Whitney Point Adelie Penguin Colonies, Vector GIS Layer

• Other Authors: WOEHLER, ERIC (hasPrincipalInvestigator), BRICHER, PHILLIPPA KATE (processor), Australian Antarctic Data Centre (publisher)
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Australian Antarctic Data Centre
• Subjects: biota; PENGUINS; EARTH SCIENCE; BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION; ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES; BIRDS; Adelie Penguin; Pygoscelis adeliae; map; GIS; colonies; Whitney Point; Windmill Islands; GPS > Global Positioning System; GPS RECEIVERS; FIELD SURVEYS; Global Positioning System Satellites; GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR; Clark Peninsula; Shirley Island; Adelie penguin; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://researchdata.ands.org.au/whitney-point-adelie-gis-layer/699605; https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/ASAC_1219_AAT_WP_ADPE_Colonies; http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-617536

An ArcGIS shapefile layer showing the extent of all extant and relic Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colonies at Whitney Point, Windmill Islands, February 2006. The field 'Status' describes each polygon as extant, relic or maximum. Extant refers to the area used by breeding birds in the summer 2005/06. Maximum refers to the historic maximal extent of the colony. Relic refers to any colony which was not occupied by any breeding pairs during 2005/06. Positional accuracy is approx. 1-2 m, after accounting for dGPS errors and errors in identification of the boundaries of colonies. Mapping was conducted after the end of the breeding season, so boundaries were identified as the extent of nest pebbles/fresh faeces, and it was considered that they could be reliably identified to within 0.5m. Data were acquired using a Trimble Pro XH differential GPS. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 1219 (ASAC_1219). Also for this project, three aerial photographs of Whitney point showing the adelie penguin colonies and taken on 17 December 1990 were georeferenced. These aerial photographs are film ANTC1219 run 54 frames 21 to 23. Work on this project also utilised a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) created for Shirley Island. See the metadata record, 'A digital elevation model (DEM) and orthophoto of the Whitney Point area of the Windmill Islands, Antarctica' for more information (linked below). Since the 2005/06 summer was a low-ice year the opportunity was also taken to survey with differential GPS a section of coastline about 230 metres long east of Whitney Point on Clark Peninsula. This section of coastline was ice free and accessible. The data was collected with differential GPS on 10 February 2006.