Table 1.
Selection of seasonal (Annual, Winter: January–March, Spring: April–June, Summer: July–September, Autumn: October–December) climate index and air temperature metrics for inclusion into climate and environmental models, respectively, with a response variable of either δ13C or δ15N of ringed seal claw annuli from 1964 to 2011 in the Beaufort Sea
| Response variable | Season | AICc | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific decadal oscillation | Arctic oscillation | Air temperature | ||
| δ13C | Annual | 764.0 | 654.8 | 488.7 |
| Winter | 765.6 | 655.7 | 488.8 | |
| Spring | 767.0 | 654.4 | 487.8 | |
| Summer | 766.1 | 652.4 | 489.4 | |
| Autumn | 762.0 | 656.3 | 488.8 | |
| δ15N | Annual | 1,084.7 | 967.0 | 601.1 |
| Winter | 1,087.4 | 968.7 | 601.4 | |
| Spring | 1,088.3 | 967.6 | 601.4 | |
| Summer | 1,085.8 | 964.0 | 600.1 | |
| Autumn | 1,083.1 | 969.1 | 601.3 | |
The seasonal metric that minimized AICc (bolded) was used within the candidate climate index and environmental models.