PIR Marine Turtle Nesting and Basking

Effective management of marine turtle data is essential to maximize their research value and enable timely population assessments and recovery monitoring. To provide such capabilities at the National Marine Fisheries Service, a comprehensive Turtle Data Processing System (TDPS, formally called Marine Turtle Data Management System) was created. The system was written in DBase III and Clipper and implemented on IBM/PC-compatible computers running under MS-DOS. As of 2017, TDPS was updated into Microsoft Access. The TDPS is modular, supporting data of various types. Cross-referencing and multiple-encounter analysis are enabled through a core database file of individual turtle identifications, based on uniquely-inscribed flipper tags and passive-integrated transponder tags.

The Turtle Data Processing System (TDPS) was designed to support marine turtle research at the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) Marine Turtle Biology and Assessment Program (MTBAP). It provides for the systematic storage, retrieval, and summarization of data collected in three source categories, one being data on nesting activity collected by NMFS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or other collaborating biologists from turtle nesting beaches. In all categories, most turtles involved are uniquely identified through the application of flipper tags. Thus a key feature of the database is the ability to trace the history of encounters with individual turtles and cross-reference information among data sets. A central turtle ID facilitates this.

Division: Protected Species

Division Director: Charles Littnan

Program: Marine Turtle Biology and Assessment

Program Lead: T. Todd Jones

Authorities: Endangered Species Act

Ownership: PIFSC

Temporal Resolution: Date

Frequency of Collection: Daily

Time of Collection: Summer field season in the NWHI or fall in the south Pacific region

Types of Data Collected: Nesting turtles

Collection Method: Collection form

Recording Media: Paper

Validation and QC Procedures: Available

QC Standards: Available

Storage Media: Paper Forms, Hard Disk Drive (HDD), External HDD / Access database

Storage Format: Oracle

Backups: Available

Update Schedule: Whenever new data are entered

Data Distribution Method: Email

1845 Wasp Boulevard

Building 176

NA

Data are collected at nesting site locations during the summer field seasons in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or fall in the South Pacific region.

Information is collected by multiple observers with varying lengths of training over an extended period of time.

Data should be reviewed prior to analysis

Information is collected by multiple observers with varying lengths of training over an extended period of time.

Data should be reviewed prior to analysis

Data is hand-written on a form and verified by the note-taker. Data is then entered into TDPS by one staff member and then verified by another staff member to ensure that all data has been entered correctly.

Awaiting PIFSC overall guidelines

PIFSC ITS performs scheduled back-ups

Data was collected in the field on PIFSC data collection forms then data entry was conducted at PIFSC into an Access database.