USGS Alaska Science Center Wildlife Tracking Data Collection
Science Center Objects
Understanding the short- and long-distance movements of wildlife is critical for a wide variety of ecological research questions and management decisions. Since the mid-1980s, the USGS Alaska Science Center has used information from telemetry devices on wildlife species to determine locations of animals throughout their annual cycles, understand patterns of habitat use, quantify time spent on certain behaviors, and identify geographic areas repeatedly used by wildlife that may indicate sites of importance to species and populations.
Return to Ecosystems
Animation illustrates movements of all Tundra Swans that were tracked using Argos Wildlife Tracking.
(Credit: David Douglas, USGS. Public domain.)
About the Collection
Available here are links to the tracking data of various wildlife species studied at the USGS Alaska Science Center. Data sets listed under "Species" follow a standardized data and metadata format developed by the USGS Alaska Science Center in 2019. Data sets listed under "Additional Tracking Data" were released before the 2019 standardized format was developed.
Suggested Citation: U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 2019, USGS Alaska Science Center wildlife tracking data collection: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9VYSWEH
Species
| Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus) | Common Murre (Uria aalge) |
| Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) | Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia) |
| Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) | Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) |
| Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) | Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) |
| Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) | Gull Species and Hybrids (Larus spp.) |
| Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) | Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) |
| Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) | Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica) |
| Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) | Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii) |
| Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) | Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) |
| Black Scoter (Melanitta americana) | Red-faced Cormorant (Phalacrocorax urile) |
| Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) | Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) |
| Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) |
Additional Tracking Data
U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, has previously released tracking data sets outside of this Collection. Click here to view previously released data and maps.
- Polar Bear
- Pacific Walrus
- Greater White-fronted Goose
Supplemental Reference Information
Argos User Manuals
- Argos Users Manual, online
- Argos Users Manual, 1988
- Argos Users Manual, 2008
- Argos Users Manual, 2011
- Argos Users Manual, 2016
Microwave Telemetry, Inc., PTT Manuals
- MTI Field Manual_PTT-100_Battery
- MTI Field Manual_PTT-100_Solar
- MTI Field Manual_PTT-100_5g Solar
- MTI Field Manual_PTT-100_GPS Solar
Supplemental Information About the Argos System
- Argos Web Site
- USFWS Report 1988_Satellite Tracking Assessment
- USFWS Report 1990_Satellite Tracking Applications
R scripts for reading processed tracking data
- Read processed USGS tracking data from a downloaded USGS data package
- Read processed USGS tracking data directly from a Movebank study
*Disclaimer: The manuals are strictly provided for informational purposes for the data provided. They are not an endorsement of the product.
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Date published: October 9, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Tufted Puffins (Fratercula cirrhata)
Available here are tracking data for the tufted puffin, a seabird species that is found only in coastal and offshore areas of the North Pacific Ocean. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of tufted puffins that breed in the Aleutian Islands.
Contacts: David DouglasAttribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: October 9, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis)
Available here are tracking data for the northern fulmar, a seabird species that breeds throughout northern ocean regions and spends the winter at-sea in the northern hemisphere. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of northern fulmars in the Bergin Sea.
Contacts: David DouglasAttribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: August 18, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)
Available here are tracking data for the pelagic cormorant, a seabird species that breeds throughout the northern Pacific Ocean and spends the winter in East Asia and throughout costal portions of western North America. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of Pelagic cormorants that breed in southeast Alaska.
Contacts: David DouglasAttribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: August 18, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Common Murres (Uria aalge)
Available here are tracking data for the common murre, a seabird species that is found in regions of the North Pacific and Atlantic oceans, often in dense breeding colonies on cliffs and in large flocks on the water. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of this species in the North Pacific Ocean and Chukchi Sea.
Contacts: David DouglasAttribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: August 18, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia)
Available here are tracking data for the thick-billed murre, a seabird species that is found in the Arctic and regions of the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of this species in the Chukchi Sea.
Contacts: David DouglasAttribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: August 17, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Red-faced Cormorants (Phalacrocorax urile)
Available here are tracking data for the red-faced cormorant, a seabird species that is found only in the North Pacific Ocean, breeding and wintering from southern Alaska and throughout the Aleutian Islands to Far Eastern Russia. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of red-faced cormorants that breed in the Aleutian Islands.
Contacts: David DouglasAttribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: July 30, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri)
Available here are tracking data of Spectacled Eider, a sea duck species that breeds only in Alaska and Russia and spends the winter exclusively in the Bering Sea. The Alaska breeding population is listed as threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. These data were collected to better understand the winter distribution in the Bering Sea and locate birds for winter aerial...
Contacts: David DouglasAttribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: June 26, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Three Large-bodied Gull Species and Hybrids (Larus spp.)
Available here are tracking data of large-bodied gull species and hybrids (Larus species). These data were collected to better understand the migratory movements of these birds and their role in the dispersal of antibiotic resistant bacteria among areas of Alaska and other regions.
Contacts: Andy Ramey, Ph.D., David DouglasAttribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: March 18, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Available here are tracking data of Surf Scoter, a duck species that breeds throughout higher latitudes of Alaska and Canada and winters along coastal areas of North America. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements between breeding and wintering areas.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: March 12, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Black Scoter (Melanitta americana)
Available here are tracking data of Black Scoter, a duck species that breeds throughout higher latitudes of Alaska and Canada and winters along coastal areas of North America. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements between breeding and wintering areas.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center