Australasian Seabird Occurrences (including migratory species) - Aggregated data product (1939 - ongoing) (NESP MaC 5.9, IMOS)

Updated: 2026-09-06

This aggregated product collates observed seabird sightings from multiple CSIRO‑hosted Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) datasets spanning historical to contemporary programs, unifying platform‑based visual surveys, voyage‑based watch observations (WOV), archival ship logs, and animal‑borne tracking into one analysis‑ready resource. Ship‑based visual surveys (including standardised watch-observations from research vessels) record species identity, counts and behaviour along vessel tracks, with observation effort and environmental context captured as measurement‑or‑fact where available (e.g., Research vessel voyages: Investigator, Falkor, Franklin, Southern Surveyor and Aurora Australis). Historical atlas and ship‑log compilations extend temporal coverage back to the 1970s and earlier through curated digitisation of paper records and atlases. The product targets the class Aves with a focus on orders Procellariiformes (albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters) and Charadriiformes (shorebirds, gulls, terns), though records span all marine-associated avian taxa observed during at-sea surveys. The geographic coverage is primarily concentrated in Australian marine waters and the Southern Ocean, with additional records from the Australasian, Indo-Pacific and sub-Antarctic regions, reflecting the wide-ranging movements of the tracked and observed species. Complementary animal‑tracking datasets add individual movement ecology via light‑level geolocators (GLS) and satellite/GPS tags, capturing migration routes, staging areas and foraging ranges (e.g., short‑tailed shearwaters, Arctic terns). Tracking programs delivered under IMOS Animal Tracking and other initiatives contribute deployment metadata, phases (e.g., pre‑laying exodus, incubation), and repeated seasons, enabling cross‑study synthesis of space use across the Southern Ocean and beyond. Across sources, records are standardised to Darwin Core with taxonomic alignment to World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS, https://www.marinespecies.org/about.php#what_is_worms), harmonising vessel‑based sightings, historical ship logs and telemetry fixes for robust ecological, biogeographic and conservation analyses. In addition, this product has been normalised with a H3 spatial index applied (resolution 4, ~1,700 km2, as it has a global geographic bounding box), and Australian Marine Region Tags have been added which allows spatial filtering of the data based on known marine regions (for example, commonwealth marine regions).