Tracking Data for Buff-breasted Sandpipers (Calidris subruficollis)

This metadata document describes the data contained in the "processedData" folder of this data package. This data package contains all data collected from 130 Argos and Argos-linked GPS satellite transmitters attached to Buff-breasted Sandpipers at breeding sites in Alaska, migratory stopovers in Texas, and wintering areas in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, 2016-2018. The 130 deployed tags were comprised of 22 Argos Doppler PTTs (2 gram PTTs built by Microwave Telemetry) and 108 Argos-linked GPS PTTs (2 gram PinPoint tags built by Lotek). However, 14 Pinpoints never reported data, so they only appear in the deployment data records and not the location data files. One of the 94 functional PinPoint tags never reported GPS data, and 15 of the Pinpoint tags never obtained an Argos Doppler-derived location estimate. The raw (original) data from these tags were processed to accomplish three goals: 1) extract encoded GPS locations; 2) flag implausible locations; and 3) decode raw sensor data. Results of this data processing are presented in three Comma Separate Value (CSV) tables found in the "processedData" folder of this data package: 1) the "GPS_filteredLocations" table contains one record for every GPS location which passed a manual plausibility assessment based on considerations of movement rate, seasonal range, and habitat; 2) the "diag_filteredLocations" table contains one record for every Argos location estimate collected, accompanied by a binary flag that denotes an algorithm's plausibility check (based on distance, turning angle, and rate thresholds). Each record in both the GPS and Argos filtered-location tables also includes a 'Tracking_Status' variable that denotes whether the location was collected from a live animal, a dead animal, or shed transmitter, 3) the "decodedSensor" table contains decoded sensor data (for only the Argos Doppler tags) of the transmitter's temperature and battery voltage. A fourth CSV table named "deploymentAttributes" is also included. It contains one record for each transmitter deployment, and contains information such as when the transmitter was attached to the animal, when tracking of a live animal ended, and a variety of variables describing the animal and transmitter. This table is identical to the "deploymentAttributes" table in the "rawData" folder of this data package.
This metadata document describes the data contained in the "rawData" folder of this data package. This data package contains all data collected from 130 Argos and Argos-linked GPS satellite transmitters attached to Buff-breasted Sandpipers at breeding sites in Alaska, migratory stopovers in Texas, and wintering areas in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, 2016-2018. The 130 deployed tags were comprised of 22 Argos Doppler PTTs (2 gram PTTs built by Microwave Telemetry) and 108 Argos-linked GPS PTTs (2 gram PinPoint tags built by Lotek). However, 14 Pinpoints never reported data, so they only appear in the deployment data records and not the location data files. One of the 94 functional PinPoint tags never reported GPS data, and 15 of the Pinpoint tags never obtained an Argos Doppler-derived location estimate. A majority of the transmitters carried GPS receivers, so GPS tracking data represent the backbone of this data release; the remaining tags were traditional Argos transmitters. Please note that GPS data are only distributed in the "processedData" folder of this data package. All data from both types of tags were communicated through the Argos System so all tags were Argos-certified Platform Transmitting Terminals (PTTs) and all have a time series of Argos (Doppler) locations. The Argos-linked GPS tags additionally have a times series of GPS locations that were communicated through the Argos System as data collections. Five data files are included in the "rawData" folder of this data package. Two data files (with identical content) contain the raw Argos DIAG (Diagnostic) data, one in the legacy verbose ASCII format and one in a tabular Comma Separate Value (CSV) format. Two other data files (with identical content) contain the raw Argos DS (Dispose) data, one in the legacy verbose ASCII format and one in a tabular CSV format. The fifth file, "deploymentAttributes", contains one record for each transmitter deployment in a CSV formatted table. The deployment attributes file contains information such as when the transmitter was attached to the animal, when tracking of a live animal ended, and a variety of variables describing the animal and transmitter. This table is identical to the "deploymentAttributes" table in the "processedData" folder of this data package.