DOI: 10.7944/ka9g-t377
title: Data for: GPS locations of Ocelots on Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge from 2012-2021.

description: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has collected and curated Global Positioning System (GPS) locations from GPS-enabled Tellus Ultralight neck-collars placed on federally endangered ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in Texas. The IUCN (2024) lists the ocelot as a species of least concern, but it is listed as endangered by both the USFWS and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

This dataset includes 17,709 GPS locations from 14 male or female ocelots being monitored from 2012 to 2021. Ocelots were captured in box-traps, sedated, anesthetized, fit with a GPS collar, and released on USFWS lands following protocols in Sternberg and Swarts (2021 - https://doi.org/10.7944/wx3d-jd10).


Locations in this dataset only occur on Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, locations on private lands having been removed but maintained by USFWS for internal use. Locations may supplement this dataset if any of the current private lands become managed as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System in the future.


The dataset uses Darwin Core terms to describe data fields for each record. The definitions below are for fields that are not Darwin Core standard terms, or for several that are mapped to Darwin Core terms, a relevant description is offered. Some of these fields have been modified to more accurately describe information attributed to records in this dataset. Users of the dataset should refer to Darwin Core Terms reference guide (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/index.htm) if more clarity is needed about a given field, or how it might relate to information assembled in other databases.


Description of Data Fields


Field Name: number

A sequential number assigned to each record from the main USFWS dataset of all ocelot GPS records, most of which are part of this dataset while some are in a private dataset. The sequence is built from the order of the alphanumeric of the organismID field, followed by the CSTdatetime field.

Note: This data field was created by USFWS-NWRS


Field Name: numberByID

A number assigned to each record from the main USFWS dataset of all ocelot GPS records, most of which are part of this dataset while some are in a private dataset. The sequence is built from the order of the alphanumeric of the organismID field nested for each organismID, followed by the CSTdatetime field. It was used to populate the occurrenceID field.

Note: This data field was created by USFWS-NWRS


Field Name: collarSerial

The serial number of the collar that was deployed/attached to the ocelot. Some ocelots were monitored by different collars. Some collars had a slightly different data acquisition schedule and or performed better than others.

Note: This data field was created by USFWS-NWRS


Field Name: Zone

The Universal Transverse Mercator Zone for the recorded coordinate of the GPS collar, i.e. 14 North for all records. The mapping standard for USFWS is UTM.

Note: This data field was created by USFWS-NWRS


Field Name: Northing

The Northing coordinate within the Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 14 North for the recorded coordinate of the GPS collar. The mapping standard for USFWS is UTM.

Note: This data field was created by USFWS-NWRS and is not a Darwin Core standard.


Field Name: Easting

The Easting coordinate within the Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 14 North for the recorded coordinate of the GPS collar. The mapping standard for USFWS is UTM.

Note: This data field was created by USFWS-NWRS and is not a Darwin Core standard.


Field Name: hasGeospatialIssues

This field was mapped to Darwin Core terms as “locationRemarks” yet the note below seemed relevant for users. Data in this field are either TRUE or FALSE. TRUE was recorded if any issues were identified by the curation team once the GPS location was overlaid with USFWS boundaries and landscape features; see below under the description of the field name “issue” for records marked as TRUE. FALSE was recorded if no issues were observed.

Note: This data field was created by USFWS-NWRS.


Field Name: issue

This field was mapped to Darwin Core terms as “georeferenceRemarks” yet the note below seemed relevant for users.

If for a record the field hasGeospatialIssues is marked as TRUE, then the field “issue” describes the issue.

Note: This data field was created by USFWS-NWRS.


Field Name: organismRemarks

This field was mapped to Darwin Core terms as “organismRemarks” yet the note below seemed relevant for users. This field was used to record comments about the GPS collar and the amount of data that may be public or private for that collar.


Field Name: timeToFix

“Time To Fix" (abbreviated as TTF) is the amount of time (in seconds) it took the Tellus system to acquire a GPS location. Data signifying "NR" means no data were recorded (“None Recorded”).

Note: This data field was created by Tellus, the manufacturer of the GPS collar, and is not a Darwin Core standard.


Field Name: altitude

This field was mapped to Darwin Core terms as “verbatimElevation” yet the note below seemed relevant for users.

Altitude (in meters) was estimated for the GPS collar location by the Tellus system. Data signifying "NR" means no data were recorded (“None Recorded”). These data were not considered accurate or precise by USFWS.

Note: This data field was created by Tellus, the manufacturer of the GPS collar.


Field Name: DOP

Dilution of Precision (DOP). Measure calculated from the geometry of the satellites used to determine the GPS location.

Data signifying "NR" means no data were recorded (“None Recorded”).

Note: This data field was created by Tellus, the manufacturer of the GPS collar, and is not a Darwin Core standard.


Field Name: Satellites

The number of satellites used to estimate the location of the GPS collar.

Data signifying "NR" means no data were recorded (“None Recorded”).

Note: This data field was created by Tellus, the manufacturer of the GPS collar, and is not a Darwin Core standard.


Field Name: ActivityX

An estimate of the lateral movement/activity of the GPS collar at the time of the location.

Data signifying "NR" means no data were recorded (“None Recorded”).

Note: This data field was created by Tellus, the manufacturer of the GPS collar, and is not a Darwin Core standard.


Field Name: ActivityY

An estimate of the vertical movement/activity of the GPS collar at the time of the location.

Data signifying "NR" means no data were recorded (“None Recorded”).

Note: This data field was created by Tellus, the manufacturer of the GPS collar, and is not a Darwin Core standard.


Field Name: Temp

The estimated temperature (in Celsius) of the collared animal based on sensors in the Tellus Ultralight GPS collar.

Data signifying "NR" means no data were recorded (“None Recorded”).

Note: This data field was created by Tellus, the manufacturer of the GPS collar, and is not a Darwin Core standard.