This journal article references diversity, oil contaminant, population abundance, and species richness data of nearshore bird communities from Prince William Sound, Alaska. The aforementioned data are referenced in citation: Wiens, J.A., T.O. Crist, R.H. Day, S.M. Murphy, and G.D. Hayward. 1996. Effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on marine bird communities in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Ecological Applications 6:828-841. This literature was collected as part of a metadatabase that represents one or more nearshore resources (from physical attributes such as water and air, to birds and mammals). Each entry is viewable in three formats, 1) a geospatial explicit format (ArcView 3.3) named GIS ArcView 3.3 Near GEM project, 2) a spreadsheet format (Excel 2002 and within ArcView) named GEM Nearshore Metadata Set, and 3) a ProCite database named GEM Nearshore Metadata References, which consists of references included in 1 and 2 above. The ProCite database record number corresponds to the Excel Procite Number. Reference Procite #1045 for this literature's metadata. The metadata are maintained in digital format (ArcView 3.3, Excel 2002, and Procite) and are available from the Alaska Science Center, USGS in Anchorage, Alaska. For a detailed description of the three databases and the project, see "Bodkin, J. L., and T. Dean. 2003. Alternative Sampling Designs for Nearshore Monitoring (Gulf Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Project G-030687), US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska." available on-line at http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/pdf/GEM_final_reports/030687.pdf.