Catalogue of Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Maternal Den Locations in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and Nearby Areas, 1910-2018

This data reports on the approximate locations and methods of discovery of 530 polar bear (Ursus maritimus) maternal dens observed in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas and neighboring areas between 1910 and 2018, and archived partly by the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, and partly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management, in Anchorage, Alaska. Data fields include a unique and permanent USGS identifier for each record, the year when the adult would have been expected to depart the den with young, an index of whether the maternal den was confirmed or probable, coordinates of the den, substrate that each den occurred on, the agency source of each record, method of discovery of each den, method used to determine the position of each den, and estimated position uncertainty. Data were collected through standardized VHF aircraft surveys and satellite radio telemetry, field research activities in polar bear habitat, and anecdotal reports from other government agencies, coastal residents, and industry personnel. The polar bear maternal den records presented here supersede an earlier version of these data (Durner and others, 2010).

本数据集记录了1910年至2018年间，在波弗特海、楚科奇海及邻近海域观测到的530个北极熊（Ursus maritimus）母性育幼巢穴的大致位置与发现方式，数据部分存档于美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey，USGS）阿拉斯加科学中心，其余存档于阿拉斯加州安克雷奇的美国鱼类及野生动物管理局海洋哺乳动物管理部门。
数据集包含以下数据字段：每条记录唯一且永久的USGS标识符、成年母熊携幼离开巢穴的预计年份、母熊巢穴为确认存在或疑似存在的分类索引、巢穴坐标、巢穴所在的底质类型、每条记录的机构来源、巢穴的发现方法、确定巢穴位置所采用的手段，以及估算的位置不确定性。
本数据集通过以下方式采集：标准化甚高频（VHF）航空调查、卫星无线电遥测、北极熊栖息地实地研究活动，以及来自其他政府机构、沿海居民与行业从业人员的传闻报告。
本次公开的北极熊母性育幼巢穴记录，替代了该数据集的早期版本（Durner等人，2010年）。