The Isle of May long-term study (IMLOTS) seabird annual return rate 1988-2016

This dataset contains calculated return rates for five seabird species from representative colonies on the Isle of May, off the East coast of Scotland. Annual return rates are measured as the number of individually colour marked individuals seen in any one year that were also observed in the previous year for the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), common guillemot (Uria aalge), razorbill (Alca torda), European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) and black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Not every individual is seen in any one year and the data set does not take into account those missed in any previous years hence these data are not to be treated as survival estimates. The Isle of May long-term study (IMLOTS) aims to identify the impact of environmental change on seabirds and their associated ecosystems. Understanding the mechanisms underlying variation in seabird population size requires a thorough knowledge of demographic parameters, namely birth rates, death rates, immigration and emigration. The effects of environmental change are likely to be different according to which demographic parameter or life history stage is being considered. This complexity means that only long-term monitoring, such as that carried out on the Isle of May, will allow us to understand the functioning of bird populations and their responses to environmental change.

本数据集收录了苏格兰东海岸梅岛代表性海鸟群体的五种海鸟种类的计算回报率。年度回报率以每年观察到且在前一年已被标记颜色的个体数量来衡量，涉及的对象包括北海鸬鹚（Fratercula arctica）、普通海燕（Uria aalge）、锯鹬（Alca torda）、欧洲鸬鹚（Phalacrocorax aristotelis）和黑脚海鸥（Rissa tridactyla）。并非每年都能观察到所有个体，因此本数据集未考虑过去年份中遗漏的个体，故这些数据不应被视为存活率估计。梅岛长期研究（Isle of May Long-term Study，简称IMLOTS）旨在识别环境变化对海鸟及其相关生态系统的影响。要理解海鸟种群数量变化的内在机制，需要深入了解人口统计学参数，即出生率、死亡率、移民和移民率。环境变化的影响可能因所考虑的特定人口统计学参数或生命史阶段而异。这种复杂性意味着，只有像在梅岛进行的那样长期监测，才能使我们理解鸟类种群的功能及其对环境变化的响应。