Data rescue and curation of modern and historic collections of Alaskan sea otter and walrus specimens at the UA Museum, from 1945 to 2022

• Main Authors: Aren Gunderson, Kyndall Hildebrandt, Link Olson
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Research Workspace 2022
• Subjects: OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN > BERING SEA; OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN; OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN > GULF OF ALASKA; CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > ALASKA; Odobenus rosmarus; Enhydra lutris; Erignathus barbatus; phoque barbu, squareflipper, ugruk, Bearded Seal; Histriophoca fasciata; Ribbon Seal; Pusa hispida; Ringed Seal; Phoca; hair seals, harbor seals; Cetacea; cetaceans, whales, dolphins, marine mammals, porpoises, baleia, cetáceo, golfinho, baleines, cétacés, dauphins, mammfères marins, marsouins; Phocidae; earless seals, true seals; Nutria marina, Sea Otter; morse, Walrus; 1945-2022; Quaternary; database; data rescue; archived data; sea otter; walrus; marine mammals; Specimen-based research; Museum; Gulf of Alaska; North Pacific Ocean; Beaufort Sea; Bering Sea; Aleutian Islands; climate change; biodiversity; Alaska; museum specimen; marine birds and mammals; Pacific; Morse; Dauphins; Barbu; bearded seal; Phoque barbu; ringed seal; morse; walrus*
• Online Access: https://search.dataone.org/view/10.24431_rw1k6ce_20220601T213432Z

Specimen data are recorded at the site of collection by the collectors and in the lab by museum technicians. This dataset includes specimen data and metadata from those specimens and specimen parts newly processed into the UA Museum Mammal Collection as part of this NPRB project 1913. This project has produced 5,752 professionally curated marine mammal specimens that were previously inaccessible to researchers. This includes 3,280 new walrus, 1,427 new sea otter, and 853 new seal specimens. Those specimens (tissues, skulls, and skeletons) and their data are now publicly discoverable and available for loan to qualified researchers through our specimen loan program (https://www.uaf.edu/museum/collections/mammal/policies/). The file is in CSV format but all data can be accessed in our online database Arctos at this link, https://arctos.database.museum/archive/nprb1913uammammals, and is now discoverable in museum data aggregator databases such as Vertnet (http://vertnet.org/) and GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/). Details on each specimen include, but are not limited to, scientific name, state of speciment, collection date, collection location, and specimen parts available.