The National Park Service’s Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network (ARCN) encompasses five park units in northwestern Alaska: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park (GAAR), and Noatak National Preserve. Tasked with providing scientific information for Park decision-making, ARCN identified fish as a key vital sign for ecological monitoring because fish play an essential role in these park ecosystems — they are a primary food source for Indigenous communities living in and near the region, they occupy critical positions within aquatic food webs, and they often serve as top predators in lakes and streams. Moreover, fish are highly susceptible to climate change, which poses a significant threat to Arctic ecosystems worldwide. Despite their ecological and cultural importance, limited data exist on fish populations within the Arctic Network. To address this gap, the dataset described here provides baseline information on fish in GAAR, consisting of capture data collected from the Noatak River in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve between July 15 and 26, 2005 (Bowden et al., 2005).

Key words Fish, Alaska, Gates of the Arctic, Noatak,Arctic grayling,Lake trout,Nine-spine stickleback,Northern pike,Round whitefish,Spiny sculpin,Anorat Creek,Kipmik Lake,Komakak Creek,Kugrak Spring,Lake Matcharak,Nushralutak Creek,Oyukak Creek

Files in this Release This data release consists of two data files:

2005 GAAR Fish Sampling.csv

2005 GAAR Fish Sampling.csv_Metadata.csv

Metadata Column names, descriptions and units of measure for the data file 2005 GAAR Fish Sampling.csv appears in Table 1.

Table 1.

ColumnName DataType Description UnitsOfMeasure Date Date Date.
Name character Formal name, if known.
CommonName character Common name.
TL (mm) numeric Description unknown. Probably Total Length. Millimeters Weight (g) numeric Weight Grams PERSON OR NET HOURS numeric Person or net hours. Hours Sculpin trap hours character Sculpin trap hours Hours Disposition character Disposition Fish fate. Lat numeric Latitude Decimal degrees,geographic coordinate system, WGS84. Long numeric Longitude Decimal degrees,geographic coordinate system, WGS84. Notes character Notes
Site character Site
Gear character Gear used to collect and observe fish.
Methods NPS personnel sampled lakes and streams for fish in GAAR from July 15 and 26, 2005 using various techniques, including angling, trapping, direct observation, and nets (gill, kick, and sweep). Sampling intensity was documented in terms of person-hours or net-hours. Length (mm) and weight (g) measurements were recorded for many, though not all specimens. Sampling locations were recorded in numerous cases, but for others, no location data exists other than unofficial names. Sampling intensity was likely not sufficient to determine a complete list of fish species for any site.

Study Area Fish were sampled in water bodies, mostly in the Noatak River basin in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska, U.S.A.