Data for Southern Sea Otter Range Expansion and Habitat Use in the Santa Barbara Channel

These data are .csv files of tagged sea otter re-sighting locations (henceforth, resights) collected in the field using a combination of VHF radio telemetry and direct observation using high powered (80x) telescopes. Sea otters were tracked by shore or boat-based observers from the date of tagging until the time of radio battery failure, the animal’s death, or the end of the project, whichever comes first. The frequency of re-sighting was opportunistic, depending on logistical factors such as coastal access, but generally ranged from daily to weekly. Location coordinates are reported latitude and longitude as well as X and Y coordinates in the projection/datum California Teale-Albers NAD 1927. The file contains resight data for all tagged sea otters in the Santa Barbara Channel Study, collected over a period of 2.5 years. Fields include individual identification numbers, sex, age class, geographic coordinates, the date and time of the re-sighting location, and associated behavioral state of the individual at the time of re-sighting. These data support the followinf publication: Tinker, M.T., Tomoleoni, Joseph, LaRoche, Nicole, Bowen, Lizabeth, Miles, A. Keith, Murray, Mike, Staedler, Michelle, and Randell, Zach, 2017, Southern sea otter range expansion and habitat use in the Santa Barbara Channel, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1001 (OCS Study BOEM 2017-002), 76 p., http://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171001.