ASC Data Repository
This dataset is one table with data collected and derived from polar bears sampled in Alaska's southern Beaufort Sea during 2015-2019. Data include demographic and morphometric information from each sampled polar bear, gut microbiome diversity indices derived from fecal DNA metabarcoding, and the proportion of prey species detected in individual bear diets derived from quantitative fatty acid analysis (QFASA). The presence of prey items in the diet of polar bears was also assessed using fecal DNA metabarcoding. Note that cetacean data obtained via DNA metabarcoding was not analyzed and is not presented in this data release. Only southern Beaufort Sea population data are included in this USGS data release. All DNA sequence data have been submitted to the NCBI Short Read Archive (accession bioproject ID: PRJNA773176).
Franz, M., L. Whyte, T. C. Atwood, D. M. Menning, S. A. Sonsthagen, S. L. Talbot, K. L. Laidre, M. A. Gonzalez, and M. A. McKinney. 2023. Fecal DNA metabarcoding in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from two different ecoregions provides credible short-term diet estimates and explains variation in their gut microbiome. Marine Ecology Progress Series 74:131-147. doi:10.3354/meps14228
Franz, M., L. Whyte, T. C. Atwood, K. L. Laidre, D. Roy, S. E. Watson, E. Góngora, and M. A. McKinney. 2022. Distinct gut microbiomes in two polar bear subpopulations inhabiting different sea ice ecoregions. Scientific Reports 12(522). doi:10.1038/s41598-021-04340-2
DataID: 566 | doi:10.5066/P97KU2YD | Date Posted Online: 2023-06-09 | Last Updated:
