Overview

This map shows data for a bird species and was developed by the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) through a partnership with the Marine-life Data and Analysis Team (MDAT). MDAT collaborated with the Northeast Regional Ocean Council and expert work groups to produce maps characterizing the predicted distribution and abundance of cetacean species or species guilds, or bird species; or the surveyed biomass of fish species.

Data Considerations

Some of these maps contain information about federally protected species. Additional information about the distribution, abundance, and range of species listed under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is available at:

• NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources
• NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region Protected Resources Division
• NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation
• NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region Habitat Conservation Division

The bird species maps represent the results of the updates to the NCCOS project Integrative Statistical Modeling and Predictive Mapping of Marine Bird Distributions and Abundance on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf: Maine – Florida. Model source data are from the Northwest Atlantic Seabird Catalog (US Fish and Wildlife Service) and the Eastern Canada Seabirds at Sea database (Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada).

For more details about the modeling approach, methodology, and data use caveats, see the BOEM Technical Report.

These maps represent one set of many available sources of information that inform our current understanding of species distribution and abundance in Northeast region. Other sources of information on avian species that complement the data shown here include:

• datasets that display avian species movement and migration, such as the BOEM study Determining Fine-scale Use and Movement Patterns of Diving Bird Species in Federal Waters of the Mid-Atlantic United States Using Satellite Telemetry and the Atlantic and Great Lakes Sea Duck Migration Study,
• the USFWS Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey, and
• nearshore/coastal datasets, such as the Saltmarsh Habitat and Avian Research Program’s studies.

Citation

Any use of the bird maps and data in this viewer should be accompanied by the following citations:

Winship AJ, Leirness JB, Coyne M, Howell J, Saba VS, and Christensen J. 2023. Modeling the distributions of marine birds at sea to inform planning of energy development on the US Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. Sterling (VA): U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 413 p. Report No.: OCS Study BOEM 2023-060.

Curtice C., J. Cleary, E. Shumchenia, and P.N. Halpin. 2018. Marine-life Data and Analysis Team (MDAT) Technical Report on the Methods and Development of Marine-life Data to Support Regional Ocean Planning and Management. Prepared on behalf of the Marine-life Data and Analysis Team (MDAT). Accessed at: https://seamap.env.duke.edu/models/MDAT/MDAT-Technical-Report.pdf.

Marine-life Data Analysis Team (MDAT; Patrick Halpin, Earvin Balderama, Jesse Cleary, Corrie Curtice, Michael Fogarty, Brian Kinlan, Charles Perretti, Jason Roberts, Emily Shumchenia, Arliss Winship). Marine life summary data products for Northeast ocean planning. Version 2.0. Northeast Ocean Data. https://northeastoceandata.org. Accessed MM/DD/YYYY.

Acknowledgements

Source: NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. This study was funded in part by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management through Interagency Agreement M20PG00009 with the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). This product represents results of predictive modelling applied to data from the Northwest Atlantic Seabird Catalog (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and Eastern Canada Seabirds at Sea database (Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada). For more information, please contact Arliss Winship (NCCOS Biogeography Branch, Silver Spring, MD, arliss.winship@noaa.gov).

Status

These products are Version 3.0 MDAT products. They were revised according to agency and public feedback and were posted on the Northeast Ocean Data Portal in April 2024.

Support for Regional Ocean Planning

For information about how these data and maps were developed with stakeholder input and will be used to support regional ocean planning, please see the 2016 Northeast Ocean Plan at www.neoceanplanning.org.