This collection of GIS layers was prepared for the report Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Ecology Catalog (U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5038). The layers display geographic distribution and sampling locations for Arctic marine fish species in the region of United States sectors of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Certain diadromous species (for example, Pacific salmon, char, and whitefishes) are treated as marine fishes (McDowall, 1987) because much of their life cycle is in marine and brackish environments. This synthesis of information is meant to provide current information and understanding of this fauna and its relative vulnerability to changing Arctic conditions. There are 104 species in the collection - some species have both polygon and point data layers. The report (SIR 2016-5038) also describes for each species its names - species, common, and colloquial; ecological role; physical description/attributes; range (geographic); relative abundance; depth range; habitats and life history; behavior; populations or stocks, reproduction, food and feeding, biological interactions, resilience, traditional and cultural importance, commercial fisheries, potential effects of climate change, areas for future research, cited references, and bibliography.
The published report has one map for each species showing the polygon and point data as well as land and relevant administrative boundaries. Although some of the species also have an inland water presence, this report was concerned only with their marine conditions; therefore, the land component (from the original sources) has been clipped and removed. The distribution areas may be greater in extent than that shown in the report map bounding box limits. Distributions of marine fishes are shown in adjacent Arctic seas where reliable data are available. The report can be accessed at: https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165038 This metadata document describes the collection of species data layers. Each species layer file will have its own metadata with details specific to that layer.