19 March 2008    

Dear atlasers

Some important news and updates to take note of:

• One can now select whether you want to capture a 2hr+ intensive list (standard protocol) or an ad hoc list.
• The last species you entered now appears on top of the list, so that you can see the last species and sequence number that was entered.
• A large red box appears in the top right hand corner, highlighting that this card has not been saved.
• After a card has been saved but not submitted, in Browse records, it indicates this by a red box, but if it has been submitted this is indicated by a blue box.
• There is now a search function available when browsing your field sheets to search for a particular card. You need only enter part of the card number or pentad code as your search criteria.
• There is also an option to add additional observers per field sheet. Observers are added by typing in their ADU number; if an observer doesn't have an ADU No. then they need to register as an observer with the project.

The SABAP2 Late Summer Handicap Challenge will take place from the Easter weekend, 20 March till the end of May 2008. The scoring rules are quite complicated, but the principle is simple: the more remote the pentad in which you do a checklist, the more points you will earn. There are also extra points for the second and third checklists for pentads. There are also points for repeat visits to pentads you have previously atlased.

At the start of the Late Summer Handicap Challenge, there is only one two-degree grid cell which is blank. 30S_20E, 30S_22E. If you go to the coverage map on the website, which has a two-degree grid over it, this is the big block in the Williston-Carnarvan area of the Northern Cape. In the map for the Late Summer Handicap Challenge, this area is coloured red: everyone who visits this RED SQUARE during the challenge will earn 50 points for their first checklist from each different pentad here (even if someone else also visits the red square during the challenge!).

There are 37 one-degree grid cells which are blank. These cells are coloured pink in the map. Everyone who visits a PINK SQUARE during the challenge will earn 25 points for their first checklist from each different pentad here (even if someone else also visits the pink square).

There are hundreds of half degree and quarter degree grid cells with no checklists for any of the pentads. There are lists of these on the website. This list will remain static throughout the challenge; even if someone makes a checklist for a pentad before you, you will still earn 10 points. Another way to find the blank quarter degree grid cells is to go the gap analysis on the website. Find the one-degree grid cell in the area you plan to visit. A quarter degree grid cell which is blank is one which is outlined in red (but the gap analysis will be updated during the challenge).

There are thousands of pentads with no checklists, and it is not feasible to list them all. But this list will also remain static throughout the challenge; even if someone makes a checklist for a pentad before you, you will still earn five points.

The gap analysis on the website is the only way to find the quarter degree grid cells which have only a single blank pentad. This part of the challenge will be dynamic. If someone does the last pentad in the quarter degree grid cell before you, you will get three points for being the second checklist for the pentad!

Click here to see the full breakdown of what challenge will earn you the most or least amount of points.

A leaderboard will be available on the web which will track the progress of atlasers taking part in the challenge.

Good luck, and let's hope that we can make a start in the last remaining empty two-degree block!

This was mentioned in the previous newsletter, and the good news is that as from 15 March these additions and extensions can now be implemented. These are repeated below, but please refer to Newsletter No. 1 for more details. These extensions and additions will also be available on the web.

a. The basic protocol remains unaltered

The Steering Committee affirms that the first priority of SABAP2 is to undertake fieldwork in such a way that it commences with two (or more) hours of intensive and more or less continuous fieldwork, and that additional species can be added to the checklist for the pentad over a five day period starting on the day of intensive fieldwork.

b. The initial period of intensive fieldwork does not need to be continuous

There are inevitably circumstances in which a continuous period of fieldwork is not practical. So it is deemed satisfactory to break the period of continuous fieldwork. Appropriate periods should be added onto the time periods when continuity is "broken". When submitting your observations, enter the date and time of the start of the first period of intensive period, and the cumulative species totals at the end of each “hour” of fieldwork. There is no need to report the gaps in the fieldwork. Common sense should prevail, and all we ask is that you do your best to record the number of species to within hourly errors of about five minutes.

c. Species seen prior to the intensive period of fieldwork can be added to your checklist

You arrive at a destination on Friday afternoon to do a weekend’s atlasing, planning to do the intensive period of fieldwork on Saturday morning. Any species that you saw on the Friday that were not seen during the Saturday grid bash can be added to the Saturday list plus any other species you see during the weekend. Remember, the overall time period for adding additional species should not exceed five days. Enter the date and time of the start of the initial period of intensive fieldwork. There is no need to report that some of the species were seen a day (or two) prior to this date!

d. Atlasing in teams

In some cases access to a pentad is so limited that the only way to do it is as a team. Divide into teams and each team goes out and conducts an intensive atlas survey in their section. When submitting the data choose the team with the longest list after two hours and use this list as the one for the period of intensive fieldwork, and add the additional species seen by the remaining atlasers to this list.

e. Combining effort for atlasing in suburbs

Suburbs can be quite a daunting task when it comes to atlasing. However using a combined effort approach can make it easier. One atlaser takes the lead, liaises with birders living within a pentad, and agree on a five day period. Each birder makes a separate ordered list for their neighbourhood. The lead atlaser does the two-plus hours of intensive fieldwork at some point in the five-day period (trying to visit all the “best” birding spots) and enters his/her list first, adding any additional species in the remaining lists made by the other birders. This approach could also be used effectively in other complex pentads.

f. Ad hoc observations can now be submitted to SABAP2

One can now submit list of species even though you are unable to do a full two-hours of intensive atlasing in a pentad. You can also submit lists which you feel are pretty comprehensive for a pentad over a period of five days or less, even though there has been no “intensive period of atlasing”. The new version of the Data Management System is able to capture these kinds of "incidental or ad hoc observations". These data are invaluable for mapping the distributions of species and will be used in the species distribution maps and not in the sophisticated analyses done by macro-ecologists and biogeographers. Pentads for which ad hoc observations exist will not be shown on the “coverage map”, at least for the time being.

Our first priority is to obtain as many records as possible through the standard protocol, which includes (in one way or another) a two-hour-plus period of intensive fieldwork.

For those of you who are receiving Out of Range forms please remember to complete the Species Verification Sheet (Word file) as thoroughlly as possible for Full Out of Range records and/or Regional Rarities. The more information you can supply the easier it will be for the Regional Atlas Committees (RACs) to adjudicate the record otherwise the committee will have to base their decision on the information that is supplied.

Note: you do not have to complete a Species Verification Sheet for Marginal Out of Range records. However, please check the pentad code and species are correct before forwarding it on to the relevant RAC chairperson. If the pentad code and/or species are incorrect please send the corrections to Ray Sebola quoting the card number as a reference.

Finally, please try and forward your Out of Range records as soon as possible to the RACs, as the sooner they can assess these records the sooner the database can be updated and which avoids duplicate Out of Range records being produced for recurring records in the same pentad.

Enjoy the atlasing over the Easter break, and if you have any queries please contact Doug Harebottle

Regards
The SABAP2 project team