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WIDLIFE STRESS
Short Title: Wildlife stress Proposal URL: http://classic.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=257 Arctic wildlife species have evolved unique physiologies and have developed life-history strategies for survival in the harsh polar environment. However, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Report indicates that the climate is rapidly changing in the Arctic and has the potential to alter wildlife habitat, facilitate the northward migration of wildlife diseases and parasites, and alter contaminant cycling. It is imperative that we understand and predict the cumulative impacts that will arise from the multiple stressors associated with climate change. Unfortunately, we have few analytical tools that can be used to assess changes in the health and condition of arctic wildlife. For instance, little is known about the effects on northern wildlife of pathogens or parasites arriving in the arctic from temperate regions; especially under conditions of chronic exposure to low concentrations of immunosuppressive contaminants, nor do we currently have the research tools to study these potential impacts. Our ability to interpret the significance of health indices in arctic wildlife is hampered by a general lack of knowledge concerning the range of normal disease prevalence and pathological conditions. Wildlife populations are of great value to indigenous communities in the arctic as a source of country food and commercial harvests, as a draw for tourism, and as the cornerstone of cultural heritage and identity. Wildlife health assessment programs in the arctic can only be effective with the cooperation of communities that are in daily contact with wildlife and derive the benefits from utilization of this resource. There is a need to integrate traditional ecological knowledge with scientific research. Capacity building for research in communities in Canadas north is not only mandated by the Territorial governments, but is necessary for the success of a long-term assessment program. Northern communities must be empowered to make decisions that are necessary to mitigate the socio-economic and cultural impacts of these changes. We propose to develop a research programme that will: i) Provide information on the health of arctic wildlife, using both scientific and traditional knowledge approaches. ii) Develop techniques to assess and predict changes in the health and condition of arctic wildlife exposed to multiple stressors. iii) Build capacity within arctic communities to participate in the assessment of wildlife health and respond to changes in wildlife populations. iv) Train research personnel to participate in research on multiple stressors in the arctic using community-based approaches. The research partners will bring a variety of research approaches, national and international contacts and matching funds to this IPY project. We will build upon existing collaborative relationships, institutional strengths and agency mandates. This project will take on a coordinating role to manage the collection of animals, distribution of tissues, pooling of data and communications among the various research groups, agency partners and communities. Included in this coordinating activity will be sharing of samples with partners involved in related IPY projects. In order to focus our efforts, we will concentrate our research on a relatively small number of wildlife species, including polar bears ringed seals (Phoca hispida) and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). These species were selected for their position within the food chain, their importance as a food for indigenous peoples and relative ease of collection by hunters. The projects that will support this research goal are: I) Evaluating the health and condition of polar bears: There is a unique opportunity to build upon national and international collaborative linkages to describe the current health and condition of polar bears. The research team will use non-lethal sampling techniques to develop a profile of the health, condition, dietary status and contaminant burdens of polar bears, and identify biomarkers that are suitable for long-term assessment of the health of bears from several arctic and subarctic regions. II) Evaluating the health and condition of ringed seals and beluga whales: We will work in communities in the circumpolar region to evaluate the health and condition of ringed seals and beluga whales. This work will require the cooperation of hunters in the participating communities to obtain samples from animals and to provide traditional knowledge of any perceived changes in animal condition and health. Information will include morphometric data and gross observations of putative pathological conditions provided by the hunters, analysis of pathological conditions and parasite burdens in the skin, liver, GI tract, kidney and adrenal glands, and data on various biomarkers of stress.