Citizen Science Guide to Recording Elephant Seal Resights - Cal Poly Elephant Seal Research Friends of the Elephant Seal January, 2019 - Piedras ...
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Citizen Science
Guide to Recording
Elephant Seal Resights
Cal Poly Elephant Seal Research
Friends of the Elephant Seal
January, 2019
Resight Spreadsheet Column Explanations
We will provide a spreadsheet that you can use to enter your
own resights. The following are explanations to be used in
completing the spreadsheet. In addition to filling cells in the
spreadsheet, please include pictures of tags if you have
them (instructions below).
DATE Include Month, Day and Year
LOCATION Location of the animal that has the tag(s) you are
resighting. Use abbreviations provided on maps.
SEX The sex of the animal. If you cannot see the belly
of the animal, or are not entirely sure about the
sex, please leave this blank. See picture below for
guidance.
1
AGE GROUP
P = pup, still with mom. (Note: We only put
dye marks on this age class; there should
be no flipper tags in pups). Black fur. If
abandoned or deceased, please note that in
the comments.
W = weaner/weanling. Animal from the
breeding season of the current year whose
mom has left. Could have a mark and/or
flipper tag(s). Not with female. May have
black fur for first couple days, then silver
fur/molting fur.
J = age yearling to juvenile. Animals that
have left the beach and have come back
after at least one feeding bout, to animals
that are about 3 years old. Typically more
yellow in color than weaners, with more
worn and weathered coats (scars, bites,
etc.). Size: larger than weaner, smaller than
adults.
A = adult female. Note: It is difficult to
distinguish adult females from SA1 males.
Pup? This column describes how many
pups an adult female has (write number, 0 if
none). If the animal is not an adult female, ADULT FEMALE
please leave this column blank.
A= adult male (in comments note hierarchy
– beachmaster, beta, etc.)
If unsure of age classification, leave
blank. (We can verify age class from whole-
body pictures.) See Reference Guide for
Sub-Adult Male Identification ADULT MALE
2
REFERENCE GUIDE MALE CRITERIA PIEDRAS
BLANCAS 2018
o No nose droop or
neck shield, similar
size to adult female.
Slightly larger head
than adult female.
SA1 o *Check genitals
o Nose droops but
doesn’t touch sand
when lying down, no
chest shield.
SA2 o
Light scarring, when
lying down nose
touches ground.
SA3
Defined chest shield
but does not come
above eye line (if
above eye line then
adult male),
SA4 noticeable notch
across the nose.
Heavy pink scarring
Chest shield rises
above eyes
Big heavy nose with
ADULT notch across top.
Revised August, 2018
MARKS AND TAGS
MARK If you see an animal with a bleach or dye mark on its fur,
write down the mark you can see. Some examples would
be 14X, PBK13, etc.
If any letter or number is not visible, put underscore. Ex:
1_X if it was 14X but the 4 wasn’t legible. Elaborate in
comments.
MARK The position of the mark:
POSITION R = the mark is on the seal’s right side.
(Choose L = the mark is on the seal’s left side.
only one B = the mark is on the seal’s back.
location L,R= the mark is on both sides (use comma)
per mark) If you see marks, please include a picture of the mark
and the whole seal so we can verify the resight.
TAG 1 Enter the letter and number of the tag as best you can
NUMBER read. All tags have a letter, then 3-4 numbers.
Include close-up photo of tag if possible.
If you cannot read a certain number or letter, or aren’t
certain about it, enter that item with an underscore.
Example: If the tag is N806, but you can’t read the
middle number, you would enter: N8_6. Write best guess
of missing digits in comments.
Seals may have up to two flipper tags. If the seal has
only one tag, only use the field for “Tag 1”. If the seal has
a second flipper tag, please fill out the same information
for “Tag 2” columns.
TAG 1 Your best estimate of the color of the tag (sometimes
COLOR they fade). Please write the whole name of the color
(e.g., “white”, not W).
4
MARKS AND TAGS
TAG 1 First, write whether the tag is in the left or right flipper:
POSITION
R or L
WEB
SPACE
Next, figure out which section of the flipper it is located.
(1,2,3 or 4) You must figure out the top and bottom of the flipper
based on how the seal is lying. Positions are 1-4 going
from top to bottom. Examples: R1, L3, R4.
TAG 1 Finally, determine whether the
POSITION tag is:
SPIKE
spike in (Si) – spike facing
(Si or So) toward the other flipper, or
spike out (So) – spike facing
outward, if possible. The spike is
the pointy part of the tag.
EXAMPLE Tag 1: 9814
Tag 1 color: Green
Tag 1 Position: L1-So
If you are unsure of exact
position, write what it could
be. Example: “Could be R1
or R2-So”
5
PHOTOS Please include a photo of the whole seal and a
close-up, so we can verify tag position in flippers
We need two types of photos to get all the information
we need from each resight:
. (1) A picture of the
whole animal,
including the flippers,
so we can verify/
determine (if possible)
the age class, sex,
and flipper position to
get tag position.
(2) A close-up picture of the flipper tag so we can get
the best reading of the tag number. If we only have a
close-up of the flipper tag, we cannot determine any of
the items listed above. Please send both types of photos
whenever possible!
.
6
MOLT % Give your best estimate as to how molted the seal is, if it
is a molting time.
Example: If a weaner is only molting on its head and
flippers, it might be 10-20% molted. If a female is
entirely molted on her back and flanks, she may be 60-
70% molted. We understand that sometimes you cannot
see all the molting parts of the seal, so this is simply an
estimate.
Comments This is a space for you to note down anything you think
is important! Please note any additional information, odd
behaviors, potential errors or uncertainty in your data
entry, etc.
RECORDING RESIGHT INFORMATION:
1. Record your observations on Elephant Seal Resighting log on
clipboard in FES office.
2. Send photos and observation info to research@elephantseal.org
and to Keith Mueller (mueller.kirkpatrick@gmail.com)
7
Locations
1
2
3 4
5
6
7
1. Arroyo del Corral Not a current field site, but may be in the future.
2 & 3. Surfer’s Beach and Piedras Blancas Beach
• Not currently active
field sites for us
• Brian Hatfield flipper
tags at Piedras
2
Blancas Beach
• Can share resights
and put beach name
3
in comments4. Dead Center (a.k.a. Middle Beach)
5. Vista Point (VP3)
6. Arroyo Laguna
7. La Tortuga
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