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Warmer climatic conditions have been associated with numerous hydrologic changes that may impact riverbank erosion in cold regions, but the net effect is not well understood. We used regression and correlation analyses to examine the relationships among subarctic riverbank erosion and seasonal hydrology, the impact of climate change and variability, and the societal implications. Geomorphic change (loss and gain of vegetated land) was mapped along several river reaches in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska, throughout 1984 and 2017 using Landsat satellite imagery. Annual erosion rates were estimated from these spatial data. At most study sites, erosion rates (km2/year) were either positively correlated (r = 0.68–0.84, p = 0.0085–0.061) with monthly mean discharge within the cold season or inversely correlated (r = − 0.74 – −0.62, p

Proper science communication is quickly becoming a professional imperative in ecology, but many researchers are not practiced in diverse and effective communication strategies. Academic jargon and text‐heavy content are often cited as barriers for laypeople trying to access and understand research results. Here, we have presented scientific visualizations (infographics, figures, and illustrations) as a useful tool to reduce the information transfer gaps between researchers and the public. The graphics we have proposed are images with minimal text that convey ecological research concepts, methods, processes, and results. They are more captivating than text alone and more efficient at disseminating information to a broad audience because they reduce cognitive load. We applied tools and best practices from the fields of marketing and design to explain graphic construction and demonstrated how to build a visualization that is both aesthetic and effective. The basic principles of design are paramount to image composition, and we reviewed experimental literature to support the notions that the proper use of color, proximity, and balance helps to illuminate the main message or story that we wanted to communicate. We presented examples from wildlife ecology research in Alaska to highlight how researchers can use graphics for their own communication efforts, and emphasized the power of visual narratives to explain complex techniques and ecosystem processes. The best practices we outlined here are meant to help researchers understand the composition of science visualizations, build productive collaborations with artists, and ultimately create appealing and informative images that communicate research.

The traditional harvest of wild resources carries significant nutritional, economic, and sociocultural values for rural residents in the Arctic, especially for Indigenous subsistence communities. Rural communities in the Alaskan Arctic have expressed concern that aircraft activity from industry, commercial hunting, research, and tourism disrupts their harvest of wildlife, particularly caribou (Rangifer tarandus). However, little research exists on how aircraft impact harvest opportunities. Our objective was to assess the extent of scientific knowledge on aircraft-harvester interaction in the Arctic through a systematic search of the available literature. We found that no peer-reviewed publications addressed the conflict between aircraft and harvesters in the region. Some literature addressed aircraft impacts to subsistence species, but did not discuss how those impacts would affect local harvesters. Most research has been directed towards studying aircraft impacts on wildlife or humans in urbanized areas rather than in rural, subsistence communities. Therefore, we expanded our review to draw from gray literature (e.g., public records, government documents) to synthesize the current state of concern and perceptions on aircraft disturbance to subsistence harvesters. Based on the gray literature, we found that harvester frustrations were primarily directed toward low-flying aircraft and non-local operations. However, an absence of quantitative information on the extent of interaction between aircraft activity and harvesters hinders an objective assessment of the conflict. Mitigating conflict will require research focused on this data gap and may begin with better cooperation among rural communities, aircraft users, and decision-makers.

Wildlife-vehicle collisions imperil humans, wildlife, and property. Collisions with moose (Alces alces) are especially consequential and there are indications they may increase during severe winters. We tested hypotheses regarding the influence of moose movements and vehicular traffic patterns on collision risk. We first modeled daily snow depth and accumulation across 5.6 million km2 of the North American Arctic-Boreal region. Next, we analyzed the movements and road use of 113 GPS-collared moose in response to snow depth. Finally, we examined the influence of these snow properties on vehicular traffic and 7680 moose-vehicle collisions. As winter progressed and the snowpack deepened in each study area, GPS-collared moose migrated to lower elevations, leading them into areas with shallower snow but higher road densities. This elevational migration corresponded with a higher probability of road-use by moose (by up to ten-fold) in winter than in summer. Corresponding to these patterns, moose-vehicle collisions were 2.4–5.7 times more frequent from December through February (compared to early summer). Collision risk was highest when and where snow depth was less than 120 cm, indicating that migration into areas with shallower snow increased collision risk in those areas. Most (82%) moose-vehicle collisions occurred after dark. This pattern was strongest during winter, when nighttime traffic volumes were eight times higher than summer due to longer nights. Overall, our findings suggest that concurrent seasonal changes in human and wildlife behavior increase the frequency of moose-vehicle collisions during winter. Snow depth influences collisions primarily through its impacts on moose movement, while strong seasonal changes in daylight hours cause an increase in nighttime traffic that further contributes to risk. This information may help predict times and places where risk of moose-vehicle collisions are highest and to develop seasonally dynamic mitigation strategies.

Ecosystems across the United States are changing in complex and unpredictable ways and analysis of these changes requires coordinated, long‐term research. This paper is a product of a synthesis effort of the U.S. National Science Foundation funded Long‐Term Ecological Research (LTER) network addressing the LTER core research area of “populations and communities.” This analysis revealed that each LTER site had at least one compelling “story” about what their site would look like in 50–100 yr. As the stories were prepared, themes emerged, and the stories were group into papers along five themes: state change, connectivity, resilience, time lags, and cascading effects. This paper addresses the cascading effects theme and includes stories from the Bonanza Creek (boreal), Kellogg Biological Station (agricultural and freshwater), Palmer (Antarctica), and Harvard Forest (temperate forest) LTER sites. We define cascading effects very broadly to include a wide array of unforeseen chains of events that result from a variety of actions or changes in a system. While climate change is having important direct effects on boreal forests, indirect effects mediated by fire activity—severity, size, and return interval—have large cascading effects over the long term. In northeastern temperate forests, legacies of human management and disturbance affect the composition of current forests, which creates a cascade of effects that interact with the climate‐facilitated invasion of an exotic pest. In Antarctica, declining sea ice creates a cascade of effects including declines in Adèlie and increases in Gentoo penguins, changes in phytoplankton, and consequent changes in zooplankton populations. An invasion of an exotic species of lady beetle is likely to have important future effects on pest control and conservation of native species in agricultural landscapes. New studies of zebra mussels, a well‐studied invader, have established links between climate, the heat tolerance of the mussels, and harmful algal blooms. Collectively, these stories highlight the need for long‐term studies to sort out the complexities of different types of ecological cascades. The diversity of sites within the LTER network facilitates the emergence of overarching concepts about trophic interactions as an important driver of ecosystem structure, function, services, and futures.

Alaska moose (Alces alces) hunters have expressed concern that harvest has been challenged by warmer temperatures altering moose behavior and low water levels limiting boat access to hunting areas. The environmental impacts of these changes on moose harvest have not been quantified and are not well understood. Our objective was to assess how environmental conditions impact hunter harvest in Interior Alaska from 2000-2016. We split hunters into categories (local or non-local) and analyzed relationships during 5-day blocks that spanned the moose hunting season. The local harvest model associated high water level with increased harvest during block 4 (peak-harvest) of the hunting season (p = 0.006). A water level increase of 1 m increased daily harvest by 1.5 (p = 0.003). Non-local harvest was significantly different than null models for block 2 (p = 0.001), 3 (p = 0.048), and 4 (p = 0.001), and nearly in block 5 (p = 0.063). The non-local harvest model associated an increase in mean high temperature with reduced harvest in block 2 (p = 0.004) and block 5 (p = 0.037), and an increase in water level with increased harvest in block 3 (p = 0.083), 4 (p = 0.017), and block 5 (p = 0.092). These results reveal that local and non-local hunters are impacted differently by environmental conditions throughout the hunting season. We provided quantitative information on previously untested hypotheses regarding the impacts of dynamic environmental conditions on moose hunter harvest. Our findings provide wildlife managers with new insight on causes of variation in harvest among different user groups.

Although extensive research has been conducted on a variety of factors that influence wildlife harvest rates, few studies have quantified the impact of weather on harvest success. As global warming continues to contribute to unprecedented changes in local weather regimes, particularly in arctic and alpine ecosystems, understanding how these changes impact human–wildlife interactions will become increasingly important and relevant for wildlife managers. Therefore, we used a long-term dataset (1999–2015) on Dall's sheep Ovis dalli dalli, an alpine species in Alaska, USA, as a case study to explore how changes in local daily weather has affected hunter harvest success. We used generalized linear mixed models to estimate relationships between daily harvest count and weather variables using three separate models; all hunters, resident hunters and non-resident hunters. Weather variables included daily mean relative humidity, precipitation, air temperature and wind speed. For our model including all hunters, which excluded wind, we estimated that a mean increase in relative humidity, precipitation and temperature from one day to the next resulted in an 11.7, 4.3 and 2.9% decrease in daily harvest, respectively. The effect of relative humidity influenced harvest count two to three times more than all other weather variables across models. This study contributes to a limited body of knowledge on quantifying the impact of weather on harvest success and about how changes in weather affect hunter and wildlife behavior. Advancing knowledge on how weather influences variation in harvest may facilitate effective strategies for adapting hunting regulations to meet harvest and population goals.

Amplified climate warming at high northern latitudes is challenging societies that depend on local provisional and cultural ecosystem services, e.g., subsistence resources, for their livelihoods. Previous qualitative research suggests that climate-induced changes in environmental conditions are affecting rural residents' ability to travel across the land and access local resources, but detailed information on the nature and effect of specific conditions is lacking. Our objectives were to identify climate-related environmental conditions affecting subsistence travel and access, and then estimate rural resident travel and access vulnerability to those environmental conditions. We collaborated with nine Interior Alaskan communities within the Yukon River basin and provided residents with camera-equipped GPS units to document environmental conditions directly affecting subsistence access for 12 consecutive months. We also conducted comprehensive interviews with research participants to incorporate the effects of environmental conditions not documented with GPS units. Environmental conditions reported by rural residents were categorized into seven condition types. We assessed vulnerability to each condition by accounting for both likelihood (number of times a condition was documented) and sensitivity (magnitude of the effect from the condition) information derived from GPS observations and interviews. We also tested for differences in mean vulnerability values among environmental conditions and between community types (road-connected vs. remote) using a one-way analysis of variance. Rural community travel and access were most vulnerable to changes in ice conditions, erosion, vegetative community composition, and water levels. Environmental conditions that impeded natural travel corridors, e.g., waterways, more strongly influenced remote communities than those connected by roads. Increased vulnerability to environmental change puts remote communities at increased risk for food-security issues. Our study used a novel community-based approach to integrate local knowledge with scientific analysis to document and estimate the relative effects that specific environmental conditions are having on access to subsistence resources across Interior Alaska.

The functional response is the relationship between food intake rates and prey density, and is shaped by factors including handling time, predator speed, habitat or prey movement. For many predator—prey systems, the density-dependent functional response is represented by a type II or type III functional response. Determination of the relationship type is important, as managers can often predict the response of predators to changing prey densities. In wolf—moose (Canis lupus—Alces alces) systems with relatively high prey density, the functional response often follows a predicted type II functional response. However, in a very low prey-density system, wolves have previously been shown to escape the density dependent phase of the functional response and demonstrated kill rates mimicking high prey-density systems. We conducted a study to evaluate winter wolf movements between moose kills in the Yukon Flats, Alaska where moose exist at densities

Amplified climate change in the Arctic has altered interactions between rural communities and local wild resources. Shifting interactions warrant analysis because they can influence cultural practices and food security of northern societies. We collaborated with four indigenous communities in Alaska and conducted semi-directed interviews with 71 experienced harvesters to identify local perceptions of climate-driven trends in the environment, and describe the effects of those trends on the availability (i.e., abundance, distribution, accessibility) of subsistence resources. We then linked local perceptions with scientific climate projections to forecast how availability of subsistence resources may change in the future. Hunters identified 47 important relationships between climate-driven changes in the environment and availability of subsistence resources. Of those relationships, 60, 28, and 13 % focused on changes in harvester access, resource distribution, and resource abundance, respectively. Our forecast model indicated a net reduction in the availability of subsistence resources over the next 30 years. The reduction was caused primarily by climate-related challenges in access, rather than changes in abundance or distribution of resources. Our study demonstrates how giving insufficient attention to harvester access may produce misleading conclusions when assessing the impacts of climate change on future subsistence opportunities.

This paper describes the integration of social–ecological science with traditional knowledge to address global-change challenges faced by indigenous communities in rural Alaska. The Community Partnership for Self-Reliance is a novel boundary organization that uses community visions for self-reliance, based on local and traditional knowledge, to link bottom-up with top-down adaptation planning. We suggest that similar boundary strategies can improve the communication of adaptation needs and opportunities across scales, empowering local communities to select adaptation choices that fit their own goals. This would facilitate regional experimentation and diffusion of innovative solutions to address rapid and heterogeneous environmental and socioeconomic change.

Energy costs are large and increasing in rural Alaska communities, so communities are turning to renewable energy. While, many of these communities have a mixed subsistence-cash economy, the relationship between renewable energy and subsistence has not been studied. Tanana, Alaska has a biomass program and we conducted interviews with 61 households in 2017 to understand how residents perceive the program and its association with subsistence activities. We analyzed Alaska Department of Fish & Game subsistence surveys from 89 communities to estimate differences in subsistence harvest between households that harvest wood and those that do not. Interviews indicated that people who harvest wood for the biomass program were six times more likely to engage in subsistence. Subsistence harvests were nearly double (184 kg/per capita) in households that harvested wood for personal use versus those that did not (101 kg/per capita). Equipment used for both activities was similar, and 57% respondents combined wood harvesting with other activities (e.g. subsistence, travel, etc.). Higher household incomes and employment were positively associated with subsistence participation (p

Aircraft activity is expanding across Arctic Alaska, potentially changing social-ecological systems. Arctic communities report that aircraft disturb wildlife and negatively influence harvest practices and experiences. Limited data have restricted knowledge about the extent of aircraft activity over traditional harvest areas. Our objective was to use soundscape monitoring methods to document aircraft overflights around the rural subsistence-based community of Nuiqsut to inform impact mitigation processes. This study provides the first quantitative estimates of aircraft activity in rural Arctic Alaska. We deployed 20 acoustic monitoring systems in summer 2016 along travel corridors used to harvest caribou (Rangifer tarandus). Sound recordings captured 7465 aircraft events during peak caribou harvest season. Aircraft activity reached a median of 12 overflights per day near human development, approximately six times greater than undeveloped areas. Aircraft noise decreased incrementally with distance from human development. Given that subsistence harvesters report that aircraft startle caribou and prefer to avoid aircraft themselves, this result implies that they will need to travel farther for a successful harvest, incurring higher costs of fuel, equipment, and effort. Such costs could be prohibitive for many harvesters. Our research demonstrates that acoustic data can aid in understanding how human-to-human interactions impact social-ecological dynamics in the Arctic.

We synthesized an expert review of climate change implications for hydroecological and terrestrial ecological systems in the northern coastal temperate rainforest of North America. Our synthesis is based on an analysis of projected temperature, precipitation, and snowfall stratified by eight biogeoclimatic provinces and three vegetation zones. Five IPCC CMIP5 global climate models (GCMs) and two representative concentration pathways (RCPs) are the basis for projections of mean annual temperature increasing from a current average (1961–1990) of 3.2 °C to 4.9–6.9 °C (5 GCM range; RCP4.5 scenario) or 6.4–8.7 °C (RCP8.5), mean annual precipitation increasing from 3130 mm to 3210–3400 mm (3–9 % increase) or 3320–3690 mm (6–18 % increase), and total precipitation as snow decreasing from 1200 mm to 940–720 mm (22–40 % decrease) or 720–500 mm (40–58 % decrease) by the 2080s (2071–2100; 30-year normal period). These projected changes are anticipated to result in a cascade of ecosystem-level effects including: increased frequency of flooding and rain-on-snow events; an elevated snowline and reduced snowpack; changes in the timing and magnitude of stream flow, freshwater thermal regimes, and riverine nutrient exports; shrinking alpine habitats; altitudinal and latitudinal expansion of lowland and subalpine forest types; shifts in suitable habitat boundaries for vegetation and wildlife communities; adverse effects on species with rare ecological niches or limited dispersibility; and shifts in anadromous salmon distribution and productivity. Our collaborative synthesis of potential impacts highlights the coupling of social and ecological systems that characterize the region as well as a number of major information gaps to help guide assessments of future conditions and adaptive capacity.

Winters are limiting for many terrestrial animals due to energy deficits brought on by resource scarcity and the increased metabolic costs of thermoregulation and traveling through snow. A better understanding of how animals respond to snow conditions is needed to predict the impacts of climate change on wildlife. We compared the performance of remotely sensed and modeled snow products as predictors of winter movements at multiple spatial and temporal scales using a data set of 20,544 locations from 30 GPS-collared Dall sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA from 2005 to 2008. We used daily 500-m MODIS normalized difference snow index (NDSI), and multi-resolution snow depth and density outputs from a snowpack evolution model (SnowModel), as covariates in step selection functions. We predicted that modeled snow depth would perform best across all scales of selection due to more informative spatiotemporal variation and relevance to animal movement. Our results indicated that adding any of the evaluated snow metrics substantially improved model performance and helped characterize winter Dall sheep movements. As expected, SnowModel-simulated snow depth outperformed NDSI at fine-to-moderate scales of selection (step scales 300 kg/m3 ) at snow depths above chest height, which likely further reduced energy expenditure by limiting hoof penetration in deeper snows. At moderate-to-coarse scales (112-896 h step scales), however, NDSI was the best-performing snow covariate. Thus, the use of publicly available, remotely sensed, snow cover products can substantially improve models of animal movement, particularly in cases where movement distances exceed the MODIS 500-m grid threshold. However, remote sensing products may require substantial data thinning due to cloud cover, potentially limiting its power in cases where complex models are necessary. Snowpack evolution models such as SnowModel offer users increased flexibility at the expense of added complexity, but can provide critical insights into fine-scale responses to rapidly changing snow properties.

The use of very high frequency (VHF) radio-telemetry remains wide-spread in studies of wildlife ecology and management. However, few studies have evaluated the influence of vegetative obstruction on accuracy in differing habitats with varying transmitter types and heights. Using adult and fawn collars at varying heights above the ground (0, 33, 66 and 100 cm) to simulate activities (bedded, feeding and standing) and ages (neonate, juvenile and adult) of deer Odocoileus spp., we collected 5,767 bearings and estimated 1,424 locations (28-30 for each of 48 subsamples) in three habitat types (pasture, grassland and forest), during two stages of vegetative growth (spring and late summer). Bearing error was approximately twice as large at a distance of 900 m for fawn (9.9°) than for adult deer collars (4.9°). Of 12 models developed to explain the variation in location error, the analysis of covariance model (HT*D + C*D + HT*TBA + C*TBA) containing interactions of height of collar above ground (HT), collar type ...

Telazol-xylazine and ketamine-xylazine are versatile and safe drug combinations that are used frequently for chemical immobilization of cervids. Although neither combination consistently offers rapid induction and recovery, we hypothesized that a combination of Telazol, ketamine, and xylazine (TKX) would provide a safe and effective alternative for immobilization of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). During a 2-stage study, we evaluated the effectiveness of yohimbine and tolazoline as alpha2-adrenergic antagonists (2005-2006), and characterized the factors that affected chemical immobilization of male deer with a targeted dose of telazol (2.20 mg/kg), ketamine (1.76 mg/kg), and xylazine (0.44 mg/kg), using explosive-charged darts (2007-2010). During the first stage, we randomly assigned deer to antagonist treatments, including a control group that did not receive an antagonist (n ¼ 8), a tolazoline (4 mg/kg) treatment (n ¼ 16), and a yohimbine (0.11 mg/kg) treatment (n ¼ 15). Recovery times ðxSEÞ were longer (P ¼ 0.0013) for control (150.6 � 21.7 min) and yohimbine (74.5 � 13.1 min), compared with tolazoline (12.5 � 12.3 min). Tolazoline resulted in faster and more complete recovery compared with the frequent incomplete antagonism and ataxia observed with yohimbine. During the second stage, 56 immo- bilization events (2007-2010) with TKX yielded a mean induction time of 7.8 minutes (SE ¼ 0.44). Repeated-measures analyses indicated that induction and recovery were affected by body weight, with larger males taking longer to become recumbent (P ¼ 0.08), but they recovered more rapidly (P ¼ 0.003) following administration of tolazoline. Physiological parameters we measured under anesthesia were within normal ranges for white-tailed deer; however, initial temperature was higher (b ¼� 0.86) for younger males (P ¼ 0.014). Final physiological parameters were closely related to initial measurements, with rectal temperature being the most preserved (b ¼ 0.90); heart and respiration rate declined (b < 0.60) during anesthesia. Our results indicate that TKX may be useful for chemically immobilizing white-tailed deer, and we recommend tolazoline as an antagonist for xylazine. 2012 The Wildlife Society.

Densely vegetated environments have hindered collection of basic population parameters on forest-dwelling ungulates. Our objective was to develop a mark—recapture technique that used DNA from fecal pellets to overcome constraints associated with estimating abundance of ungulates in landscapes where direct observation is difficult. We tested our technique on Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) in the temperate coastal rainforest of Southeast Alaska. During 2006–2008, we sampled fecal pellets of deer along trail transects in 3 intensively logged watersheds on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. We extracted DNA from the surface of fecal pellets and used microsatellite markers to identify individual deer. With genotypes of individual deer, we estimated abundance of deer with moderate precision (±20%) using mark—recapture models. Combining all study sites, we identified a 30% (SE = 5.1%) decline in abundance during our 3-year study, which we attributed to 3 consecutive severe winters. We determined that deer densities in managed land logged >30 years ago (7 deer/km2, SE = 1.3) supported fewer deer compared to both managed land logged

Understanding the influence of intrinsic (e.g., age, birth mass, and sex) and habitat factors on survival of neonate white-tailed deer improves understanding of population ecology. During 2002-2004, we captured and radiocollared 78 neonates in eastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota, of which 16 died before 1 September. Predation accounted for 80% of mortality; the remaining 20% was attributed to starvation. Canids (coyotes (Canis latrans), domestic dogs) accounted for 100% of predation on neonates. We used known fate analysis in Program MARK to estimate survival rates and investigate the influence of intrinsic and habitat variables on survival. We developed 2 a priori model sets, including intrinsic variables (model set 1) and habitat variables (model set 2; forested cover, wetlands, grasslands, and croplands). For model set 1, model {Sage-interval} had the lowest AICc (Akaike's information criterion for small sample size) value, indicating that age at mortality (3-stage age- interval: 0-2 weeks, 2-8 weeks, and >8 weeks) best explained survival. Model set 2 indicated that habitat variables did not further influence survival in the study area; b-estimates and 95% confidence intervals for habitat variables in competing models encompassed zero; thus, we excluded these models from consideration. Overall survival rate using model {Sage-interval} was 0.87 (95% CI ¼ 0.83-0.91); 61% of mortalities occurred at 0-2 weeks of age, 26% at 2-8 weeks of age, and 13% at >8 weeks of age. Our results indicate that variables influencing survival may be area specific. Region-specific data are needed to determine influences of intrinsic and habitat variables on neonate survival before wildlife managers can determine which habitat management activities influence neonate populations. 2011 The Wildlife Society.

Ungulate mortality from capture-related injuries is a recurring concern for researchers and game managers throughout North America and elsewhere. We evaluated effects of 7 variables to determine whether ungulate mortality could be reduced by modifying capture and handling procedures during helicopter net-gunning. During winter 2001–2006, we captured 208 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and 281 pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) by helicopter net-gunning throughout the Northern Great Plains. Of 281 pronghorn, 25 (8.9%) died from capture-related injuries; 12 were from direct injuries during capture, and 13 occurred postrelease. Of 208 deer, 3 (1.4%) died from injuries sustained during helicopter captures, with no mortalities documented postrelease. We used logistic regression to evaluate the probability that ungulates would die of injuries associated with helicopter net-gun captures by analyzing effects of snow depth, transport distance, ambient and rectal temperatures, pursuit and handlin...

The capacity of hunters to shape the fundamental properties of their lifestyle at times when extrinsic factors change the availability of subsistence foods is critical to subsistence cultures. Recent changes in deer hunting on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska illustrate the social-ecological challenges to the resilience of a rural subsistence hunting system and raise the broader question of whether efficient hunting strategies necessarily enhance resilience. During the latter half of the 20th century, indigenous people of Alaska's Prince of Wales Island adapted to changing subsistence opportunities by capitalizing on increased availability of deer due to clearcut logging and the construction of roads. Consequently, deer became a more important source of protein. Four decades later, a decline in logging activity is likely to reduce deer availability due to successional changes in habitat. In the face of this social-ecological change, the resilience of the deer hunting component of subsistence traditions will depend on hunters' capacity to adapt to irreversible landscape changes by adopting different harvest strategies that may require more effort to maintain sufficient levels of subsistence harvest. For example, hunters may return to pre-road hunting methods or reduce their reliance on deer for meat and re-emphasize marine resources. These ecologically driven changes in social harvesting practices suggest that adaptability protecting the fundamental properties of a subsistence system from one disturbance may increase vulnerability to another. We show that increased efficiency of a subsistence system did not necessarily enhance resilience if system flexibility is reduced. Introduction In an environment where people have on-going access to wild plants and animals as a subsistence food source, cultural connections to the land often depend strongly on hunting and harvesting those foods (e.g., Wolfe and Walker 1987). However, rapidly changing social, ecological and economic factors often challenge peoples capacity to maintain a subsistence hunting lifestyle. We describe a subsistence system in which people diversified their harvest and diet from mainly marine resources to a greater dependence on Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) in response to new and more efficient (return per unit effort) hunting opportunities. In the face of more recent ecological changes, these hunters may be forced to change their harvest strategy again. We examine current and projected landscape changes-regrowth of forests following clearcut logging- and their likely effects on the availability of deer, upon which rural communities have come to depend nutritionally and culturally. Flexibility is critical to the resilience of a subsistence lifestyle and, therefore, to the resilience of cultural traditions and identity at times when extrinsic factors cause changes in the availability of subsistence foods. Further, our case study illustrates that movement of a subsistence system to a more efficient state does not necessarily enhance resilience. We describe how adoption of a more efficient hunting method increased the system's rigidity and its vulnerability to future disturbances, particularly those imposed by external forces beyond the control of local hunters. It is our hypothesis that human adaptation to higher efficiency and potentially reduced resilience often occurs rapidly, whereas the building of resilience at the cost of more effort may be slow and result in a reassessment of social-ecological values. The main components that we address are applicable to many social and ecological circumstances. Adaptability and Resilience The ecological anthropology of traditional hunting cultures has long focused on questions of adaptation and changing human-environment relations (Bennett 1976:243-305; Moran 1982:4). Variables such as resource diversity, social organization, and worldview have been addressed to explain the structure and function of those systems. …

Movements (e.g., migration, dispersal) of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) vary greatly over the geographic range of the species. Therefore, region-specific, empirical information is needed to effectively manage deer populations. Movements of white-tailed deer have been well documented in forest dominated habitats; however, little information related to white-tailed deer movements exists in intensively (>80%) cultivated areas. From January 2001 to August 2002, we monitored movements of 77 (61 adult, 16 young) female white-tailed deer in southwest Minnesota. We collected 6,867 locations, calculated 130 home ranges, and documented 149 seasonal movements. Fifteen percent of deer were nonmigratory, whereas 35% were facultative migrators, and 42.5% were obligate migrators. Mean distance between summer and winter home range was 10.1 km. Temperature and snow depth had the greatest influence on initiation of seasonal migration, whereas crop emergence and harvest had minimal effects. Four deer (8%) dispersed a mean distance of 71.3 km with 1 adult female moving a straight-line distance of 205 km. All dispersing deer occupied a temporary staging area for approximately 1 month between previous winter and new summer ranges. Mean home range (95% use area) in winter (5.2 km2) was over twice as large as home range in summer (2.3 km2). Movements exhibited by white-tailed deer in southwest Minnesota were influenced by large annual fluctuations in climate and a highly fragmented landscape dominated by row-crop agriculture. We provide data beneficial to biologists managing northern populations of white-tailed deer in fragmented environments by detailing the relationship between climate, intensive agriculture, and deer movements.

Survival and cause-specific mortality of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been well documented in forested habitat, but limited information has been collected in intensively farmed regions. The objectives of this study were to determine survival and cause-specific mortality of neonate, fawn female, and adult female white-tailed deer in an intensively farmed (>80% land cover) region of Minnesota. We captured and radiocollared 77 female deer >8 months old (61 adults, 16 fawns) and 39 neonates (17 male, 22 female). Hunting was the greatest cause of mortality among adult deer, with 43% of mortalities attributed to firearms hunters. Annual survival rate of all adult and fawn (≥8 months) radiocollared deer was 0.77 (n = 58, SE = 0.06). Overall (Jan. 2001-Aug. 2002) adult survival was 0.75 (n = 77, SE = 0.05) and was similar to survival rates reported elsewhere for female white-tailed deer. Natural causes (e.g., disease, predation) of mortality were minor compared to human-related causes ...

Most rural residents in Arctic communities rely on motorized transportation to hunt, fish, trap, and gather subsistence resources. Although these technologies have created advantages, one significant disadvantage is that peoples' ability to meet their nutritional and cultural needs now depends on consistent opportunities for wage employment and availability of affordable fuel. Recent qualitative research suggested that rising fuel prices have disrupted subsistence lifestyles in the Arctic. Our objectives were to collaborate with subsistence users in rural Alaskan communities to quantify how rising fuel costs have impacted subsistence activities and explore ways local residents may adapt to the trajectory of change. We conducted interviews with 178 subsistence harvesters in 8 communities. During the last 10 years, 81% of the harvesters reduced the distance they traveled for subsistence and 89% reduced the number of subsistence trips they took because of gasoline costs. During the last 10 years, the median distance traveled to perform subsistence decreased by 60%, and the median annual number of trips taken to perform subsistence decreased by 75%. The change in subsistence activity was similar across and within communities. Eighty-five percent of the people interviewed reported that they were making sacrifices with serious consequences, such as putting off paying monthly bills, to buy gasoline for subsistence activities. To adapt to high gasoline prices, most participants said that they are using more efficient modes of transportation (69%), followed by more sharing of gasoline costs with family and friends (37%), and conducting more multipurpose subsistence trips (20%). With subsistence practices being critical to food security and cultural identity in the Arctic, our results suggest that unaffordable fuel has threatened social resilience. Because global markets drive gasoline prices, we suggest that future research focus on the effectiveness of adaptation options that build resilience into subsistence systems.

Climatic warming has direct implications for fire-dominated disturbance patterns in northern ecosystems. A transforming wildfire regime is altering plant composition and successional patterns, thus affecting the distribution and potentially the abundance of large herbivores. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are an important subsistence resource for communities throughout the north and a species that depends on terrestrial lichen in late-successional forests and tundra systems. Projected increases in area burned and reductions in stand ages may reduce lichen availability within caribou winter ranges. Sufficient reductions in lichen abundance could alter the capacity of these areas to support caribou populations. To assess the potential role of a changing fire regime on winter habitat for caribou, we used a simulation modeling platform, two global circulation models (GCMs), and a moderate emissions scenario to project annual fire characteristics and the resulting abundance of lichen-producing vegetation types (i.e., spruce forests and tundra >60 years old) across a modeling domain that encompassed the winter ranges of the Central Arctic and Porcupine caribou herds in the Alaskan-Yukon Arctic. Fires were less numerous and smaller in tundra compared to spruce habitats throughout the 90-year projection for both GCMs. Given the more likely climate trajectory, we projected that the Porcupine caribou herd, which winters primarily in the boreal forest, could be expected to experience a greater reduction in lichen-producing winter habitats (−21%) than the Central Arctic herd that wintered primarily in the arctic tundra (−11%). Our results suggest that caribou herds wintering in boreal forest will undergo fire-driven reductions in lichen-producing habitats that will, at a minimum, alter their distribution. Range shifts of caribou resulting from fire-driven changes to winter habitat may diminish access to caribou for rural communities that reside in fire-prone areas.

New-hoof growth is regarded as the most reliable metric for predicting age of newborn ungulates, but variation in estimated age among hoof-growth equations that have been developed may affect estimates of survival in staggered-entry models. We used known-age newborns to evaluate variation in age estimates among existing hoof-growth equations and to determine the consequences of that variation on survival estimates. During 2001–2009, we captured and radiocollared 174 newborn (≤24-hrs old) ungulates: 76 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Minnesota and South Dakota, 61 mule deer (O. hemionus) in California, and 37 pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) in South Dakota. Estimated age of known-age newborns differed among hoof-growth models and varied by >15 days for white-tailed deer, >20 days for mule deer, and >10 days for pronghorn. Accuracy (i.e., the proportion of neonates assigned to the correct age) in aging newborns using published equations ranged from 0.0% to 39.4% in white-tailed deer, 0.0% to 3.3% in mule deer, and was 0.0% for pronghorns. Results of survival modeling indicated that variability in estimates of age-at-capture affected short-term estimates of survival (i.e., 30 days) for white-tailed deer and mule deer, and survival estimates over a longer time frame (i.e., 120 days) for mule deer. Conversely, survival estimates for pronghorn were not affected by estimates of age. Our analyses indicate that modeling survival in daily intervals is too fine a temporal scale when age-at-capture is unknown given the potential inaccuracies among equations used to estimate age of neonates. Instead, weekly survival intervals are more appropriate because most models accurately predicted ages within 1 week of the known age. Variation among results of neonatal-age models on short- and long-term estimates of survival for known-age young emphasizes the importance of selecting an appropriate hoof-growth equation and appropriately defining intervals (i.e., weekly versus daily) for estimating survival.

Because of their reliance on the harvest of fish and game, Alaskan rural communities have experienced a variety of impacts from climate change, the effects of which are amplified at high latitudes. We collaborated with hunters from the coastal community of Wainwright, Alaska, to document their observations of environmental change (e.g., sea ice, wind, temperature) and the implications of those changes for opportunities to hunt bowhead whale ( Balaena mysticetus ) during spring and caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) during summer. We integrated hunter observations on wind with statistical analysis of daily wind speed data collected in the nearby community of Barrow, Alaska, between 1971 and 2010 to characterize changes in the number of days with suitable hunting conditions. Hunters in Wainwright currently observe fewer days than in previous decades with wind conditions suitable for safely hunting bowhead whales and caribou. The statistical analysis of wind speed data supported these conclusions and suggested that the annual windows of opportunity for hunting each species have decreased by up to seven days since 1971. This study demonstrates the potential power of collaboration between local communities and researchers to characterize the societal impacts of climate change. Continued collaborative research with residents of rural northern Alaskan communities could produce knowledge and develop tools to help rural Alaskans adapt to novel social-ecological conditions.

To determine exposure to a variety of infectious diseases potentially important for native ungulates, livestock, and humans, serum samples from 114 (94 adults, 20 fawns) female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were collected during January 2000-03 from multiple locations in southeast (SE) and southwest (SW) Minnesota. Antibody prevalence was determined for the following pathogens: Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, Leptospira interrogans (six serovars), Anaplasma marginale, Borrelia burgdorferi, Brucella abortus, epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus, and bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) types 1 and 2. Samples collected in 2001 were screened for antibodies against Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and whole blood was submitted for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi. In addition, serum selenium concentrations were evaluated for samples collected during 2001-03. Antibody prevalence and selenium concentration were compared by age-class and geographic region. Antibodies to all of the infectious agents except A. marginale and B. abortus were detected; when detected, antibody prevalence was highest in adults. Deer collected from SE Minnesota had a higher antibody prevalence to B. burgdorferi than SW deer. Blood culture and PCR results for A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi were negative. Antibodies against BVDV (combined types 1 and 2) were more prevalent (chi(2) = 3.617, Por = 0.029) in deer collected in SW (41%) than in SE (25%) Minnesota. No statistically significant differences in serum selenium concentrations were detected when data were analyzed by age-class or by geographic location.