Inuit knowledge of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) and perspectives on declining abundance in southeastern Hudson Bay, Canada
The Arctic Tern ( Sterna paradisaea takatakiaq in Inuttitut) breeds in the circumpolar Arctic and undertakes the longest known annual migration. In recent decades, Arctic Tern populations have been declining in some parts of their range, and this has been a cause of concern for both wildlife manager...
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crplos:10.1371/journal.pone.0242193 2024-06-23T07:49:03+00:00 Inuit knowledge of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) and perspectives on declining abundance in southeastern Hudson Bay, Canada Henri, Dominique A. Martinez-Levasseur, Laura M. Weetaltuk, Salamiva Mallory, Mark L. Gilchrist, H. Grant Jean-Gagnon, Frankie Somers, Christopher M. Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board Environment and Climate Change Canada 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242193 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242193 en eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ PLOS ONE volume 15, issue 11, page e0242193 ISSN 1932-6203 journal-article 2020 crplos https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242193 2024-06-04T06:21:45Z The Arctic Tern ( Sterna paradisaea takatakiaq in Inuttitut) breeds in the circumpolar Arctic and undertakes the longest known annual migration. In recent decades, Arctic Tern populations have been declining in some parts of their range, and this has been a cause of concern for both wildlife managers and Indigenous harvesters. However, limited scientific information is available on Arctic Tern abundance and distribution, especially within its breeding range in remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic. Knowledge held by Inuit harvesters engaged in Arctic Tern egg picking can shed light on the ecology, regional abundance and distribution of this marine bird. We conducted individual interviews and a workshop involving 12 Inuit harvesters and elders from Kuujjuaraapik, Nunavik (northern Québec), Canada, to gather their knowledge of Arctic Tern cultural importance, ecology, and stewardship. Interview contributors reported a regional decline in Arctic Tern numbers which appeared in the early 2000s on nesting islands near Kuujjuaraapik. Six possible factors were identified: (1) local harvest through egg picking; (2) nest disturbance and predation; (3) abandonment of tern nesting areas (i.e., islands that have become connected to the mainland due to isostatic rebound); (4) climate change; (5) natural abundance cycles within the Arctic Tern population; and (6) decline of the capelin ( Mallotus villosus ) in the region. Recommendations from Inuit contributors related to Arctic Tern stewardship and protection included: (1) conduct more research; (2) let nature take its course; (3) conduct an awareness campaign; (4) implement an egg picking ban; (5) coordinate local egg harvest; (6) start ‘tern farming’; (7) protect Arctic Terns across their migration route; and (8) harvest foxes predating on terns. Our study highlighted complementarities between Inuit knowledge and ecological science, and showed that Inuit harvesters can make substantial contributions to ongoing and future Arctic tern research and management initiatives. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic tern Climate change Hudson Bay inuit Sterna paradisaea Nunavik PLOS Arctic Canada Hudson Hudson Bay Nunavik PLOS ONE 15 11 e0242193 |
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English |
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The Arctic Tern ( Sterna paradisaea takatakiaq in Inuttitut) breeds in the circumpolar Arctic and undertakes the longest known annual migration. In recent decades, Arctic Tern populations have been declining in some parts of their range, and this has been a cause of concern for both wildlife managers and Indigenous harvesters. However, limited scientific information is available on Arctic Tern abundance and distribution, especially within its breeding range in remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic. Knowledge held by Inuit harvesters engaged in Arctic Tern egg picking can shed light on the ecology, regional abundance and distribution of this marine bird. We conducted individual interviews and a workshop involving 12 Inuit harvesters and elders from Kuujjuaraapik, Nunavik (northern Québec), Canada, to gather their knowledge of Arctic Tern cultural importance, ecology, and stewardship. Interview contributors reported a regional decline in Arctic Tern numbers which appeared in the early 2000s on nesting islands near Kuujjuaraapik. Six possible factors were identified: (1) local harvest through egg picking; (2) nest disturbance and predation; (3) abandonment of tern nesting areas (i.e., islands that have become connected to the mainland due to isostatic rebound); (4) climate change; (5) natural abundance cycles within the Arctic Tern population; and (6) decline of the capelin ( Mallotus villosus ) in the region. Recommendations from Inuit contributors related to Arctic Tern stewardship and protection included: (1) conduct more research; (2) let nature take its course; (3) conduct an awareness campaign; (4) implement an egg picking ban; (5) coordinate local egg harvest; (6) start ‘tern farming’; (7) protect Arctic Terns across their migration route; and (8) harvest foxes predating on terns. Our study highlighted complementarities between Inuit knowledge and ecological science, and showed that Inuit harvesters can make substantial contributions to ongoing and future Arctic tern research and management initiatives. |
author2 |
Somers, Christopher M. Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board Environment and Climate Change Canada |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Henri, Dominique A. Martinez-Levasseur, Laura M. Weetaltuk, Salamiva Mallory, Mark L. Gilchrist, H. Grant Jean-Gagnon, Frankie |
spellingShingle |
Henri, Dominique A. Martinez-Levasseur, Laura M. Weetaltuk, Salamiva Mallory, Mark L. Gilchrist, H. Grant Jean-Gagnon, Frankie Inuit knowledge of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) and perspectives on declining abundance in southeastern Hudson Bay, Canada |
author_facet |
Henri, Dominique A. Martinez-Levasseur, Laura M. Weetaltuk, Salamiva Mallory, Mark L. Gilchrist, H. Grant Jean-Gagnon, Frankie |
author_sort |
Henri, Dominique A. |
title |
Inuit knowledge of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) and perspectives on declining abundance in southeastern Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_short |
Inuit knowledge of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) and perspectives on declining abundance in southeastern Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_full |
Inuit knowledge of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) and perspectives on declining abundance in southeastern Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Inuit knowledge of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) and perspectives on declining abundance in southeastern Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Inuit knowledge of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) and perspectives on declining abundance in southeastern Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_sort |
inuit knowledge of arctic terns (sterna paradisaea) and perspectives on declining abundance in southeastern hudson bay, canada |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242193 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242193 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Hudson Hudson Bay Nunavik |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Hudson Hudson Bay Nunavik |
genre |
Arctic Arctic tern Climate change Hudson Bay inuit Sterna paradisaea Nunavik |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic tern Climate change Hudson Bay inuit Sterna paradisaea Nunavik |
op_source |
PLOS ONE volume 15, issue 11, page e0242193 ISSN 1932-6203 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242193 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
e0242193 |
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1802639325187276800 |