This READ ME file was generated on 2021-01-12 by Nicholas Hollingshead GENERAL INFORMATION 1. Title of Dataset: New York State Wildlife Rehabilitator Logs 2012-2014 2. Author Information A. Principal Investigator Contact Information Name: Elizabeth Bunting Institution: Cornell Wildlife Health Lab, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University Address: 240 Farrier Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 Email: emb54@cornell.edu B. Associate or Co-investigator Contact Information Name: Nicholas Hollingshead Institution: Cornell Wildlife Health Lab, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University Address: 240 Farrier Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 Email: nah88@cornell.edu Name: Melissa Hanson Institution: Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Address: 930 Campus Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850 Email: meh352@cornell.edu 3. Date of data collection (single date, range, approximate date): 2012-01-01 to 2014-12-31 4. Geographic location of data collection: New York State, USA 5. Information about funding sources or sponsorship that supported the collection of the data: The dataset was created by the Wildlife Health Program is a collaboration between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab at Cornell University. SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: This dataset is shared under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC-0, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). The data are freely available for reuse, but proper attribution to the original authors is expected. 2. Recommended citation for this dataset: Hanson, Melissa, Nicholas Hollingshead, Krysten Schuler, William F. Siemer, Patrick Martin, and Elizabeth M. Bunting. (2021) New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Logs 2012-2014 [Dataset]. Cornell University Library eCommons Repository. https://10.0.28.130/bzb0-eg69 3. Links to publications that cite or use the data: Species, causes, and outcomes of wildlife rehabilitation in New York State (publication in review) 4. Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: None. 5. Links/relationships to ancillary data sets: None. 6. Was data derived from another source? Yes Wildlife Rehabilitation Log forms submitted annually to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Special Licenses Unit for calendar years 2012, 2013, and 2014 by wildlife rehabilitators licensed in New York State. DATA & FILE OVERVIEW 1. File List: new_york_state_wildlife_rehabilitation_logs_2012_2014.csv 2. Relationship between files, if important: None. 3. Additional related data collected that was not included in the current data package: None. 4. Are there multiple versions of the dataset? No A. If yes, name of file(s) that was updated: i. Why was the file updated? ii. When was the file updated? METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION 1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: In New York State, the practice of wildlife rehabilitation requires a special license issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). A condition of that license is the maintenance of a record of operations known as the Wildlife Rehabilitation Log (WRL). Licensed wildlife rehabilitators must submit a hardcopy of the WRL annually on December 1 to the NYSDEC Special Licenses Unit (SLU). The log includes data about animals handled by the wildlife rehabilitator during the previous 12 months. More information about the New York State Wildlife Rehabilitator License, instructions for the WRL, and a copy of the WRL form can be found on the DEC website (https://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/25027.html). Sources: Department of Environmental Conservation. Rehabilitator Log Form. URL:https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/wrllog16.pdf (retrieved 2020-01-20). Department of Environmental Conservation. Rehabilitator Log Form Instructions. URL: https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/wrlloginstruct16.pdf (retrieved 2020-01-20). 2. Methods for processing the data: Hardcopy WRLs for reporting years 2012, 2013, and 2014 were manually digitized and aggregated in a custom Microsoft Office Access database (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, USA, 90852). WRLs for reporting year 2012 were first entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, then migrated to the database. WRLs for reporting years 2013 and 2014 were entered directly into the custom Access database. A single database record was created for each animal. All database records were reviewed for accuracy, logic, and formatting consistency; and all data were standardized. The WRL instructions indicate the licensed wildlife rehabilitator should provide a single Cause of Distress for each record. For records with more than one Cause of Distress indicated, a single Cause of Distress was selected as the Primary Cause of Distress based on the perceived order of events and relative detriment to an animal’s health condition as concluded jointly by a committee made up of a veterinarian, a wildlife biologist, and a data analyst. Each animal record was assigned a unique database identification number. To maintain a reasonable level of anonymity of the wildlife rehabilitators, a unique identification number was assigned to each WRL. Therefore, if a single wildlife rehabilitator submitted WRLs in each reporting year from 2012, 2013, and 2014, a different unique rehabilitator identifier was assigned for each reporting year. Domestic animal species and non-native species were marked for exclusion from subsequent data processing and export. The dataset was exported from the Access database in comma-separated value (CSV) file format using UTF-8 encoding. 3. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: None. 4. Standards and calibration information, if appropriate: None. 5. Environmental/experimental conditions: None. 6. Describe any quality-assurance procedures performed on the data: All database records were reviewed for accuracy, logic, and formatting consistency. Duplicate WRL records were marked for exclusion from further data processing. WRL recording errors and data entry transcription errors, such as incorrect spelling of species or place names, were corrected. Species names were standardized using currently accepted names listed in the Checklist of Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals of New York State Including Their Legal Status from the New York State DEC Division of Fish and Wildlife (Albany, 2019); and the New York State Ornithological Association’s Checklist of the Birds of New York State (2019). Cause of Distress codes and Disposition codes were standardized according to the lists of allowed values indicated in the WRL instructions. Incomplete and inaccurate records, as well as records for domestic and captive animals, were marked for exclusion. Sources: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Fish and Wildlife. Checklist of Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals of New York State Including Their Legal Status. Albany; 2019. The New York State Ornithological Association I. Checklist of the Birds of New York State. 2019. 7. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: Hardcopy WRLs were collected by the NYSDEC SLU. Data entry was completed by NYSDEC SLU and CWHL staff. Lily Cheng, Richalice Melendez, and Mariacamila Garcia Estrella Nicholas Hollingshead (CWHL) managed the digitization process, created the custom Microsoft Access database, and managed all data processing steps. Melissa Hanson (CWHL) performed all data accuracy and quality assurance procedures. Elizabeth Bunting (CWHL), Krysten Schuler (CWHL), and Melissa Hanson (CWHL) reviewed WRL records with multiple Cause of Distress values indicated to determine a single Primary Cause of Distress. DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: new_york_state_wildlife_rehabilitator_logs_2012_2014.csv 1. Number of variables: 9 2. Number of cases/rows: 1 3. Variable List: WRL ID: a randomly assigned unique identification number (long integer) for each wildlife rehabilitation log (WRL) Animal ID: a dataset-wide unique identification number (long integer) for each animal; unique across all reporting years and WRLs Reporting Year: the year (4 digit integer), ending December 1 annually, in which the WRL record was submitted Species: standardized species common name Distress Cause: the cause of distress code as recorded in the WRL record indicating the reason why the animal was admitted by the wildlife rehabilitator Distress Code - Definition A - Orphaned A1 - Parent(s) whereabouts unknown A2 - Parent(s) known killed by domestic pet A3 - Parent(s) killed by car A4 - Unnecessary human intervention B - Collision B1 - Vehicle B2 - Window Building B3 – Powerline C – Injured by other animal or human C1 - Cat C2 - Dog C3 - Human C4 - Natural Predator C5 - Unknown D – Mechanical injury D1 - Gunshot/arrow D2 - Trap D3 - Mower/tiller/hay baler D4 - Other E - Accidental Entrapment E1 - Entrapped in building E2 - Entrapped in fireplace / chimney E3 - Entrapped in window well E4 - Head in jar / can F - Entanglement F1 - Fishing Line (ex. Monofilament, nylon, etc.) F2 - Beverage holder / container (plastic) F3 - String barbed wire, other G - Soaked or Similar Damage G1 - Oil G2 - Gas G3 - Other G4 - Unknown H - Poison or Toxin Ingestion H1 - Lead H2 - Lawn Chemicals H3 – Anti-freeze H4 - Other H5 - Unknown I - Parasitism I1 - Internal (baylisascans, other) I2 - External (mange, fleas, ticks, lice, other) J - Abnormality K - Ex-botulism/Other L - Viral Disease L1 - Distemper L2 - Avian Pox L3 - Unknown L4 - Other M - Natural Disturbance N - Disturbance N1 - Nest removed/tree cut N2 - Building Construction N3 - Other O - Other P - Unknown Distress Cause Primary: the single primary cause of distress code as determined by an expert committee Date received: the date the animal was admitted by the wildlife rehabilitator Disposition: the disposition code given by the wildlife rehabilitator on the WRL indicating the outcome of the wildlife rehabilitators treatment of the animal. Disposition Code – Definition R - Released to the wild P - Still under care T - Transferred to another rehabilitator for continued care PC - Animal permanently non-releasable, transferred or held by a person with a valid NYS license I - Animal permanently non-releasable, transferred to an educational institute with a valid NYS license D - Died under/prior to receiving care E - Euthanized Disposition date: the date of the indicated disposition 4. Missing data codes: Blank cells indicate when no values provided by the rehabilitators. 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: Fields with coded values described above.