{"help":"Return the metadata of a dataset (package) and its resources. :param id: the id or name of the dataset :type id: string","success":true,"result":[{"id":"d8a47414-84c2-466f-9c69-d662147f8aed","name":"harbour-and-grey-seals-distribution-maps-scotland-gis-data-layers","title":"Harbour and grey seals: distribution maps for Scotland- GIS data layers","author_email":"marinedirectorate@gov.scot","maintainer":"Scottish Government - Marine Directorate Data Publications","maintainer_email":"marinedirectorate@gov.scot","notes":"\u003Cp\u003EScotland is a globally important population centre for both harbour (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Up-to-date estimates of at-sea distribution are an important resource for marine spatial planning, particularly given the projected scale of decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure and construction of offshore wind farms in Scottish waters in coming years. Previous distribution estimates were limited by a lack of tracking data for both species in Shetland, and estimates for Shetland were therefore made based on modelled habitat preference relationships of seals tagged in Orkney and the north coast of mainland Scotland. To address this knowledge gap, GPS satellite telemetry devices were deployed on harbour and grey seals in Shetland in 2022, funded by the Scottish Government Marine Directorate, NatureScot and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). The Scottish Government Marine Directorate funded the incorporation of these new harbour seal tracking data and recent haulout counts to update at-sea density estimates for harbour seals. Here we present updated at-sea distribution maps for both harbour and grey seals hauling out in Scotland, taking advantage of various improvements to the existing methods (Carter et al., 2022) funded by NERC INSITE II project EcoSTAR (with support from NERC National Capability - National Public Good funding).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlso see:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nCarter, M. I. D., Aarts, G., van Beest, F. M., Bivins, M., Brasseur, S. M. J. M., Dietz, R., Duck, C. D., Galatius, A., Gilles, A., Haelters, J., Hastie, G. D., Jessopp, M., Morris, C. D., Moss, S. E. W., Nabe-Nielsen, J., Nachtsheim, D. A., Schaffeld, T., Schop, J., Siebert, U., \u2026 Russell, D. J. F. (2026). At-sea distribution of seals on the Northwest European Shelf: Towards transboundary conservation and management. Journal of Applied Ecology, 63, e70236. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/1365-2664.70236\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/1365-2664.70236\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n","url":"https:\/\/data.marine.gov.scot\/dataset\/harbour-and-grey-seals-distribution-maps-scotland-gis-data-layers","state":"Active","private":true,"revision_timestamp":"Thu, 02\/12\/2026 - 09:42","metadata_created":"Thu, 06\/05\/2025 - 09:19","metadata_modified":"Thu, 02\/12\/2026 - 09:42","creator_user_id":"ef1d5231-9817-4ea3-875e-aadc55addee0","type":"Dataset","resources":[{"id":"761546f2-2139-4c55-841b-6f18ee877ee8","revision_id":"","url":"https:\/\/data.marine.gov.scot\/sites\/default\/files\/\/Project_MM22-23_2%20-%20Shetland%20Seal%20-%20Updated%20GIS%20data%20layers%20-%2014%20August%202024.zip","description":"\u003Cp\u003EThis document is given in support of seal density maps provided to Scottish Government\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPrepared by: M. I. D. Carter \u0026amp; D. J. F. Russell,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nSea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nUniversity of St Andrews, KY16 8LB, UK\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nMarch 2024\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:midc@st-andrews.ac.uk\u0022\u003Emidc@st-andrews.ac.uk\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:dr60@st-andrews.ac.uk\u0022\u003Edr60@st-andrews.ac.uk\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt time of publishing, a manuscript (Carter et al) is in preparation that will feature this work. Please check the Marine Scotland data portal and search \u201cUpdated habitat-based distribution maps for harbour and grey seals in Scotland \u201c. A link to the publication will be available on the dataset landing page once published. Please preferentially cite the paper where possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf no paper is listed, please cite this resource as follows:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nCarter, M. I. D, Bivins, M., Duck, C. D., Hastie, G. D., Morris, C. D., Moss, S. E. W., Thompson, D., Thompson, P. M., Vincent, C., Russell, D. J. F. (2024)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nUpdated habitat-based distribution maps for harbour and grey seals in Scotland. Report to Scottish Government by Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor information specific to the absolute density estimates, please see:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nSCOS (2021) Scientific advice on matters related to the management of seal populations. Main advice report.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E#\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFILES\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis document relates to interpretation and use of the following files:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Harbour_seal_absolute_density_SCOTLAND_202403.tiff\u0022\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0022Harbour_seal_relative_density_SCOTLAND_202403.tiff\u0022\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0022Grey_seal_absolute_density_SCOTLAND_202403.tiff\u0022\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0022Grey_seal_relative_density_SCOTLAND_202403.tiff\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFile projection: Universal Transverse Mercator 30\u00b0N World Geodetic System 1984 projection; UTM30NWGS84 (EPSG: 32630).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEach .tiff file contains three rasters with estimates of mean and 95% lower and upper confidence intervals for\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nseal distribution on a 5 km x 5 km grid covering the maximum foraging range of seals from haulouts in Scotland.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIMPORTANT NOTE\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese estimates represent predicted at-sea density of seals from haulouts in Scotland only (with the exception of the St Kilda archipelago) and do not account for\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ndensity of seals from haulouts elsewhere.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E#\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E#\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EINTERPRETATION\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERelative density refers to the percentage of the at-sea population expected to be in a particular cell during the main foraging season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThus, values for the mean relative density surface sum to 100.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAbsolute density reflects an estimate of the number of animals expected to be in a particular cell.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn each file, three seal density surfaces are provided: mean and associated lower and upper 95% confidence limits.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor each cell, the confidence intervals represent the range of values within which, based on\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nthe underlying model, the true seal density is likely encompassed. The mean represents a\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nmeasure of the centre of this range.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor the mean estimates, cell values can be summed across an area. For example, to estimate the total abundance of seals in an area of interest,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nit is possible to sum all cells in the mean distribution surface that fall within that area.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, confidence interval estimates are provided on a cell-wise basis. Therefore, the sum of all cells in the lower confidence\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ninterval surface will be less than 100% of the at-sea population total, and the sum of all cells in the upper confidence interval\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nsurface will be greater than 100% of the at-sea population total. Cells in the confidence limit surfaces therefore CANNOT be\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nsummed across an area, and must be treated on a cell-by-cell basis. Summing these values across an area would give inflated\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nconfidence intervals. For area-based confidence intervals, please contact the authors on a case-by-case basis.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EABSOLUTE DENSITY\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe number of animals per cell is calculated using two scalars estimated from telemetry data:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n(1) the proportion of total population hauled-out during low tide in August and thus available to count,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nand (2) the mean proportion of time seals spend at-sea during the main foraging season.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo generate these absolute values, the total population size in Scotland for each species was first estimated by summing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ncounts for each haulout (most recent available counts were used per haulout), then scaling up to 100% using the first scalar\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n(mean estimated proportion of the population hauled out during low tide in August).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTotal population size was then converted to at-sea population size by multiplying by the second scalar\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n(estimated mean proportion of time spent at-sea during the main foraging season).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nRelative estimates of density (% at-sea population per cell) were then converted to absolute density using the\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nestimated at-sea population size.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScalars used in this process are as follows:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Ch2\u003EScalar 1 (proportion of time spent hauled out during low tide in August):\u003C\/h2\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGrey seals: 0.2515 (Russell \u0026amp; Carter 2021, SCOS Briefing Paper 21\/02 in SCOS Report 2021)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nHarbour Seals: 0.72 (Lonergan et al. 2013, DOI:10.1002\/aqc.2277)\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Ch2\u003EScalar 2 (proportion of time spent at-sea during marin foraging season):\u003C\/h2\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGrey seals: 0.8616 (derived from analysis in Russell et al. 2015, DOI:10.1111\/oik.01810)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nHarbour seals: 0.8236 (derived from analysis in Russell et al. 2015, DOI:10.1111\/oik.01810)\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECells in the mean distribution surface sum to the total current at-sea population estimate for Scotland (grey seals = 86,797, harbour seals = 30,425).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E#\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETEMPORAL RELEVANCE\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese estimates of seal density are generated using telemetry data from the main foraging season\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nfor each species, thus the distribution maps represent seal density during the main foraging\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nseason (grey seals: summer, harbour seals: autumn-winter-spring).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDensity estimates were spatially weighted using the most recent population count available per haulout.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDensity estimates were predicted using static environmental covariates. Thus, the density estimates\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nrepresent absolute seal density during the main foraging season in a \u0022typical\u0022 year.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E#\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECONSIDERATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn contrast to previous iterations of seal density maps (usage maps), confidence intervals given here for absolute density do not\u003Cbr \/\u003E\naccount for uncertainty relating to the population scalars.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScalar 2 used here relating to the proportion of time spent at-sea is averaged across days and years, and thus does not account\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nfor the variability in proportion of time spent at-sea with season and state of tide.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EConfidence intervals also do not account for uncertainty relating to individual variation in habitat preference\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nor temporal changes in abundance (e.g. throughout the day). See Carter et al. (2020) Section 5.4 for details.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/media\/6022c0bf8fa8f51478436975\/SMRU_2020_Habitat-based_predictions_of_at-sea_distribution_for_grey_and_harbour_seals_in_the_British_Isles.pdf\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/media\/6022c0bf8fa8f51478436975\/...\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEstimates for the east coast of Scotland should be treated with caution as they may contain a high degree of\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nun-modelled uncertainty due to lack of recent telemetry data.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","format":"zip","state":"Active","revision_timestamp":"Thu, 06\/05\/2025 - 09:37","name":"Habitat-Based Seal Density Maps for Scotland","mimetype":"application\/zip","size":"905.35 KB","created":"Thu, 06\/05\/2025 - 09:24","resource_group_id":"f96d4bd9-9492-4e8a-b459-d66dfec8d920","last_modified":"Date changed  Thu, 06\/05\/2025 - 09:37"}],"tags":[{"id":"b379c458-7fce-4836-b45f-5c74536d93bb","vocabulary_id":"2","name":"species distribution"}],"groups":[{"description":"\u003Cp\u003EMarine Directorate undertakes a wide range of monitoring covering many aspects of the Scottish marine ecosystem.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMonitoring is undertaken in Scottish Inshore Waters, using networks of volunteers and automatic recording equipment, as well as in Scottish Offshore Waters, using the MSS research vessels MRV Alba na Mara and MRV Scotia.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMarine Scotland Science also participates national monitoring programmes, such as:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EUK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy (UKMMAS)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EUK Marine Environmental Change Network (MECN)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EUK Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis group provides published data from monitoring these activities. For many activities, there are national or international standards for how the monitoring is undertaken.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","id":"f96d4bd9-9492-4e8a-b459-d66dfec8d920","image_display_url":"https:\/\/data.marine.gov.scot\/sites\/default\/files\/\/button%20220%20_1-02_1.png","title":"Monitoring","name":"group\/monitoring"},{"description":"\u003Cp\u003EData related to marine planning activities or providing data and information to assist planning processes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","id":"dc905d83-2dd1-4188-b7a7-3bb946d8e8b3","image_display_url":"https:\/\/data.marine.gov.scot\/sites\/default\/files\/\/button%20220%20jan%202016-29.png","title":"Marine Planning","name":"group\/marine-planning"}]}]}