This project is being undertaken
with the cooperation of:
 

	Susan Allen-Gil
	Ithaca College, NY sallen@ithaca.edu
	Jesse Ford
	Oregon State University fordj@usc.orst.edu

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Project Summary

Subsistence fisheries on the North Slope of Alaska focus primarily on several species of amphidromous whitefish that migrate between summer feeding grounds in the oceans and estuaries and overwintering lakes further inland. Local concerns about contaminant concentrations in subsistence species have led the North Slope Borough Wildlife Dept. (Barrow, AK) to develop contaminant studies that target several species of amphidromous fish in rivers and lakes near Barrow. This project builds on that work to examine selected factors potentially influencing organochlorine (OC) and selected trace element concentrations in subsistence fisheries of Arctic Alaskan freshwater habitats.
Two potential sources of contaminants to arctic freshwater environments are: 1) atmospheric deposition of OCs, via global fractionation (Wania and MacKay, 1993) and, 2) biological vectors, specifically amphidromousfishthat carry contaminants between marine and freshwater environments (Ewald et al., 1998).  The project investigates the relative importance of these two routes of contaminant delivery for freshwater systems of Arctic Alaska.

This study focuses on two whitefish species, the least cisco (Coregonus sardinella) and the broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus), both of which are important subsistence species in the Alaskan Arctic.  Although little is known about the migratory patterns of these species, it is believed that both species can travel between marine and freshwater environments, and/or exist as resident populations in inland lakes.  We use microchemistry (Sr/Ca ratios) in the otoliths of the fish to track lifetime movements between these two ewnvironments.  Furthermore, we use stable isotope ratios (C, N, and S) to evaluate the position of individual fish in the food chain, as well as for marine influence.

Subsistence lakes for intensive study have been chosen in partnership with Inupiat elders. The Inupiat parteners have been very involved in all phases of the project, including site selection, sampling techniques, field work, and data interpretation.Several small group interview sessions were held to enable practitioners of Western Science (this project) and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (local residents) opportunities to share information and communicate results. 

 This broad based study of factors controlling contaminant concentrations in freshwater subsistence species of Arctic Alaska will provide Arctic residents, northern jurisdictions, and arctic scientists the information necessary to reduce potential exposures to organochlorines and heavy metals. It will complement work currently in progress by local agencies, and potentially contribute to international data banks assembled under the Arctic Environmental Protection Plan.

 "The Arctic is an early warning system for our planet... There is a link from the rice fields to the ice fields."  - Sergio Marchi, Canadian Minister of Environment (1996)

Mackay, D. Wania, F. 1993, AMBIO. 22(1): 10-18

Smith, Eric Alder. 1997. University of Washington Press. pp. xii-xiv