The results of synchronous mid-winter waterbird census of the Azov-Black Sea region (Ukraine) in 2014

Study Extent

The entire Azov-Black Sea region is divided into 27 accounting areas, each of which is coordinated by one coordinator. Accounting areas that are too large can be divided into smaller fixed parts. Data for each accounting area are entered into a standard electronic form. During surveys, coordinates are determined for birds that are in clusters. Polyspecies accumulation is registered in the case when the number of at least one species exceeds the determined minimum number for this species. Instead, all other birds that were found in the recording area were assigned to the coordinates of the centroid of this area. The coordinates of the plot centroid were determined in the free software - Quantum GIS (QGis). The "coordinateUncertaintyInMeters" field specifies the distance from the centroid of the accounting area to its farthest border.

Sampling

The survey of the coastline is carried out by motor-cars along the water body, stopping at open, most well-visible water areas and searching them through telescopes. In case of bad roads (as a result of precipitation and high temperatures) it is desirable to move along hard surface roads in parallel with the coastline and make short trips to the water body for its searching. To cover the water body with counts the most completely, these trips must be done with such frequency to overlap the scanning field of one part of the water area with another. All wetland birds, as well as white-tailed eagles and harriers, are counted during the census. The boundaries of the accounting areas include not only the immediate wetland, but also the territory adjacent to it. In case of an incomplete survey of the wetland, the authors of the observations displayed the surveyed territory on the map. Census in one wetland should be carried out for no more than 5 days in the period January 15-24. Observations were carried out mainly with the help of 10-12x binoculars, photography was carried out whenever possible. Geographical locations were indicated by GPS-navigator in decimal degrees according to the WGS84 system. The research methodology is described in more detail in the work: Andryushchenko Yu. O. Unification of methods of mid-winter counts in the Azov-Black Sea region of Ukraine / ROM Bulletin: Results of mid-winter counts of waterfowl in the Azov-Black Sea region of Ukraine in 2006: adaptation of IWC methods and their approval / Edited by H. V. Fesenko. — 2009. — 4. — P. 4-12., which can be found at the link: http://mail.izan.kiev.ua/ROM/rom4.pdf. The nomenclature follows the Catalog of Life.

Quality Control

The authors of the dataset are fully responsible for the quality of the published data.

Method steps

1. Conducting of a field survey within the previously chosen plot/wetland/land area according to the standard method.
2. Counting of the birds with simultaneous identification of species.
3. Creating maps of the records made.
4. Georeferencing and creating of the lists of registered species and specimens.
5. Organizing of the dataset according to the Darwin Core standards.

The dataset consists of records of mainly waterfowl (Aves).

1. Animalia
   rank: kingdom
2. Chordata
   rank: phylum
3. Aves
   rank: class

The dataset covers the Azov-Black Sea region of Ukraine, namely territories of Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Odesa, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv administrative regions.