Satellite Telemetry Data

    These data packages contain the data collected from satellite transmitters attached to free-ranging animals. The packages include both raw and processed location and sensor data. The raw data includes data as originally retrieved from the Argos System. The processed data have been filtered for location plausibility, and sensor data have been decoded into standard measurement units. For most users, the processed data will be preferred.

    NOTE: Processed data contains both plausible (DAF_Filter=0) and implausible (DAF_Filter=1) locations as indicated by the column “Location_DAF_filter”. Before using these data, we recommend excluding locations flagged as implausible or apply an alternative filtering method of your choice.

    Suggested Citation

    Tibbitts, T.L., Ruthrauff, D.R., Gill, R.E., Jr., Douglas, D.C., 2021, Tracking data for Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) (ver 2.0, May 2021): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P978PX2X

    Version History
    First release: June 2020
    Revised: May 2021

  • Science

    Below are other science projects associated with this project.

    link
    A shorebird walking through the grasses in southwestern Alaska

    USGS Alaska Science Center Wildlife Tracking Data Collection

    Understanding the short- and long-distance movements of wildlife is critical for a wide variety of ecological research questions and management decisions. Since the mid-1980s, the USGS Alaska Science Center has used information from telemetry devices on wildlife species to determine locations of animals throughout their annual cycles, understand patterns of habitat use, quantify time spent on...
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
    link

    USGS Alaska Science Center Wildlife Tracking Data Collection

    Understanding the short- and long-distance movements of wildlife is critical for a wide variety of ecological research questions and management decisions. Since the mid-1980s, the USGS Alaska Science Center has used information from telemetry devices on wildlife species to determine locations of animals throughout their annual cycles, understand patterns of habitat use, quantify time spent on...
    Learn More
    link
    A Bar-tailed Godwit with a Z0 tag on it's leg and a satellite transmitter antenna emerging from rear feathers

    Shorebird Research

    With its vast size and geographic position at the northern end of several migration pathways, Alaska is a critically important site for the world’s shorebirds. Thirty-seven shorebird species regularly breed in Alaska. Most of these species conduct epically long migrations to take advantage of Alaska’s abundant food resources and breeding habitat, making Alaska a global resource for shorebirds...
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
    link

    Shorebird Research

    With its vast size and geographic position at the northern end of several migration pathways, Alaska is a critically important site for the world’s shorebirds. Thirty-seven shorebird species regularly breed in Alaska. Most of these species conduct epically long migrations to take advantage of Alaska’s abundant food resources and breeding habitat, making Alaska a global resource for shorebirds...
    Learn More
  • Multimedia

    Below are multimedia items associated with this project.

    A shorebird on the tundra in Alaska
    link
    Whimbrel feeding on a hummock of dwarf shrub meadow habitat
    Whimbrel on the tundra on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
    link
    Whimbrel on the tundra on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
  • Publications

    Below are publications associated with this project.

    Disparate data streams together yield novel survival estimates of Alaska-breeding Whimbrels

    Survival estimates are critical components of avian ecology. In well-intentioned efforts to maximize the utility of one's research, survival estimates often derive from data that were not originally collected for survival assessments, and such post hoc analyses may include unintentional biases. We estimated the survival of Whimbrels captured and marked at two breeding sites in Alaska using diverge
    Authors
    Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Christopher M. Harwood, T. Lee Tibbitts, Vijay P. Patil
    By
    Alaska Science Center

    Diverse patterns of migratory timing, site use, and site fidelity by Alaska-breeding Whimbrels

    Birds that conduct long-distance migrations exhibit varied patterns of consistency in migratory timing and site use. Understanding variation in these traits among populations can help uncover mechanisms driving migratory behaviors and identify potential population threats. Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) are long-distance migratory shorebirds with a Holarctic breeding distribution, and recent studie
    Authors
    Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Christopher M. Harwood, Lee Tibbitts, Nils Warnock, Robert E. Gill
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

    Shorebird research at the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center

    Shorebirds—which include sandpipers, plovers, and oystercatchers—are perhaps best known by their presence on sandy beaches, running along the water’s edge while they probe for food. But they are probably less recognized for their impressive long-distance migrations. Millions of individuals travel from across the globe to breed throughout Alaska each spring, making these birds a familiar and import
    Authors
    Dan Ruthrauff, T. Lee Tibbitts, John Pearce
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center
  • News

    Below are news stories associated with this project.

    link

    Story Map of the Incredible Migration of Whimbrels

    This story map describes the work of researchers from different organizations that document the migration of Whimbrels breeding in North America...

    Read Article