Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center
2003 Awarded Research Projects
Integrating science and tradition: Ecosystem monitoring through the subsistence harvests of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska
Award: $58,800
Estimated completion: October 31, 2004
Abstract
"Ecosystem monitoring through the subsistence harvests of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska", is a collaborative effort between the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), LGL Alaska Research Associates, Inc. (LGL), and the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Tribal Government Ecosystem Conservation Office (ECO).
The original objectives ofthe project were as follows:
- 1) Collect biological samples to characterize the Bering Sea ecosystem from the subsistence harvest ofmarine mammals and seabirds on the Pribilof Islands.
- 2) Develop an educational training program for PribilofIsland residents to act as marine mammal and seabird sample collectors
- 3) Provide opportunities to augment scientific knowledge with traditional knowledge and vice versa
- 4) Monitor the contaminant levels in multi-species specimens collected during subsistence hunting events, including marine mammals and sea birds
- 5) Monitor the contaminant levels in other potential local indicator species collected opportunistically, such as Arctic foxes (a scavenger) and reindeer (a herbivore, representative ofatmospheric and vegetative contamination levels)
- 6) Opportunistic distribution of samples to cooperating researchers with complementary research objectives and resources
- 7) Dissemination ofresearch results to the PribilofIsland community
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