Metadata statement – Aerial Waterbird Survey (AWS)
URL: https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/89e008fb-f11c-4acb-8bcb-a05cddcb52b8/resource/4bd0b967-77f8-4feb-84f0-87dff0c207ca/download/sea_metadata_statement.pdf
Overview
The Murray−Darling Basin Specified Environmental Assets (SEA) aerial waterbird dataset incorporates:
-
Historic aerial waterbird monitoring data from 2007 to 2013.
-
Annual survey of waterbird populations and recruitment at 38 important wetland locations and river sites within the Murray−Darling Basin, from 2014 to 2023. The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has been contracted to conduct these surveys on behalf of the MDBA.
-
This information has been provided in CSV file format for easy access and analysis.
Critical information collected
Expert observation of waterbird species (population and recruitment)
The survey team are experts in the field of surveying and monitoring waterbirds, and their ability to critically observe and record numerous different waterbird species is essential. Observations may result in identifying a single species or a group of species, based upon the ability to distinguish these different species from the airplane at survey altitude.
Spatial information relating to every record
Each individual record has a unique ID, which can be aggregated back to a larger wetland complex. These unique IDs are maintained throughout the survey record. This information is further divided into known sub-wetlands.
Survey methods
Depending upon the characteristics of each wetland, different surveying options are available and need to be recorded. This includes whether a partial wetland, complete wetland, or transect is observed to obtain the best possible representation of the species at individual locations.
You can copy and paste the embed code into a CMS or blog software that supports raw HTML