Description: Pinniped observations were assigned to discrete map locations based on a multi-level naming convention consisting of location, site within location, and occasionally subsite within site. Every haulout area had a location name but not every location had sites or subsites. At the highest (coarsest) level, locations were typically named after well-known landscape features such as bays, rivers, headlands, and reefs. Nearly all the location names were defined by previous researchers and were retained to facilitate historic comparisons. In some cases, the location designation was somewhat arbitrary and could reasonably have been lumped with an adjacent location or split into two or more separate locations. At lower (finer) levels, sites and subsites were typically informal names defining features such as individual sandbars, cardinal directions, and other descriptive terms. Importantly, the naming conventions are primarily terms of administrative convenience and do not necessarily reflect meaningful spatial structure in pinniped metapopulation dynamics.
Copyright Text: Bryan Wright (bryan.e.wright@odfw.oregon.gov), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife