Satellite Telemetry Dataset (Raw): Juvenile Bearded and Spotted Seals, 2004-2006, Kotzebue, Alaska

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. During a cooperative effort between scientists and subsistence hunters in October 2004, 2005, and 2006, 13 female and 13 male juvenile (i.e., age <2) bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) were tagged with satellite-linked dive recorders (SDRs) in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. While the focus of this study was on young bearded seals, an additional three female spotted seal (Phoca largha) pups and two adult spotted seal males were captured and deployed with satellite telemetry devices. 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_kotzeb04_get_data.Rmd' file is an RMarkdown file that provides code and documentation of the data retrieval process. The corresponding '00_kotzeb04_get_data.hml' file is generated from the RMarkdown file. All work was conducted in accordance with and under the authority of United States Marine Mammal Protection Act Scientific Research Permits 358-1585 and 358-1787. The project was reviewed and approved by the State of Alaska Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Permit No. 06-16 in 2007-2009.

髯海豹（Erignathus barbatus）是阿拉斯加北部与西部沿海原住民最重要的生存资源之一，同时也是北极海洋生态系统的关键组成部分，但目前学界对其种群丰度、季节分布、迁徙模式及觅食行为的科学记载仍相对匮乏。依附海冰生存的海豹种群可能受到近海油气开发与气候变化的负面影响。2004、2005及2006年10月，在科学家与本土捕猎者的合作项目中，研究人员在阿拉斯加科策布湾（Kotzebue Sound）为13头雌性、13头雄性幼年髯海豹（即年龄小于2岁）佩戴了卫星链接式潜水记录仪（satellite-linked dive recorders, SDRs）。尽管本研究的核心关注对象为幼年髯海豹，但团队还额外捕获了3头雌性斑海豹（Phoca largha）幼崽与2头成年雄性斑海豹，并为其部署了卫星遥测设备。本数据集内的所有数据文件均为从Wildlife Computers数据门户获取的原始数据。每一次标记部署（由唯一标签ID与动物ID组合构成）均以压缩归档文件形式提供。根文件夹中还包含额外的辅助说明文档。各类文件及详细的列字段说明已收录于《Spreadsheet-File-Descriptions.pdf》，该文档可从Wildlife Computers官网（https://wildlifecomputers.com/support/downloads/）下载获取。文件"00_kotzeb04_get_data.Rmd"为RMarkdown文档，包含了数据获取流程的代码与说明；由该RMarkdown文件生成的对应文件为"00_kotzeb04_get_data.hml"。所有研究工作均严格遵循《美国海洋哺乳动物保护法（United States Marine Mammal Protection Act）》，并在编号为358-1585与358-1787的科学研究许可授权下开展。本项目已于2007至2009年间通过阿拉斯加州机构动物护理与使用委员会（Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, IACUC）许可编号06-16的审查与批准。