Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

USGS Alaska Science Center Wildlife Tracking Data Collection

Active
By Alaska Science Center June 25, 2024

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

About the Collection

Argos Wildlife Tracking Tundra Swan
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Animation illustrates movements of all Tundra Swans that were tracked using Argos Wildlife Tracking.
(Credit: David Douglas, USGS)

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.

 Wildlife Tracking Data Collection Metadata

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

 

Birds

  
Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus) Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis)
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

  1. USFWS data release
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) Common Murre (Uria aalge)
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris)

Steller's Eider (Polysticta stelleri)

  1. USFWS data release
 Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata)
Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) Gull Species and Hybrids (Larus spp.)
Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica)
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana) Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii)
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)  Red-faced Cormorant (Phalacrocorax urile)
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)

Mammals
Pacific Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)
Caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti)

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
  • Greater White-fronted Goose

 

Supplemental Reference Information

Argos User Manuals 

Microwave Telemetry, Inc., PTT Manuals

Supplemental Information About the Argos System

R scripts for reading processed tracking data

*Disclaimer: The manuals are strictly provided for informational purposes for the data provided.  They are not an endorsement of the product.

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

Filter Total Items: 17
link
Yellow-billed Loon on a lake in the northern area of Alaska.

Tracking Data for Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii)

Available here are tracking data of Yellow-billed loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas of western and northern Alaska and adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. This species winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. These data were collected to better understand the patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different regions of Alaska
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii)

Available here are tracking data of Yellow-billed loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas of western and northern Alaska and adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. This species winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. These data were collected to better understand the patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different regions of Alaska
Learn More
link
Blue-winged Teal flying with a satellite transmitter

Tracking Data for Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)

Available here are tracking data of Blue-winged Teal, a duck species that breeds throughout much of North America and whose wintering range includes neotropical areas of the Caribbean and Central and South America, thus providing a migratory link between the continents of North and South America. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movement of Blue...
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)

Available here are tracking data of Blue-winged Teal, a duck species that breeds throughout much of North America and whose wintering range includes neotropical areas of the Caribbean and Central and South America, thus providing a migratory link between the continents of North and South America. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movement of Blue...
Learn More
link
A Red-throated Loon swimming in a small lake

Tracking Data for Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata)

Available here are tracking data of Red-throated Loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas throughout Alaska and winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. These data were collected to better understand the patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different regions of Alaska.
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata)

Available here are tracking data of Red-throated Loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas throughout Alaska and winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. These data were collected to better understand the patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different regions of Alaska.
Learn More
link
Northern Pintail Duck swimming

Tracking Data for Northern Pintails (Anas acuta)

Available here are tracking data of Northern Pintails, a duck species that, in Alaska, nests throughout the state and in adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements of Northern Pintails from wintering grounds in Japan as part of a project on the possible spread of Eurasian forms of avian influenza to North...
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Northern Pintails (Anas acuta)

Available here are tracking data of Northern Pintails, a duck species that, in Alaska, nests throughout the state and in adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements of Northern Pintails from wintering grounds in Japan as part of a project on the possible spread of Eurasian forms of avian influenza to North...
Learn More
link
A shorebird walking through the grasses in southwestern Alaska

Tracking Data for Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa)

Available here are tracking data of Marbled Godwits, a large-bodied shorebird that, in Alaska, nests in the southwestern portion of the state. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different coastal areas in the Pacific region.
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa)

Available here are tracking data of Marbled Godwits, a large-bodied shorebird that, in Alaska, nests in the southwestern portion of the state. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different coastal areas in the Pacific region.
Learn More

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

About the Collection

Argos Wildlife Tracking Tundra Swan
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Animation illustrates movements of all Tundra Swans that were tracked using Argos Wildlife Tracking.
(Credit: David Douglas, USGS)

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.

 Wildlife Tracking Data Collection Metadata

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

 

Birds

  
Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus) Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis)
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

  1. USFWS data release
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) Common Murre (Uria aalge)
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris)

Steller's Eider (Polysticta stelleri)

  1. USFWS data release
 Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata)
Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) Gull Species and Hybrids (Larus spp.)
Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica)
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana) Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii)
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)  Red-faced Cormorant (Phalacrocorax urile)
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)

Mammals
Pacific Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)
Caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti)

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
  • Greater White-fronted Goose

 

Supplemental Reference Information

Argos User Manuals 

Microwave Telemetry, Inc., PTT Manuals

Supplemental Information About the Argos System

R scripts for reading processed tracking data

*Disclaimer: The manuals are strictly provided for informational purposes for the data provided.  They are not an endorsement of the product.

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

Filter Total Items: 17
link
Yellow-billed Loon on a lake in the northern area of Alaska.

Tracking Data for Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii)

Available here are tracking data of Yellow-billed loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas of western and northern Alaska and adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. This species winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. These data were collected to better understand the patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different regions of Alaska
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii)

Available here are tracking data of Yellow-billed loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas of western and northern Alaska and adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. This species winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. These data were collected to better understand the patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different regions of Alaska
Learn More
link
Blue-winged Teal flying with a satellite transmitter

Tracking Data for Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)

Available here are tracking data of Blue-winged Teal, a duck species that breeds throughout much of North America and whose wintering range includes neotropical areas of the Caribbean and Central and South America, thus providing a migratory link between the continents of North and South America. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movement of Blue...
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)

Available here are tracking data of Blue-winged Teal, a duck species that breeds throughout much of North America and whose wintering range includes neotropical areas of the Caribbean and Central and South America, thus providing a migratory link between the continents of North and South America. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movement of Blue...
Learn More
link
A Red-throated Loon swimming in a small lake

Tracking Data for Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata)

Available here are tracking data of Red-throated Loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas throughout Alaska and winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. These data were collected to better understand the patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different regions of Alaska.
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata)

Available here are tracking data of Red-throated Loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas throughout Alaska and winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. These data were collected to better understand the patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different regions of Alaska.
Learn More
link
Northern Pintail Duck swimming

Tracking Data for Northern Pintails (Anas acuta)

Available here are tracking data of Northern Pintails, a duck species that, in Alaska, nests throughout the state and in adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements of Northern Pintails from wintering grounds in Japan as part of a project on the possible spread of Eurasian forms of avian influenza to North...
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Northern Pintails (Anas acuta)

Available here are tracking data of Northern Pintails, a duck species that, in Alaska, nests throughout the state and in adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements of Northern Pintails from wintering grounds in Japan as part of a project on the possible spread of Eurasian forms of avian influenza to North...
Learn More
link
A shorebird walking through the grasses in southwestern Alaska

Tracking Data for Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa)

Available here are tracking data of Marbled Godwits, a large-bodied shorebird that, in Alaska, nests in the southwestern portion of the state. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different coastal areas in the Pacific region.
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Tracking Data for Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa)

Available here are tracking data of Marbled Godwits, a large-bodied shorebird that, in Alaska, nests in the southwestern portion of the state. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of different coastal areas in the Pacific region.
Learn More