Researchers who are currently contributors of data to OSIS

Thank you for sharing your research information with this resource. We hope that the information about your projects is accurate and current, please notify us of any errors or outdated information. Please contact us at SeaTurtleData@MyFWC.com with any questions, concerns or updates regarding your research project summary information. We welcome any contributions of publications, reports or finalized datasets associated with your project. Please see the data sharing information for additional details.

Researchers who wish to contribute to OSIS

Thank you for considering sharing of your research information. Please contact us at SeaTurtleData@MyFWC.com to get started. OSIS captures summaries of research or monitoring projects in which sea turtles are observed and identified to species. We request the following information to summarize projects.

  • Who: Provide names, institutional affiliations and contact information for key project personnel. Current information on principal investigators and point(s) of contact regarding the project and data is important to know how to direct correspondence regarding your research project.
  • How and when: Contributors are asked to provide general research methods information to document how sea turtles are observed (e.g., aerial or vessel transects), how often surveys are conducted and if survey effort is measured (e.g., length of transect).
  • What: We summarize the total number of sea turtle captures or sightings, separately, within OSIS. Annual counts of captures or sightings are not requested. If the research project involves sea turtle captures, the sizes of each species is also requested. This information provides important information on the distribution of species and life-history stages of those species when size measurements are collected.
  • Summary: Each project report in OSIS also includes a project summary or narrative which contains information that researchers feel is important to note regarding their project. This may contain an abstract-style summary of notable results or important details regarding the study design. The mission of OSIS is to share sea turtle information with conservation managers and researchers. With this in mind, researchers are encouraged to use their project's summary to state information that is important for understanding or interpreting the project data. An example of noteworthy information would be if a project's design focuses on a particular species or life stage.
  • Other information: Information on habitats sampled, the occurrence of the disease fibropapillomatosis (FP), and additional sampling is also captured in the project summaries. Additional sampling might include satellite tracking, gender determination, genetics, health assessments, or other sampling. This information aids conservation management and other researchers. For example, noting the occurrence of FP provides information on the spatial and temporal extent of the disease. Noting additional research or sampling methods helps inform other researchers who may be interested in employing similar methods within their project.
  • Literature, reports or data sets: Project summaries within OSIS also note any literature or reports produced as part of their project by listing the publication in a standard (literature cited) format. Researchers are encouraged to share publications or finalized datasets if permitted to do so. We welcome any contributions of publications, reports, or finalized datasets. Researchers may choose how these files are shared (by request to you, by request to FWC or downloadable from the online project summary). Please see the data sharing options.