Ocean Biogeographic Information System - Spatial Ecological Analysis of Megavertebrate Populations (OBIS-SEAMAP)

The Spatial Ecological Analysis of Marine Megavertebrate Populations (SEAMAP) initiative, a node of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), has developed a digital database of geo-referenced marine mammal, seabird and sea turtle distribution and abundance data.

SEAMAP seeks to augment the public understanding of the ecology of marine megavertebrates by: (1) facilitating study of potential impacts on threatened species; (2) enhancing our ability to test hypotheses about biogeographic and biodiversity models, and (3) supporting modeling efforts to predict distributional changes in response to environmental change. To enhance the research and educational applications of this database, SEAMAP provides a broad array of products (e.g., tabular information, maps and explicit survey meta-data) and services (e.g., web-based query, visualization and analysis tools).

Additionally, because this publicly-available system is intended for a broad audience of educators, students, resource managers and researchers, SEAMAP is integrating this digital database with educational products and analytical tools. The OBIS-SEAMAP system takes advantage of recent technological advances to facilitate the development of new community-based data commons for biogeographic and conservation research. To date the database includes more one-million marine mammal, bird and turtle observation records from over 180 datasets.