A Dataset from Bio-Loggers Deployed on Adult Bearded Seals (Erignathus barbatus) in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, USA (2009-2012)

• Main Authors: Boveng, Peter, London, Josh, Cameron, Michael, Jansen, John, Whiting, Alex
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Axiom Data Science 2019
• Subjects: Arctic; Chukchi Sea; Barrow; Chukchi; Climate change; Erignathus barbatus; north slope; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.24431/rw1k31x; https://search.dataone.org/#view/10.24431/rw1k31x

Bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) are one of the most important subsistence resources for the indigenous people of coastal northern and western Alaska, as well as key components of Arctic marine ecosystems. Yet, relatively little about their abundance, seasonal distribution, migrations, or foraging behaviors has been documented scientifically. Ice-associated seal populations may be negatively impacted by offshore oil and gas development as well as by climate change. Our ability to predict impacts, however, is limited by inadequate knowledge of seal population structure and foraging ecology. By working cooperatively with Alaska Native subsistence hunters we developed methods for live- capturing bearded seals in the Chukchi Sea using nets set in the shallow coastal waters where bearded seals were foraging. Capture efforts were based out of Kotzebue and various locations in the North Slope Borough from Wainwright to Barrow in June and July from 2009 to 2012. In all, 7 seals were caught (2 adults and 5 sub-adults; 4 males and three females; ranging in length and weight from 159 cm and 116 kg to 216 cm and 253 kg), all from Kotzebue Sound. Each seal was released with two different types of bio-logging devices: the SPOT5, attached to a rear flipper, provided information on the timing of hauling out and on the seal’s location for up to three years. The MK10, glued to the top of a seal’s head, provided the same information as well as data on the timing and depths of dives. MK10 deployments remained active up to ten months and were shed from the seal during the annual molt. The data files within this dataset represent the 'raw' data obtained from the Wildlife Computers data portal. Each deployment (unique tag id + animal id combination) is provided as a zipped archive. The root folder also includes additional documentation. The various files and detailed column descriptions are described in the 'Spreadsheet-File-Descriptions.pdf' which was downloaded from Wildlife Computers (https://wildlifecomputers.com/support/downloads/). The '00_kotzeb0912_get_data.Rmd' file is an RMarkdown file that provides code and documentation of the data retrieval process. The corresponding '00_kotzeb0912_get_data.hml' file is autogenerated from the RMarkdown file.