LOCATIONS_PAPER (spatial LOCATIONS in map numbers)

Contains one row for each moment in time the spatial location of an individual was taken, and recorded as a map sequence number.

The system will generate a warning if the community of the follow related to the location information, or that of the WATCHES row that exists to support the location record, is not the community associated with the location record. This means, if the LOCATIONS_PAPER.CommID is not the WATCHES.CommID of the related WATCHES row.

The OBS view is useful when querying LOCATIONS_PAPER.

Using OBS to provide a more complete picture of locations tracked on paper maps

SELECT obs.wid
     , obs.eid
     , obs.date
     , obs.animid
     , obs.commid AS watchescommid
     , obs.start AS time
     , locations_paper.mapseq
     , locations_paper.meterstonextmapseq
     , locations_paper.commid AS papercommid
     , locations_paper.follownum
     , locations_paper.origin
     , locations_paper.entered
     , obs.notes AS watch_notes
     , obs.event_notes
     , locations_paper.notes
  FROM obs
    JOIN locations_paper
         ON (locations_paper.eid = obs.eid)
  WHERE obs.behavior = 'PAPER'
  ORDER BY obs.animid, obs.date, obs.start
         , obs.eid;

EID (Event IDentifier)

The EVENTS.EID identifying the spatial map location event. A unique, automatically generated, positive integer which serves to identify the row. The value of this column cannot be changed. The related event contains information on the time associated with the location, and the related WATCHES row information on the located individual and the date.

This column may not be NULL.

MapSeq

The number of the map where the individual was located, where maps are numbered sequentially within the series of maps traversed during the follow. This column may not be NULL.

MetersToNextMapSeq

The number of meters to the next map sequence number. This number was calculated in various ways over time.

This column may not contain a negative value. This column may not be NULL.

CommID

A code for the community the observers associated with the location record; the COMM_IDS.CommID of the community. This is not necessarily the community the individual is a member of, although it usually is.

Note

This is not the canonical source of information on the focal’s community at the time of observation or the community under observation when the data was collected. It may, in fact, differ from the community recorded elsewhere.

Further, this column is not validated to the extent that WATCHES.CommID is validated. In particular, the COMM_IDS.Studied column is not examined to ensure that an individual is not observed in a study community before their BIOGRAPHY_DATA.EntryDate.

This column exists because of the way the community was recorded in the old MS Access database. There, the community was recorded twice, once in the follow and again with the record of location.

When there is no related follow, there is still a related WATCHES row that exists solely to provide information concerning location data. In this case the community information in the WATCHES row was initially the same as the value of this column. But the data could change and become out of sync.

This column exists so no information was lost in the conversion of the MS Access data to SokweDB. At some point in the future, perhaps when all inconsistencies between the value of this column and the community information recorded elsewhere are resolved, this column may be removed from this table.

This column may not be NULL.

FollowNum

A text string used for checking. This column may be empty text. It need not contain characters, but it may not contain only whitespace characters. This column may not be NULL.

Origin

A code indicating the source of the location information. A LOCATION_ORIGINS.Code value. This column may not be NULL.

Notes

Free form textual notes on the individual’s spatial placement. This column may be empty text. It need not contain characters, but it may not contain only whitespace characters. This column may not be NULL.

Entered

The person who recorded the location. A PEOPLE.Person value. This column may not be NULL.

Page last generated: 2026-08-13 23:02:22 UTC