Polar Bear Distribution and Habitat Resource Selection Data, Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, 1985-2016

• Main Author: Durner, George M
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: U.S. Geological Survey 2019
• Subjects: bears, polar bears, species life history, threatened species, marine mammals, Biogeography, Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, Alaska, environment; Arctic; Chukchi Sea; Arctic Basin; Beaufort Sea; Chukchi; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5066/p9zrj3xu; https://alaska.usgs.gov/products/data.php?dataid=246

These data from satellite radio-collared adult female polar bears captured in the southern Beaufort Sea, 1985-2016 were used for testing the regional, seasonal and decadal efficacy of retrospective polar bear resource selection functions (RSF) developed for the Arctic basin and its peripheral seas (see Durner et al. 2009). The data includes the following: 1) a csv file of locations used to build a 99% minimum convex polygon study area; 2) a csv file of locations, that occurred within the study area, and were used to test RSFs; 3) a csv file of locations used to build seasonal kernel utilization distributions (95% and 50% contours) for periods 1985-1995, 1996-2006, and 2007-2016.