otndata is a wrapper around the Ocean Tracking Network’s Plone content management system. The following data portals are nominally supported, though some things might not work depending on the optional add-ons used by the various networks. Because of this, bug reports are really, really, really appreciated!!
- Atlantic Cooperative Telemetry Network (ACT)
- Integrated Tracking of Aquatic Animals in the Gulf (iTAG)
- Northeast Pacific Acoustic Telemetry Network (N-PAcT)
-
Ocean Tracking Network (OTN), which also includes:
- Acoustic Tracking Array Platform (ATAP)
- MigraMar
- Northeast Pacific (NEP)
- Ocean Tracking Network’s development server
- Pacific Islands Region Acoustic Telemetry Network (PIRAT)
The following networks are not supported for various reasons:
- Pacific Aquatic Telemetry Hub (PATH): PATH will be supported following an update to their version of Plone in the next few months.
- European Tracking Network (ETN): ETN does not use a Plone CMS; see the etn R package for programmatic access.
- Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observing System (GLATOS): GLATOS does not use a Plone CMS or have a tool for programmatic access to their data portal; see the glatos R package for data import, visualization, and analysis tools.
- FACT and the Riverine Acoustic Fish Telemetry Network (RAFT) do not use a Plone CMS or have a tool for programmatic access to their data portal.
Installation
You can install the development version of otndata from GitHub with:
# install.packages("pak")
pak::pak("trackyverse/otndata")Search project metadata
There are a few things that can be accessed without logging in. Most nodes come pre-baked with a statistics widget and a project map:
If this widget is enabled, you can access the information shown without needing to log in.
library(otndata)
# OTN's server (default)
otn_list_species() |>
head()
#> scientificname commonname
#> 1 Abramis brama common bream
#> 2 Acanthocybium solandri wahoo
#> 3 Acanthurus bahianus cirujano pardo
#> 4 Acanthurus blochii ringtail surgeonfish
#> 5 Acanthurus chirurgus doctorfish
#> 6 Acanthurus coeruleus blue tang
# Try a different server
otn_list_projects(network = "act") |>
head()
#> node collectioncode country longitude latitude
#> 1 ACT RUSHARK USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 2 ACT BTW1A USA -73.8150 38.0700
#> 3 ACT REVCOD USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 4 ACT RAPPTRIBE USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 5 ACT RIWFCC USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 6 ACT INVENERGY USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> shortname
#> 1 RUCOOL HMS Shark Study
#> 2 BTWaves Caribbean Acoustic Tagging
#> 3 Orsted Cod
#> 4 Rappahannock Tribe Rappahannock River Array
#> 5 Narragansett Bay Cable Corridor Monitoring
#> 6 Invenergy Monitoring
#> longname
#> 1 Investigating the movements and distribution of highly migratory shark species in the U.S. Northeast Shelf Large Marine Environment
#> 2 Beneath the Waves acoustic tagging in the Caribbean
#> 3 Orsted Wind Farm Cod Monitoring
#> 4 Rappahannock River Telemetry Array
#> 5 Narragansett Bay Wind Farm Cable Corridor Monitoring
#> 6 Invenergy Whale Monitoring
#> ocean website
#> 1 NW ATLANTIC <NA>
#> 2 NW ATLANTIC https://www.beneaththewaves.org/initiatives/
#> 3 NW ATLANTIC https://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu
#> 4 NW ATLANTIC https://www.rappahannocktribe.org/environmentalservices/
#> 5 NW ATLANTIC <NA>
#> 6 NW ATLANTIC https://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu
#> datacenter_infourl
#> 1 NA
#> 2 NA
#> 3 NA
#> 4 NA
#> 5 NA
#> 6 NA
#> institutionname
#> 1 Rutgers University Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences
#> 2 Mid-Atlantic Acoustic Telemetry Observation System
#> 3 Rutgers University Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences
#> 4 Rappahannock Tribe
#> 5 Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Marine Fisheries
#> 6 Rutgers University Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences
otn_list_stats(network = "otn_devel")
#> $project_count
#> [1] 1662
#>
#> $contributor_count
#> [1] 2501
#>
#> $inst_count
#> [1] 479
#>
#> $species_count
#> [1] 468
#>
#> $rcvr_count
#> [1] 2814You can also query projects according to code, country of origin, species, institution, node, or point of contact.
otn_search_node("ACT") |>
head()
#> node collectioncode country longitude latitude
#> 1 ACT ASISEAL USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 2 ACT SBURAA USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 3 ACT WRWASTBASS USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 4 ACT WTGHABASS USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 5 ACT NCBONITO USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 6 ACT CT008 USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> shortname
#> 1 ASI - Seal Movement in New England Waters
#> 2 SBU HRF Sturgeon RAA
#> 3 WRWA/ SBI Striped Bass
#> 4 WTGHA Menemsha Complex Striped Bass
#> 5 NC Atlantic Bonito Tagging - NCSU/TNC
#> 6 CT DEEP Array (2022-2026)
#> longname
#> 1 Understanding the movement ecology of rehabilitated seals in New England waters and potential interaction with white sharks
#> 2 Defining the ecological and conservation importance of the Rockaway Atlantic Sturgeon aggregation area (RAA)
#> 3 Initial assessment of seasonal fidelity of striped bass in the Westport River.
#> 4 Striped Bass Site Attachment and Habitat Use in Menemsha Pond
#> 5 Tracking coastwide movements of Atlantic bonito, Sarda sarda
#> 6 CT DEEP array of VEMCO receivers in Long Island Sound and lower Connecticut River, 2022-2026.
#> ocean website
#> 1 NW ATLANTIC http://www.atlanticsharkinstitute.org
#> 2 NW ATLANTIC <NA>
#> 3 NW ATLANTIC <NA>
#> 4 NW ATLANTIC <NA>
#> 5 NW ATLANTIC <NA>
#> 6 NW ATLANTIC <NA>
#> datacenter_infourl
#> 1 https://matos.asascience.com/
#> 2 https://matos.asascience.com/
#> 3 https://matos.asascience.com/
#> 4 https://matos.asascience.com/
#> 5 https://matos.asascience.com/
#> 6 https://matos.asascience.com/
# This accepts partial matches
otn_search_code("tail")
#> node collectioncode country longitude latitude shortname
#> 1 ACT TAILWINDS USA -73.8185 38.0705 UMCES TailWinds
#> longname
#> 1 TailWinds: Team for Assessing Impacts to Living resources from offshore WIND turbineS
#> ocean website datacenter_infourl
#> 1 NW ATLANTIC https://tailwinds.umces.edu/ https://matos.asascience.com/
# This does not accept partial matches
otn_search_contact("Mike O'Brien")
#> node collectioncode country longitude latitude
#> 1 ACT NAVYKENN USA -69.7800 43.7750
#> 2 ACT CBBBMB USA -73.8150 38.0700
#> 3 ACT TAILWINDS USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> 4 ACT MAMBON USA -73.8185 38.0705
#> shortname
#> 1 Navy Kennebec ME Telemetry Array
#> 2 UMCES Chesapeake Backbone, Mid-Bay
#> 3 UMCES TailWinds
#> 4 Mid-Atlantic MBON
#> longname
#> 1 Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Kennebec River and Offshore Acoustic Telemetry Monitoring
#> 2 Building a Mainstem Chesapeake Bay Telemetry Array: Mid-Bay Segment
#> 3 TailWinds: Team for Assessing Impacts to Living resources from offshore WIND turbineS
#> 4 Mid-Atlantic MBON: Dynamic Biodiversity and Telemetry Data for a Changing Coast
#> ocean website
#> 1 NW ATLANTIC <NA>
#> 2 NW ATLANTIC <NA>
#> 3 NW ATLANTIC https://tailwinds.umces.edu/
#> 4 NW ATLANTIC https://marinebon.org/us-mbon/mid-atlantic-mbon/
#> datacenter_infourl
#> 1 https://matos.asascience.com/
#> 2 https://matos.asascience.com/
#> 3 https://matos.asascience.com/
#> 4 https://matos.asascience.com/Logging in
You’ll need to log in to access other parts of the CMS using otn_login. This package is meant to interface with any node’s Plone instance. You can switch between them using the network argument.
otn_login(network = 'act')
#> ✔ Login successful!If you don’t wish to enter your username and password every time, you can set the credentials for your system using the otn_set_credentials helper function.
otn_set_credentials("act")
otn_login("act")Listing project files
List your project’s files:
otn_project_files(project = 'tailwinds', batch_size = 5)
#> name description
#> 1 tailwinds_master_metadata_20240812.csv
#> 2 tailwinds_metadata_deployment_202411.xlsx
#> 3 tailwinds_otn_metadata_deployment.xlsx
#> 4 tailwinds_otn_metadata_deployment_202404.xlsx
#> 5 VR2AR_546307_20240425_1.vrl
#> url
#> 1 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/receiver-metadata/tailwinds_master_metadata_20240812.csv
#> 2 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/receiver-metadata/tailwinds_metadata_deployment_202411.xlsx
#> 3 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/receiver-metadata/tailwinds_otn_metadata_deployment.xlsx
#> 4 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/receiver-metadata/tailwinds_otn_metadata_deployment_202404.xlsx
#> 5 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/detection-files/vr2ar_546307_20240425_1.vrl
#> created modified creator size type
#> 1 2026-06-10 03:51:32 2026-06-10 03:51:32 krichie 2.5 KB File
#> 2 2026-06-10 03:51:58 2026-06-10 03:51:58 krichie 41.9 KB File
#> 3 2026-06-10 03:52:17 2026-06-10 03:52:17 krichie 37.0 KB File
#> 4 2026-06-10 03:52:30 2026-06-10 03:52:30 krichie 36.7 KB File
#> 5 2026-06-10 03:55:34 2026-06-10 03:55:34 krichie 751.0 KB File
otn_extract_files(project = 'tailwinds', batch_size = 5)
#> name description
#> 1 tailwinds_qualified_detections_2023.parquet
#> 2 tailwinds_qualified_detections_2023.zip
#> 3 tailwinds_qualified_detections_2024.parquet
#> 4 tailwinds_qualified_detections_2024.zip
#> 5 tailwinds_unqualified_detections_2023.parquet
#> url
#> 1 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_qualified_detections_2023-parquet
#> 2 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_qualified_detections_2023.zip
#> 3 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_qualified_detections_2024-parquet
#> 4 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_qualified_detections_2024.zip
#> 5 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_unqualified_detections_2023-parquet
#> created modified creator size type
#> 1 2026-06-12 13:25:31 2026-06-12 13:25:31 krichie 133.0 KB File
#> 2 2026-06-12 13:25:49 2026-06-12 13:25:50 krichie 95.6 KB File
#> 3 2026-06-12 13:26:03 2026-06-12 13:26:03 krichie 174.2 KB File
#> 4 2026-06-12 13:26:19 2026-06-12 13:26:19 krichie 129.7 KB File
#> 5 2026-06-12 13:26:33 2026-06-12 13:26:33 krichie 602.3 KB FileOr, just grab the ones modified more recently using the since argument:
otn_project_files(
project = 'tailwinds',
since = "2026-06-01",
batch_size = 5
)
#> name description
#> 1 tailwinds_master_metadata_20240812.csv
#> 2 tailwinds_metadata_deployment_202411.xlsx
#> 3 tailwinds_otn_metadata_deployment.xlsx
#> 4 tailwinds_otn_metadata_deployment_202404.xlsx
#> 5 VR2AR_546307_20240425_1.vrl
#> url
#> 1 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/receiver-metadata/tailwinds_master_metadata_20240812.csv
#> 2 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/receiver-metadata/tailwinds_metadata_deployment_202411.xlsx
#> 3 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/receiver-metadata/tailwinds_otn_metadata_deployment.xlsx
#> 4 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/receiver-metadata/tailwinds_otn_metadata_deployment_202404.xlsx
#> 5 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/data-and-metadata/detection-files/vr2ar_546307_20240425_1.vrl
#> created modified creator size type
#> 1 2026-06-10 03:51:32 2026-06-10 03:51:32 krichie 2.5 KB File
#> 2 2026-06-10 03:51:58 2026-06-10 03:51:58 krichie 41.9 KB File
#> 3 2026-06-10 03:52:17 2026-06-10 03:52:17 krichie 37.0 KB File
#> 4 2026-06-10 03:52:30 2026-06-10 03:52:30 krichie 36.7 KB File
#> 5 2026-06-10 03:55:34 2026-06-10 03:55:34 krichie 751.0 KB File
otn_extract_files(
project = 'tailwinds',
since = "2026-06-01",
batch_size = 5
)
#> name description
#> 1 tailwinds_qualified_detections_2023.parquet
#> 2 tailwinds_qualified_detections_2023.zip
#> 3 tailwinds_qualified_detections_2024.parquet
#> 4 tailwinds_qualified_detections_2024.zip
#> 5 tailwinds_unqualified_detections_2023.parquet
#> url
#> 1 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_qualified_detections_2023-parquet
#> 2 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_qualified_detections_2023.zip
#> 3 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_qualified_detections_2024-parquet
#> 4 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_qualified_detections_2024.zip
#> 5 https://data.theactnetwork.com/data/repository/tailwinds/detection-extracts/tailwinds_unqualified_detections_2023-parquet
#> created modified creator size type
#> 1 2026-06-12 13:25:31 2026-06-12 13:25:31 krichie 133.0 KB File
#> 2 2026-06-12 13:25:49 2026-06-12 13:25:50 krichie 95.6 KB File
#> 3 2026-06-12 13:26:03 2026-06-12 13:26:03 krichie 174.2 KB File
#> 4 2026-06-12 13:26:19 2026-06-12 13:26:19 krichie 129.7 KB File
#> 5 2026-06-12 13:26:33 2026-06-12 13:26:33 krichie 602.3 KB FileDownload files
You can pipe this list into otn_download to save the files to your computer:
otn_extract_files(
project = 'tailwinds',
since = "2026-06-01",
batch_size = 1
) |>
otn_download()
#> ℹ Files saved to ./tailwinds_qualified_detections_2023.parquet.Or download directly via its URL:
otn_download(
url = "https://members.devel.oceantrack.org/data/repository/nsbs/detection-extracts/nsbs_matched_detections_2017.zip"
)Upload files
Upload files to the staging area in preparation for the next data push:
"VR2AR_XYZ_123.vrl" |>
otn_upload("my_project")Summarize your detection extracts
You can create otndo reports using the otn_receiver_summary and otn_tag_summary helper functions.
otn_receiver_summary("tailwinds")
otn_tag_summary("mdwea")