Battaile, Brian C. (ORCID: 0000-0003-1969-4842) Jay, Chadwick V. (ORCID: 0000-0002-9559-2189) Fischbach, Anthony S. (ORCID: 0000-0002-6555-865X) 20220118 tabular digital data Anchorage, Alaska U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center Suggested Citation: Battaile, B.C., Jay, C.V., Fischbach, A.S., 2022, Behavior of Pacific Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) hauled out on sea ice during UAS overflights, eastern Chukchi Sea, 2015: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7DB7ZWP https://doi.org/10.5066/F7DB7ZWP This dataset is comprised of three tables showing the reaction of walruses hauled out on sea ice of the Chukchi Sea to overflights by rotary wing Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS). Data include behavior of walruses before, during, and after overflights, and environmental conditions during flights. These observations on the reaction of walruses hauled out on sea ice, where the risk of trampling mortality is greatly reduced compared to coastal haulouts, were conducted to develop an understand of flight altitudes required to minimize disturbance risk from UAS overflights. The overall goal is to determine UAS flight altitudes that may be tolerated by walruses hauled out at coastal haulouts where they may be surveyed for population and body condition estimation. Data were collected according to protocols for data collection and associated activities reviewed and approved by the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center Animal Care and Use Committee and conducted under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit number MA801652-7. 2015 2015 observed Complete None planned Eastern Chukchi Sea -163.8 -162.1 71.9 71.6 USGS Metadata Identifier USGS:ASC427 ISO 19115 Topic Category Biota Environment NASA GCMD Earth Science Keyword Thesaurus Animals/vertebrates Mammals Carnivores Seals/sea lions/walruses USGS CSA Biocomplexity Thesaurus Marine mammals Aerial surveys USGS Thesaurus Wildlife Marine ecosystems Animal behavior Aerial photography Videography None Pacific Walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens Unoccupied Aircraft System Drone USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Alaska Chukchi Sea None Walrus Pacific Walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens ITIS Integrated Taxonomic Information System Unknown online database online ITIS-North America Taxonomic details retrieved January 9, 2022 from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System online database https://www.itis.gov https://doi.org/10.5066/F7KH0KBK Walruses were identified by skilled observers in the field based on general appearance Taxonomy is complete for all samples. No voucher specimens were collected. Kingdom Animalia Subkingdom Bilateria Infrakingdom Deuterostomia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Infraphylum Gnathostomata Superclass Tetrapoda Class Mammalia Subclass Theria Infraclass Eutheria Order Carnivora Suborder Caniformia Family Odobenidae Genus Odobenus Species Odobenus rosmarus Walrus TSN: 180639 Subspecies Odobenus rosmarus divergens Pacific Walrus TSN: 622045 No access constraints. No use constraints. We request that the suggested citation of this USGS data release be included in any publications that reference or utilize these data. U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center Mailing and Physical

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Anchorage Alaska 99508 USA 907-786-7000 gs-ak_asc_datamanagers@usgs.gov Fischbach, A.S. Taylor, R.L. Jay, C.V. 2022 journal article Journal of Wildlife Management 86(6):e22256 online Wiley Fischbach, A.S., Taylor, R.L., Jay, C.V., 2022. Regional walrus abundance estimate in the United States Chukchi Sea in autumn. Journal of Wildlife Management 86(6):e22256. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22256 https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22256 Flight ids, collection dates, sampling locations, and other values were cross-checked and verified with field worksheets. Attribute values fall within expected ranges and data were proofed for the presence of duplication and omission. No data were omitted. When data were not collected a value of "NA" is indicated. Positions determined by consumer grade hand held GPS; accuracy estimated to be within 3 m. METHODS - FIELD: From the chartered offshore research vessel R/V Norseman II, a retrofitted crabber designed for research in the arctic, we approached groups of walruses hauled out on ice floes from downwind to approximately 400 meters. From this position, the unoccupied aircraft system was launched from the boat to begin overflights. Photographs of the walrus group were taken before and after the overflights. Video of the walrus group was taken during the overflights. Environmental data is recorded prior to the beginning of the overflights. Visual observations of the walrus group prior to, during and after the UAS overflights were made to indicate the disturbance level of the walrus group by noting the number or proportion of the group of walruses that is resting, alert with the heads up and those leaving the floe. Unknown Point 0.001 0.001 Decimal degrees World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84) World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84) 6378137 298.257223563 walrus_behavior_decreasingAltitudeUAS_chukchi_2015_battaile.csv Table with the responses of walrus haulout groups to UAS flights flown at decreasing altitudes. The UAS approached the group at a high altitude (120 meters), then descended in a series of seven steps to 30 meters. Walrus group were observed before, during, and after UAS overflights at different altitudes. The proportion of walruses showing alert responses is provided for each altitude. Presented in a Comma Separated Value (CSV) formatted table. Author defined Flight Unique identifier of each UAS overflight, a concatenation of date and consecutive numbering of each flight in the format: YYYYMMDD-flight number. Corresponds to the 'Flight' variable in the other tables included with this data package. Author defined Unique identifier of each UAS overflight UAS_Model Model of Unoccupied Aircraft System Author defined Scout Aeryon Scout quadcopter manufactured by Aeryon Labs Inc. with a 1.4 kg flight weight. Author defined Ptarmigan Ptarmigan hexacopter built by the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration of the University of Alaska Fairbanks based on the DJI S800 airframe with a flight weight of 5-7 kg. Author defined Group_Size Number of walruses in a group hauled out on ice that was subjected to overflight by the UAS Author defined 6 150 count of animals Mean_Pre_Flight Mean proportion of the group that was active during three 10 second scans of the group prior to the overflights. Author defined 0 0.09 Proportion [120m through 30m] These seven columns represent the different altitudes of UAS overflights in meters (120, 105, 90, 75, 60, 45, 30). Data are the proportion of group members showing alert behavior when the UAS was overhead at each altitude. Author defined 0 1.00 Proportion NA No flight overpass of the walrus group at that altitude occurred. Author defined Mean_Post_Flight Mean proportion of the group that is active during three 10 second scans of the group after the overflights. Author defined 1 0.29 Proportion NA No flight overpass of the walrus group at that altitude occurred. Author defined walrus_behavior_stableAltitudeUAS_chukchi_2015_battaile.csv Table with the responses of walrus haulout groups to UAS flights at flown at a stable altitude. The UAS approached the group at a high altitude (120 meters), then left and returned in a series of four overflights. Walrus group were observed before, during, and after UAS overflights. The proportion of walruses showing alert responses is provided for each overflights. Presented in a Comma Separated Value (CSV) formatted table. Author defined Flight Unique identifier of each UAS overflight, a concatenation of date and consecutive numbering of each flight in the format: YYYYMMDD-flight number. Corresponds to the 'Flight' variable in the other tables included with this data package. Author defined Unique identifier of each UAS overflight UAS_Model Model of Unoccupied Aircraft System Author defined Ptarmigan Ptarmigan hexacopter built by the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration of the University of Alaska Fairbanks based on the DJI S800 airframe with a flight weight of 5-7 kg. Author defined Group_Size Number of walruses in a group hauled out on ice that is subjected to overflight by the UAS Author defined 17 25 count of animals Mean_Pre_Flight Mean proportion of the group that was active during three 10 second scans of the group prior to the overflights. Author defined 0.02 0.04 Proportion [120m through 30m] These four columns represent the different UAS overflights in meters (120). Data are the proportion of group members showing alert behavior when the UAS was overhead during each overflight. Author defined 0.29 0.90 Proportion Mean_Post_Flight Mean proportion of the group that is active during three 10 second scans of the group after the overflights. Author defined 0.37 0.35 Proportion walrus_environConditions_UASoverflight_chukchi_2015_battaile.csv Table with environmental data prior to unoccupied aerial system overflights. Author defined Flight Unique identifier of each UAS overflight, a concatenation of date and consecutive numbering of each flight in the format: YYYYMMDD-flight number. Corresponds to the 'Flight' variable in the other tables included with this data package. Author defined Unique identifier of each UAS overflight UAS_Model Model of Unoccupied Aircraft System Author defined Scout Aeryon Scout quadcopter manufactured by Aeryon Labs Inc. with a 1.4 kg flight weight. Author defined Ptarmigan Ptarmigan hexacopter built by the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration of the University of Alaska Fairbanks based on the DJI S800 airframe with a flight weight of 5-7 kg. Author defined Group_Size Number of walruses in a group hauled out on ice that is subjected to overflight by the UAS Author defined 6 150 count of animals Latitude Latitude of walrus group Author defined 71.6265 71.8771 Decimal degrees (WGS84) Longitude Longitude of walrus group Author defined -163.7393 -162.1793 Decimal degrees (WGS84) Wind_Speed Wind speed in knots prior to overflights Author defined 0.8 11.5 Knots Wind_Direction Wind direction in degrees just prior to overflights. Author defined 9 355 Degrees Temperature Temperature in Fahrenheit just prior to overflights. Author defined 31.3 36.9 Degrees Fahrenheit Fog Qualitative descriptor of amount of fog just prior to the overflights Author defined Qualitative descriptor of amount of fog Horizontal_Visibility How far could the observer see horizontally just prior to the overflights Author defined >1km Distance of horizontal visibility more than 1 kilometer Author defined Light_Level Light Level measured in foot candles Author defined 125 4990 Foot candles Proportion_Cloud_Cover Amount of cloud cover just prior to overflight Author defined 0.10 1.00 Proportion NA The proportion of cloud cover present was not recorded. Author defined Precipitation Amount of precipitation just prior to overflight Author defined 0 0 Millimeters Vessel_Distance Distance of vessel from walrus group just prior to overflights measured in meters. Author defined 375 777 Meters U.S. Geological Survey USGS ScienceBase Team Mailing and Physical

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Denver Colorado 80225 USA 1-888-275-8747 sciencebase@usgs.gov The U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center is the authoritative source of these data, distributed by ScienceBase (a USGS Trusted Digital Repository). Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes or on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. CSV Tabular data in CSV format; FGDC metadata in XML and HTML formats. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7DB7ZWP None 20250217 U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center Mailing and Physical

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Anchorage Alaska 99508 USA 907-786-7000 gs-ak_asc_datamanagers@usgs.gov FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) FGDC-STD-001.1-1999