The Cetacean Stranding Database
www.legaard.org/strandings
Date (Year-Month-Day): The date listed is the date of the actual stranding, not the date of the article reporting the stranding. When exact dates are not available, ranges will be given. If a date or date range of the actual stranding cannot be ascertained, dates of specific actions relating to the stranded cetacean will be used and noted accordingly in parentheses. Examples of actions include the cetacean(s) being found, towed in, analyzed, etc.
Location, general (Body of water, country, state/region, city/town, locality or area): North/South designations (for bodies of water) are usually based on the equator for large oceans. Arbitrary directional adjectives may be used (if necessary) for countries that are surrounded by a single water body, if state names are not available. The detail of a location entry will be limited to the information in available articles.
Species (Standardized name): Efforts will be made to use the official species name. When a species is not specified the entry will reflect this. All species names will be entered in the singular (even if multiple members of that species strand) to better facilitate searching.
Number (Specific number or range if reports vary): This variable lists the number of animals of a species which stranded. For strandings where no reports indicate a number or range, “N/A” will be used.
Stranded Alive (Yes, No, or N/A): If information is available, it will be noted if the stranded mammal(s) were alive when discovered (or, if discovered dead, whether or not analysis was able to determine if the whale(s) were alive when it/they originally stranded). Some live strandings have, in the past, been indicators of non-natural events precipitating those strandings, and therefore this variable is made independent for easy searching.
Behavior if alive (Text, N/A): This area will be used to put any available information regarding the observed behavior(s) of the stranded mammal(s) (e.g. disorientation, repeated strandings, etc.) which could assist in future analyses and determinations of cause(s). If no information is available or if the mammal(s) were found dead, “N/A” will be used.
Notes (Text): This area will contain any available information pertinent to the stranding event. Examples of relevant information include the gender and age (or range) of the mammal(s), whether or not the species stranded was part of multi-species stranding, had external injuries, or appeared healthy. Additional information will be recorded in regards to the rarity of the stranding and the results of any biological analyses or necropsies. All of this information will be recorded on an as-available basis.
Ref (Text): This area will list the article(s) cited for information regarding the stranding. Citations will be made following a slightly modified APA style:
Example for articles with an author:
Wells, W. (2004, February 3). Whale washes ashore near Jensen Beach. Palm Beach Post. Retrieved February 24, 2004, from http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/auto/epaper/editions/tuesday/
martin_stlucie_04f19167408212c50050.html
Example for articles without an author (i.e. press agencies, news wires):
British Broadcasting Corporation. (2003, November 25). Whales found dead in Tasmania. Retrieved November 25, 2003, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3236156.stm
The citations in this database differ from the official APA style in two regards: 1) Formatting of citations (e.g. indentations, italics, underlining) cannot be made due to the format of the database, and 2) Full-length URLs are provided when available.
Last updated (Year-Month-Day): This is the date of the last modification to the data in a particular entry.
ID (number): The ID number is the database's unique tracking number for each database entry; the number is a 'key' that the system uses to maintain data integrity. Since the ID number is unique to each entry, it can be used by people viewing the database to contact the administrator when one has a question about a specific entry or entries. Also, knowing a particular ID number ensures quick access to that entry in the database.
These are some of the abbreviations that may be used for citations for stranding entries:
AFP: Agence France-Presse
AAP: Australian Associated Press
AP: Associated Press
BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation
CBC: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
DPA: Deutsche Presse-Agenteur
MARMAM: Marine Mammal Research and Conservation (edited email discussion list) (http://www.dal.ca/~whitelab/marmam.htm)
NZPA: New Zealand Press Association
SAPA: South African Press Association
- Asterisks (*) indicate there is pertinent information regarding the data. Look for this information in the Notes section.
- Definition of "N/A": "Not Applicable" or "Not Available", depending on the context.
- What constitutes a "stranding?": For the time being, carcasses floating offshore (or that were previously floating offshore and subsequently stranded) will be recorded.
- Quotations in entries are from referenced article in entry, unless otherwise noted. If multiple references are provided for a particular entry, a specific in-text citation will be provided after quote(s) to distinguish the source from which the quote came.
- All information in an entry is relative to the "Last Updated" date.
- Keep in mind that dates listed are most likely in relation to their location/time zones; due to the substantial time commitment that would be involved, no effort is made to standardize time.