Martinez-Levasseur Laura M, Furgal Chris M, Hammill Mike O, Henri Dominique A, Burness Gary
Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2 Canada.
Indigenous Environmental Studies & Sciences Program, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2 Canada.
Polar Biol. 2021;44(9):1833-1845. doi: 10.1007/s00300-021-02920-6. Epub 2021 Aug 6.
Environmental changes are affecting the Arctic at an unprecedented rate, but limited scientific knowledge exists on their impacts on species such as walruses (). Inuit Traditional and Local Ecological Knowledge (Inuit TEK/LEK) held by Inuit walrus harvesters could shed light on walrus ecology and related environmental changes. Our main objective was to study spatial and temporal changes in Atlantic walrus () distribution in Nunavik (northern Québec, Canada) using Inuit TEK/LEK. To do so, we documented the knowledge and observations of 33 local hunters and Elders as part of a larger project on Atlantic walruses in Nunavik. We first gathered information on changes in Inuit land use patterns and harvesting practices through time and space, which was a crucial step to avoid potential biases in interpreting local observations on walrus distribution. We found that walrus hunters are now covering smaller hunting areas over shorter time periods, reducing in space and time their observations of Atlantic walruses around Nunavik. While clearly taking these limitations into account, we learned from interviews that some areas abandoned by Atlantic walruses in the past were now being re-occupied. Importantly, Atlantic walruses, which migrate following the melting ice, are now traveling along the eastern coast of Nunavik one month earlier, suggesting that Atlantic walrus migration has changed due to variations in sea-ice coverage around Nunavik. Our study not only highlighted important changes in Atlantic walrus distribution and migration in Nunavik, but also sheds light on the importance of documenting temporal and spatial changes in Inuit land use patterns and harvesting practices to understand the ecology of Arctic species using Inuit Knowledge.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00300-021-02920-6.
环境变化正以前所未有的速度影响着北极地区，但关于这些变化对海象等物种的影响，现有科学知识有限。因纽特海象捕猎者所掌握的因纽特传统和地方生态知识（Inuit TEK/LEK）可能有助于揭示海象生态及相关环境变化。我们的主要目标是利用因纽特TEK/LEK研究加拿大魁北克省北部努纳维克地区大西洋海象分布的时空变化。为此，作为努纳维克地区大西洋海象大型项目的一部分，我们记录了33位当地猎人及长者的知识和观察结果。我们首先收集了因纽特人土地利用模式和捕猎方式随时间和空间变化的信息，这是避免在解读有关海象分布的当地观察结果时出现潜在偏差的关键一步。我们发现，如今海象猎人的捕猎区域在缩小，时间也缩短，在空间和时间上减少了他们在努纳维克周边对大西洋海象的观察。在明确考虑到这些局限性的同时，我们从访谈中了解到，过去被大西洋海象遗弃的一些区域现在又被重新占据。重要的是，随着冰层融化而迁徙的大西洋海象现在沿着努纳维克东海岸提前一个月迁徙，这表明由于努纳维克周边海冰覆盖情况的变化，大西洋海象的迁徙发生了改变。我们的研究不仅突出了努纳维克地区大西洋海象分布和迁徙的重要变化，还揭示了记录因纽特人土地利用模式和捕猎方式的时空变化对于利用因纽特知识理解北极物种生态的重要性。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s00300-021-02920-6获取的补充材料。
