Palmyra Bluewater Research Marine Animal Telemetry Dataset, 2022-2023

Marine protected areas (MPAs) in pelagic regions (also called Blue Water) offer one option to help meet conservation goals and quantifying the efficacy of blue water MPAs to protect species, ecosystems, and the ocean is an important early step. The Palmyra Bluewater Research project tracked at-sea movements of marine animal species at Palmyra Atoll (part of the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument) in order to characterize the marine habitat in which these animals live, with the goal of understanding the impact of MPAs on species and ecosystems. This dataset consists of spatial data to track movements, depth data to track dives from fishes and cetaceans, altitude data to track flight heights from flying seabirds, and accelerometry data to identify behaviors from seabirds. Specifically, geolocation tracking data were collected from grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos), reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi), blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), global positioning system (GPS) tracking data were collected from red-footed boobies (Sula sula) and great frigatebirds (Fregata minor), and satellite and GPS tracking data were collected from sooty terns (Onychoprion fuscatus), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra). Additionally, one geolocation tag was deployed on a Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis) but the tag never transmitted data. Data were collected from adult individuals in either February 2022 (red-footed booby) or between May 2022 - March 2023 (all species). Grey reef sharks, reef manta rays, blue marlin, and yellowfin tuna were tracked with geolocation tags (manufacturer: Wildlife Computers, model: MiniPAT-348, sample rate: 12 hr) between 29 May 2022 and 15 May 2023. Species-specific tracking periods were: grey reef sharks (29 May 2022 to 15 May 2023), reef manta ray (29 May 2022 to 25 April 2023), blue marlin (29 May - 06 August 2022), and yellowfin tuna (29 May - 23 November 2022). Red-footed boobies were tracked with GPS tags (multiple models: manufacturer: e-obs, model: Bird Solar 15 g, sample rate: 300 sec; manufacturer: i-gotU, model: GT-120, sample rate: 120 sec; manufacturer: Lotek, model: Pinpoint50, sample rate: 120 sec; manufacturer: TechnoSmart, model: Axy-Trek mini, sample rate: 120 sec) during two time periods: 27 February to 01 March 2023 and 29 May to 09 August 2023. Great frigatebirds were tracked with GPS tags (manufacturer: e-obs model: Bird Solar 15 g, sample rate: 300 sec) between 01 June 2022 and 29 March 2023. Sooty terns were tracked with either GPS tags (manufacturer: Lotek, model: Pinpoint75, sample rate: 120 sec) or Argos-GPS satellite tags (manufacturer: Lotek, model: Pinpoint75, sample rate: 60 satellite fixes) between 29 May and 17 June 2023. Bottlenose dolphins and melon-headed whales were tracked with satellite and GPS tracking tags (manufacturer: Wildlife Computers, multiple models: SPLASH-10, SPLASH-10F, and SPOT365-S, sample rate: 30 sec). Data files are in .csv format and contain decoded geolocated or GPS location, depth (Wildlife Computers MiniPAT-348 and SPLASH tags), or altitude data (e-obs, i-gotU, and Lotek PinPoint50 tags: height above the ellipsoid; Lotek Pinpoint75 and Technosmart tags: height above mean sea level), raw tri-axial accelerometry data (e-obs tags only), and information about tag health (e.g., battery level).

Tags: animal-tracking, biota, environment, ocean-sciences, oceans, usgs-d285a4ff-dec1-4820-8bce-5f3aa3ade139
Organization: Department of the Interior