Full description
This dataset contains modelled monthly distributions of priority seabirds developed to support assessment of exposure to offshore renewable energy development as part of NESP MaC Project 4.7. Distributions are modelled for six species: Amsterdam Albatross, Gould’s Petrel, Gray-headed Albatross, Northern Royal Albatross, Shy Albatross and Southern Giant Petrel. The underlying project priority species were identified by NOPSEMA and DCCEEW, building on species priorities investigated under NESP MaC Project 3.21. Continuous integrated space-time species distribution models were fitted across the Southern Hemisphere using observations from multiple data types, including tracking, presence-absence, abundance and presence-only records. The outputs describe spatial and seasonal variation in seabird distribution on a 5 km equal-area EASE-Grid 2.0 grid. Two related raster products are provided for each modelled taxon: (1) a normalised population-distribution surface representing the relative proportion of the modelled population within each grid cell; and (2) an estimated population-density surface (individuals per km²) derived by scaling these proportions by the estimated total adult population size (Southern hemisphere). The models were developed to provide spatially and temporally explicit seabird distributions for cumulative risk assessment, including assessment of overlap with offshore renewable energy activities. Monthly outputs describe seasonal patterns across January–December. ***This data is under development. Access to the finalised spatial data will be provided once finalised, estimated early 2027.***Lineage
Maintenance and Update Frequency: notPlanned
Statement: Observations of priority seabirds were collated across the Southern Hemisphere from multiple sources and classified according to observation type, including tracking, mark-recapture, presence-absence, abundance, abundance-only and presence-only records. Data were standardised for modelling by converting observations to presence-absence form where appropriate. True absences were retained from structured presence-absence surveys, while pseudo-absences/background locations were generated for presence-only and tracking data.
Continuous integrated space-time species distribution models were fitted using the mgcv R package (https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/mgcv/index.html). The models combine multiple observation types to estimate how each species’ distribution varies temporally and spatially across the Southern Hemisphere. Spatial and seasonal patterns were estimated directly from the observations using a smooth space-time model with a complementary log-log link.
Models were fitted across the Southern Hemisphere on a 5 km equal-area EASE-Grid 2.0 grid. Modelled distributions were normalised to represent the relative proportion of the population occurring in each grid cell across the spatial domain, with all valid grid cells summing to 1 for each monthly band. Estimated population density was then derived by scaling these proportions by an estimated adult population size for the Southern Hemisphere and dividing by result by 25 to return a metric of individuals per km².
Bands 1–12 represent January–December, with 2024 used as a reference year for the modelled annual cycle.
𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗗𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆
The dataset contains two 12-band raster products for each species:
*_ProportionN.tif = proportion of the modelled population occurring within each 5 km grid cell. All valid grid cells sum to 1 for each monthly band.
*_individuals_per_km2.tif = estimated population density within each grid cell, expressed as adult individuals per km² and derived from the corresponding population-proportion surface.
Notes
CreditThe data collections described in this record are funded by the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) through the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub. In addition to NESP (DCCEEW) funding, this project is matched by an equivalent amount of in-kind support and co-investment from project partners and collaborators.
Issued: 10 10 2026
Data time period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31
text: westlimit=-179.99; southlimit=-90.00; eastlimit=179.99; northlimit=-0.01
Subjects
AGRICULTURE |
ALBATROSSES/PETRELS AND ALLIES |
ANIMAL ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR |
ANIMAL SCIENCE |
ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES |
BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION |
Biological Sciences |
BIOSPHERIC INDICATORS |
BIRDS |
Behavioural Ecology |
CLIMATE INDICATORS |
Diomedea amsterdamensis |
Diomedea sanfordi |
EARTH SCIENCE |
Ecology |
Macronectes giganteus |
Marine and Estuarine Ecology (Incl. Marine Ichthyology) |
National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine and Coastal Hub |
Offshore renewable energy |
Offshore wind farms |
Population Ecology |
Pterodroma leucoptera |
SPECIES MIGRATION |
Seabirds |
Thalassarche cauta |
Thalassarche chrysostoma |
biota |
User Contributed Tags
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Other Information
global : 7e1f590e-a75e-47d7-83d6-8a5aaa730eb7
NESP MaC Project 4.7 - Development of regional modelling and risk assessments to inform offshore renewable decision-making, 2024-2027 (CSIRO)
raid :
10.71676/c08a3bc3
Identifiers
- DOI : 10.25959/A9G2-7252
- global : f1b12505-ac1d-4714-803b-d4f65f897879
