Distribution and Relative Abundance of Sperm Whale in Irish EEZ 2005-2011

Sperm whales are Irelands most widespread and abundant deep water whale species and indeed may be the most abundant large whale species within the Irish EEZ. They have a maximum body length of 15-18 m.The body profile is characteristic, with a large square head with and under slung jaw.The head forms one-third of the overall body length. There is no true dorsal fin, but two-thirds of the way down the back is a raised dorsal hump and beyond

this are a series of 4 or 5 knuckles.The pectoral fins are short and stubby, but the tail flukes are broad and powerful.The scarring and shape of each tail fluke is unique and provides for identification of individuals. Body colour is typically dark grey to brown. There are often white blotches on other parts of the head

or body.The skin on the head is frequently patterned with circular scars formed by the suckers of giant squid on which the whales feed. They have a short bushy blow which is angled forward and slightly to the left (caution: the blows of other species may appear similar when surfacing at an angle).The blow sequence is characteristic with logging animals blowing every 20-30 seconds. The breathing rate increases as the animal prepares to dive.

The data collected includes observations, relative abundance, search for and range of Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) recorded from marine mammals observations on board ships of opportunity between 2005 and 2011.

 
Citation proposal
(2013) . Distribution and Relative Abundance of Sperm Whale in Irish EEZ 2005-2011. https://services.mspdata.eu:/geonetwork/srv/api/records/02cb2f87-2e39-4e2c-9918-87d4331ef382

Simple

Alternate title
IWDG Marine Mammals Atlas Sperm Whale Distribution
Date ( Creation )
2005-01-01T00:00:00
Date ( Publication )
2013-12-31T00:00:00
Date ( Revision )
2015-11-20T00:00:00
Identifier
INSPIRE UUID / SD.IE.IWDG.AtlasMarineMammals.SpermWhale / 1.0
Purpose
Ireland has an obligation to report to the European Union on the favourable conservation status (FCS) of certain protected species and habitats every six years and this requires comprehensive species and habitat monitoring networks at a national level.
Status
Completed

  Point of contact

  +44-77-71762355 
Maintenance and update frequency
Unknown
GemetInspireTheme ( Theme )
  • Species distribution
GEMET - Concepts, version 3.1 ( Theme )
  • whale, cetacean, mammal, vertebrate
Irish Whale and Dolphin Group ( Theme )
  • whales, Sperm Whale, Physeter macrocephalus, marine mammals, distribution, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group
ISO 3166 ( Place )
  • Ireland
Use limitation
Creative Commons licence conditions apply
Use limitation
Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0
Access constraints
License
Use constraints
License
Other constraints
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Spatial representation type
Grid
Denominator
50000
Metadata language
English
Character set
UTF8
Topic category
  • Oceans
  • Geoscientific information
  • Biota
N
S
E
W


Vertical extent

Minimum value
-5000
Maximum value
-1

Vertical CS

Vertical datum

Supplemental Information
Vector dataset.
Reference system identifier
EPSG / http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/4326

 

Alternate title
EPSG
Date ( Publication )
2009-11-25

Distribution format
  • CSV, KML, Esri shapefile, WMS, WFS, REST, GeoJSON (RFC 1480, 7.0, v10.x, 1.3.0, 2.0, Esri, 4.0 )

  Point of contact

  +44-77-71762355 
OnLine resource
REST service  

REST service

OnLine resource
Get JSON  

Get JSON

OnLine resource
WMS GetCapabilities  

WMS GetCapabilities

OnLine resource
WFS GetCapabilities  

WFS GetCapabilities

Hierarchy level
Dataset

Conformance result

Alternate title
INSPIRE Data Specifications v3.1
Date ( Publication )
2014-04-17
Explanation
The INSPIRE Directive or INSPIRE lays down a general framework for a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) for the purposes of European Community environmental policies and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment.
Pass
false

Conformance result

Alternate title
INSPIRE Interoperability Regulation
Date ( Publication )
2010-12-08
Explanation
Level of conformance with the COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services
Pass
false
Statement

This Atlas presents data collected during the IWDG ISCOPE I and II projects, the IWDG/GMIT Marine Mammals and Megafauna in Irish waters project, the IWDG Ferry Surveys Programme and the IWDG casual and effort-based sightings scheme between January 2005 and January 2011. A single marine mammal observer (or up to three observers, in the case of IWDG ferry surveys) conducted visual survey effort from research vessels, naval service vessels and commercial ro-ro ferries between 2005 and 2011. Survey effort was conducted either from the ships’ bridge, the monkey island (the roof of the bridge) or from the ‘crow’s nest’ (R.V. Celtic Explorer). Using an angle board and distances were estimated with the aid of a range finding stick (Heinemann 1981). Environment data were recorded every 15 – 20 minutes using Logger 2000 software (IFAW 2000). Sightings were also recorded using Logger 2000. Automated position data were obtained through a laptop computer linked to a USB GPS receiver. Survey effort was conducted up to Beaufort sea-state six and in moderate to good visibility.As these were surveys on board vessels of opportunity, the surveys were conducted in ‘passing mode’ and cetaceans sighted were not approached.

Sightings were identified to species level where possible, with species identifications being graded as definite, probable or possible.Where species identification could not be confirmed, sightings were downgraded (e.g. unidentified dolphin / unidentified whale / unidentified beaked whale etc.) according to criteria established for the IWDG’s cetacean sightings database (IWDG 2013). Observer effort focused on a 90 degree arc ahead of the ship; however sightings located up to 90 degrees to port and starboard were included. Surveyors scanned the area by eye and using binoculars (typically 10X40 or 8X50). Bearings to sightings were measured.

Metadata

File identifier
02cb2f87-2e39-4e2c-9918-87d4331ef382   XML
Metadata language
English
Character set
UTF8
Hierarchy level
Dataset
Date stamp
2018-01-25T15:24:46
Metadata standard name
ISDI Metadata Profile
Metadata standard version
1.2

  Point of contact

  +353-91-387201 
 
 

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