GPS tracking data of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls breeding at the southern North Sea coast

Eric W M Stienen; Peter Desmet; Bart Aelterman; Wouter Courtens; Simon Feys; Nicolas Vanermen; Hilbran Verstraete; Marc Van de Walle; Klaas Deneudt; Francisco Hernandez; Robin Houthoofdt; Bart Vanhoorne; Willem Bouten; Roland-Jan Buijs; Marwa M Kavelaars; Wendt Müller; David Herman; Hans Matheve; Alejandro Sotillo; Luc Lens

doi:10.3897/zookeys.555.6173

GPS tracking data of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls breeding at the southern North Sea coast

Zookeys. 2016 Jan 20:(555):115-24. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.555.6173. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Eric W M Stienen¹, Peter Desmet¹, Bart Aelterman¹, Wouter Courtens¹, Simon Feys², Nicolas Vanermen¹, Hilbran Verstraete¹, Marc Van de Walle¹, Klaas Deneudt³, Francisco Hernandez³, Robin Houthoofdt³, Bart Vanhoorne³, Willem Bouten⁴, Roland-Jan Buijs⁵, Marwa M Kavelaars⁶, Wendt Müller⁷, David Herman⁸, Hans Matheve⁸, Alejandro Sotillo⁸, Luc Lens⁸

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Kliniekstraat 25, 1070, Brussels, Belgium.
² Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Kliniekstraat 25, 1070, Brussels, Belgium; Ethology (ETHO), University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium.
³ Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Wandelaarkaai 7, 8400, Ostend, Belgium.
⁴ Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵ Buijs Eco Consult B.V., Philips van Dorpstraat 49, 4698 RV, Oud-Vossemeer, The Netherlands.
⁶ Ethology (ETHO), University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium; Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
⁷ Ethology (ETHO), University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium.
⁸ Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.

Abstract

In this data paper, Bird tracking - GPS tracking of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls breeding at the southern North Sea coast is described, a species occurrence dataset published by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). The dataset (version 5.5) contains close to 2.5 million occurrences, recorded by 101 GPS trackers mounted on 75 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 26 Herring Gulls breeding at the Belgian and Dutch coast. The trackers were developed by the University of Amsterdam Bird Tracking System (UvA-BiTS, http://www.uva-bits.nl). These automatically record and transmit bird movements, which allows us and others to study their habitat use and migration behaviour in great detail. Our bird tracking network is operational since 2013. It is funded for LifeWatch by the Hercules Foundation and maintained in collaboration with UvA-BiTS and the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). The recorded data are periodically released in bulk as open data (http://dataset.inbo.be/bird-tracking-gull-occurrences), and are also accessible through CartoDB and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

Keywords: GPS tracking; Herring Gull; Larus argentatus; Larus fuscus; Lesser Black-backed Gull; LifeWatch; MachineObservation; UvA-BiTS; animal movement; bird tracking; habitat use; migration; observation; occurrence; open data.