Comparing microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphisms to evaluate genetic structure and diversity in wolverines () across Alaska and western Canada.

The Wolverine (Gulo gulo) is a cold-adapted species of conservation interest because it is sensitive to human development, disturbance, exploitation, and climate warming. Wolverine populations have been studied across much of their distributional range to evaluate patterns of genetic diversity, genetic structure, and gene flow. Little population structure has been detected in northwestern North America with microsatellite loci, but low genomic diversity in wolverines may limit detection of genetic differences in this highly vagile species.

Why do avian responses to change in Arctic green-up vary?

Global climate change has altered the timing of seasonal events (i.e., phenology) for a diverse range of biota.

Factors influencing mercury exposure in Arctic-breeding shorebirds.

Mercury (Hg) pollution remains a concern to Arctic ecosystems, due to long-range transport from southern industrial regions and melting permafrost and glaciers. The objective of this study was to identify intrinsic, extrinsic, and temporal factors influencing Hg concentrations in Arctic-breeding shorebirds and highlight regions and species at greatest risk of Hg exposure. We analyzed 1094 blood and 1384 feather samples from 12 shorebird species breeding at nine sites across the North American Arctic during 2012 and 2013.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Mercury in Arctic Alaska Coastal Fish of Subsistence Importance.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and mercury (Hg) are harmful compounds that are widely present in the environment, partly due to spills and atmospheric pollution. The presence of PFAS and Hg in the tissues of animals that are harvested by rural and Indigenous Alaskans is of great concern, yet fish in Arctic Alaska have not previously been assessed for concentrations of PFAS. Fish species of subsistence and recreational importance were collected from nearshore Beaufort and Chukchi Sea, Alaska habitats and assessed for PFAS and total mercury concentrations [THg].

Wolverines () in the Arctic: Revisiting distribution and identifying research and conservation priorities amid rapid environmental change.

Unlabelled: Wolverines () occupy most of the globe's Arctic tundra. Given the rapidly warming climate and expanding human activity in this biome, understanding wolverine ecology, and therefore the species' vulnerability to such changes, is increasingly important for developing research priorities and effective management strategies. Here, we review and synthesize knowledge of wolverines in the Arctic using both Western science sources and available Indigenous Knowledge (IK) to improve our understanding of wolverine ecology in the Arctic and better predict the species' susceptibility to change.

Contributions and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples to the study of mercury in the Arctic.

Arctic Indigenous Peoples are among the most exposed humans when it comes to foodborne mercury (Hg). In response, Hg monitoring and research have been on-going in the circumpolar Arctic since about 1991; this work has been mainly possible through the involvement of Arctic Indigenous Peoples. The present overview was initially conducted in the context of a broader assessment of Hg research organized by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme.

Implications of Zoonoses From Hunting and Use of Wildlife in North American Arctic and Boreal Biomes: Pandemic Potential, Monitoring, and Mitigation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has re-focused attention on mechanisms that lead to zoonotic disease spillover and spread. Commercial wildlife trade, and associated markets, are recognized mechanisms for zoonotic disease emergence, resulting in a growing global conversation around reducing human disease risks from spillover associated with hunting, trade, and consumption of wild animals. These discussions are especially relevant to people who rely on harvesting wildlife to meet nutritional, and cultural needs, including those in Arctic and boreal regions.

Spatiotemporally variable snow properties drive habitat use of an Arctic mesopredator.

Climate change is rapidly altering the composition and availability of snow, with implications for snow-affected ecological processes, including reproduction, predation, habitat selection, and migration. How snowpack changes influence these ecological processes is mediated by physical snowpack properties, such as depth, density, hardness, and strength, each of which is in turn affected by climate change. Despite this, it remains difficult to obtain meaningful snow information relevant to the ecological processes of interest, precluding a mechanistic understanding of these effects.

Seasonal trends in underwater ambient noise near St. Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait.

We measured spatial and temporal patterns of ambient noise in dynamic, relatively pristine Arctic marine habitats and evaluate the contributions of environmental and human noise sources. Long-term acoustic recorders were deployed around St. Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait region within key feeding and migratory corridors for protected species that are inherently important to Native Alaskan cultures.

An Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) Habitat Suitability Model to Identify Overwinter Conditions for Coregonine Whitefishes in Arctic Lagoons.

Lagoons provide critical habitats for many fishes, including coregonine whitefishes, which are a mainstay in many subsistence fisheries of rural communities in Arctic Alaska. Despite their importance, little is known about the overwintering habits of whitefishes in Arctic Alaska due to the challenges associated with sampling during winter. We developed a habitat suitability (HS) model to understand the potential range of physical conditions that whitefishes experience during the Arctic winter, using three indicator lagoons that represent a range of environmental characteristics.

Limitations of an optimum sustainable population or potential biological removal approach for conserving marine mammals: Pacific walrus case study.

Decision rules are the agreed-upon points at which specific management interventions are initiated. For marine mammal management under the U.S.

Sustaining a healthy human-walrus relationship in a dynamic environment: challenges for comanagement.

Native communities in the Bering and Chukchi seas have long relied on walrus for a multitude of nutritional, social, and cultural needs. Impacts to walrus in the past have resulted in profound consequences to these communities. For example, on St.

Directional changes in ecological communities and social-ecological systems: a framework for prediction based on Alaskan examples.

In this article we extend the theory of community prediction by presenting seven hypotheses for predicting community structure in a directionally changing world. The first three address well-studied community responses to environmental and ecological change: ecological communities are most likely to exhibit threshold changes in structure when perturbations cause large changes in limiting soil or sediment resources, dominant or keystone species, or attributes of disturbance regime that influence community recruitment. Four additional hypotheses address social-ecological interactions and apply to both ecological communities and social-ecological systems.

Policy strategies to address sustainability of Alaskan boreal forests in response to a directionally changing climate.

Human activities are altering many factors that determine the fundamental properties of ecological and social systems. Is sustainability a realistic goal in a world in which many key process controls are directionally changing? To address this issue, we integrate several disparate sources of theory to address sustainability in directionally changing social-ecological systems, apply this framework to climate-warming impacts in Interior Alaska, and describe a suite of policy strategies that emerge from these analyses. Climate warming in Interior Alaska has profoundly affected factors that influence landscape processes (climate regulation and disturbance spread) and natural hazards, but has only indirectly influenced ecosystem goods such as food, water, and wood that receive most management attention.