Right whale Anthropogenic Events database
Anthropogenic Events Database Overview
As curators of the right whale catalog and documenters of anthropogenic events, we are often asked to provide information to managers and others to help guide discussions, inform policy decisions, and to evaluate the efficacy of management measures as they are implemented. Much of the data required to provide this information has historically been stored in a variety of formats and locations. To better integrate these data and improve efficacy and efficiency of data extraction and reporting, we created an Anthropogenic Events Database. This database critical information on injury events (including gear type, rope diameter and breaking strength, vessel size estimates, necropsy and gear reports) into one place and is linked to the Right Whale Identification Database, allowing for semi-automated linkage and retrieval of injury and life history related information for individual whales.
The Right Whale Anthropogenic Events Database data entry portal consists of two interfaces: Monitoring Case entry and Injury Case entry. The Monitoring Case portal allows for real time entry and electronic capture of newly detected anthropogenic injuries. Information on the whale identification, injury type, severity, health, and general comments about the case are captured here. Additional sightings of the whale and follow up assessments of the injury and impact of injury on the health of the whale are added to the initial case entry, allowing for a streamlined process to capture and track near-term injury details over time. The entered data are stored in newly created data tables contained within the existing database framework of the Identification Database, providing opportunities for integration and linkages with life history data. Previously, these data were captured in a static spreadsheet that lacked integration options with other data streams.
The second web portal is the Injury Case portal. This portal provides the mechanism by which multiple data streams related to anthropogenic events (entanglement events, detected with and without attached gear, and vessel strikes) are linked, thereby making available a holistic view of the event both available and easily retrievable. Injury cases are imported into the Injury Case web portal directly from the Identification Database. These data are captured in the Identification Database annually during assessments of all data received throughout the North Atlantic right whale’s range. Once initial Injury Case data are incorporated into the web portal, additional information from ancillary data sources, including case reports, disentanglement events, and gear/vessel assessments are entered. Injury Cases are then linked to existing Monitoring Cases and follow up assessments, thereby connecting impacts of injury on health over time to the injury and all of its associated characteristics.
As curators of the right whale catalog and documenters of anthropogenic events, we are often asked to provide information to managers and others to help guide discussions, inform policy decisions, and to evaluate the efficacy of management measures as they are implemented. Much of the data required to provide this information has historically been stored in a variety of formats and locations. To better integrate these data and improve efficacy and efficiency of data extraction and reporting, we created an Anthropogenic Events Database. This database critical information on injury events (including gear type, rope diameter and breaking strength, vessel size estimates, necropsy and gear reports) into one place and is linked to the Right Whale Identification Database, allowing for semi-automated linkage and retrieval of injury and life history related information for individual whales.
The Right Whale Anthropogenic Events Database data entry portal consists of two interfaces: Monitoring Case entry and Injury Case entry. The Monitoring Case portal allows for real time entry and electronic capture of newly detected anthropogenic injuries. Information on the whale identification, injury type, severity, health, and general comments about the case are captured here. Additional sightings of the whale and follow up assessments of the injury and impact of injury on the health of the whale are added to the initial case entry, allowing for a streamlined process to capture and track near-term injury details over time. The entered data are stored in newly created data tables contained within the existing database framework of the Identification Database, providing opportunities for integration and linkages with life history data. Previously, these data were captured in a static spreadsheet that lacked integration options with other data streams.
The second web portal is the Injury Case portal. This portal provides the mechanism by which multiple data streams related to anthropogenic events (entanglement events, detected with and without attached gear, and vessel strikes) are linked, thereby making available a holistic view of the event both available and easily retrievable. Injury cases are imported into the Injury Case web portal directly from the Identification Database. These data are captured in the Identification Database annually during assessments of all data received throughout the North Atlantic right whale’s range. Once initial Injury Case data are incorporated into the web portal, additional information from ancillary data sources, including case reports, disentanglement events, and gear/vessel assessments are entered. Injury Cases are then linked to existing Monitoring Cases and follow up assessments, thereby connecting impacts of injury on health over time to the injury and all of its associated characteristics.
