New approaches to understand species-habitat relationship using Indigenous Knowledge and scientific data ...

• Main Author: Gryba, Rowenna
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2024
• Subjects: Arctic; Climate change; Erignathus barbatus; Pusa hispida; Sea ice; Alaska; natchiq
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0440972; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0440972

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) holds information on the relationships between animals and their environment, among many other things. Although the depth of ecological information embodied within IK is often recognized, it is rarely included in species-habitat models as a sole data source or combined with scientific data. In partnership with IK holders, I have developed methods to include IK in statistical approaches to model species-habitat relationships. First, I documented IK focused on species-habitat relationships of ringed seals (natchiq in Iñupiaq; Pusa hispida), bearded seals (ugruk; Erignathus barbatus), and spotted seals (qasigiaq; Phoca largha), in the waters near three Arctic communities: Utqiaġivk, Tikiġaq, and Kotzebue, Alaska. Results showed that all three species use currents during foraging activity, which is not a behaviour captured by previous satellite telemetry studies, but have differing associations with sea ice and thus potentially different responses to climate change. Regional differences ...