Taupp, Thomas; Gmeiner, Isabell; Michel, Lucie; Avila, Isabel Cristina; Nachtsheim, Dominik Andre; Siebert, Ursula; Winkelmann, Carola (2026): Harbour and grey seal counts in the Elbe Estuary, Germany, between Wedel and Scharhörn in 2023/2024 [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995125 (DOI registration in progress)
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Published: 2026-05-28
Abstract:
Aerial surveys were conducted in the Elbe Estuary, Germany, to count seals on their haul-out sites. Haul-out sites were located within the intertidal zone, usually close to the waterway or tidal creeks. The north-western border of the study area was located at the approximate river-km 753 (island of Scharhörn) and the south-eastern border was located at river-km 632 (Mühlenberger Loch). Flights were performed monthly from August 2023 until July 2024 (11 flights in total) at low tide. Within each month, a flight date in the middle of the month was chosen, depending on the tide and weather conditions. The flight scheduled for December 2023 had to be canceled due to persistently unfavorable weather conditions. Flights were performed with a twin-engined aircraft at a height of approximately 500 feet and at an average speed of 100 knots. The flight routes were tracked via GPS. Sighted seals were photographed on their haul-out sites and the corresponding geographic position was recorded. In the office, the photos were used to identify the species and age class, and count the animals.
Keyword(s):
Supplement to:
Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde (2026): Seehunde und Kegelrobben im Elbeästuar von Wedel bis Scharhörn 2023/2024. Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde, Koblenz, BfG-2241, https://doi.org/10.5675/BfG-2241
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 53.909390 * Median Longitude: 8.775038 * South-bound Latitude: 53.549289 * West-bound Longitude: 8.373650 * North-bound Latitude: 53.995219 * East-bound Longitude: 9.814018
Date/Time Start: 2023-08-16T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2024-07-08T00:00:00
Event(s):
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event label | Event | Taupp, Thomas | |||
| 2 | DATE/TIME | Date/Time | Taupp, Thomas | Geocode | ||
| 3 | LATITUDE | Latitude | Taupp, Thomas | Geocode | ||
| 4 | LONGITUDE | Longitude | Taupp, Thomas | Geocode | ||
| 5 | Phoca vitulina, adult | P. vitulina ad | # | Taupp, Thomas | Counting, visual | Number of adult harbour seals |
| 6 | Phoca vitulina, juvenil | P. vitulina juv | # | Taupp, Thomas | Counting, visual | Number of juvenile harbour seals |
| 7 | Halichoerus grypus | H. grypus | # | Taupp, Thomas | Counting, visual | Number of adult grey seals |
Change history:
2026-06-02T07:52:34 – Authors order changed: Carola Winkelmann from fourth to last author
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
1911 data points