Alaska Science Center


ASC Data Repository

Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) - Raw Data

Data Download [5MB] | Metadata | AK Science Portal | Project Site | Date Range: 02/19/2005 - 12/26/2010


This metadata document describes the data contained in the "rawData" folder of this data package. This data package contains all data collected by the Argos System from 25 satellite transmitters attached to Surf Scoters on their winter ranges in southeast Alaska and Baja California, Mexico, 2005-2008. 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.

Author(s): Ward, D. H.; Esler, D.; Boyd, W. S.; Douglas, D. C.

Suggested Citation:
Ward, D. H., Esler, D., Boyd, W. S. and Douglas, D. C., 2020, Tracking data for Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9LUFGEF.

Referenced Publication(s):

Lok, E. K., D. Esler, J. Y. Takekawa, S. E. W. De La Cruz, W. S. Boyd, D. R. Nysewander, J. R. Ball, and D. H. Ward. 2011. Stopover habitats of spring migrating Surf Scoters in southeast Alaska. Journal of Wildlife Management 75:92-100.

Takekawa, J. Y., S. E. W. De La Cruz, M. T. Wilson, E. C. Palm, J. Lee, D. R. Nysewander, J. R. Evenson, D. Esler, W. S. Boyd, and D. H. Ward. 2011. Breeding distribution and ecology of Pacific coast Surf Scoter. Pages 41-64 in J.V. Wells, (ed.). Boreal birds of North America: a hemispheric view of their conservation links and significance. Studies in Avian Biology (no. 41). University of California Press Berkeley, CA, USA.

De La Cruz, S. E. W., J. Y. Takekawa, M. T. Wilson, D. R. Nysewander, J. R. Evenson, D. Esler, W. S. Boyd, and D. H. Ward. 2009. Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) spring migration routes and chronology: A synthesis of Pacific coast studies. Canadian Journal of Zoology 87:1069-1086. doi:10.1139/Z09-099


DataID: 288 | doi:10.5066/P9LUFGEF | Date Posted Online: 2020-03-17 | Last Updated: 2020-03-23 20:48:45

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