Review ArticleResilience and Adaptation: Yukon River Watershed ContaminantRisk Indicators

Lawrence Duffy ,1 La’Ona De Wilde,1 Katie Spellman,2 Kriya Dunlap,3

Bonita Dainowski,3 Susan McCullough,4 Bret Luick,5 and Mary van Muelken6

1Resilience and Adaptation Program, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA2International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA4Interior Alaska Campus, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA5School of Natural Resources and Extension, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA6Resilience and Adaptation Program, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to Lawrence Duffy; lkduffy@alaska.edu

Received 20 April 2018; Accepted 12 July 2018; Published 1 October 2018

Academic Editor: Ombretta Paladino

Copyright © 2018 Lawrence Duffy et al. )is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work isproperly cited.

River watersheds are among the most complex terrestrial features in Alaska, performing valuable ecosystem functions andproviding services for human society. Rivers are vital to both estuarine and aquatic biota and play important roles in bio-geochemical cycles and physical processes. )e functions of watersheds have been used as vulnerability indicators for ecosystemand socioeconomic resilience. Despite a long history of human activity, the Yukon River has not received the holistic andinterdisciplinary attention given to the other great American river systems. By using hypothesis-based monitoring of keywatershed functions, we can gain insight to regime-shifting stresses such as fire, toxins, and invasive species development.Coupling adaptive risk management practices involving stakeholders with place-based education, especially contaminants andnutrition related, can maintain resilience within communities. )e Yukon watershed provides a broadscale opportunity forcommunities to monitor the environment, manage resources, and contribute to stewardship policy formation. Monitoringkeystone species and community activities, such as citizen science, are critical first steps to following changes to resiliencythroughout the Yukon watershed. Creating a policy environment that encourages local experimentation and innovation con-tributes to resilience maintenance during development-imposed stress.

1. Introduction

)ere is a long-standing relationship between the Atha-bascan, Inupiaq, and Yup’ik people living along the YukonRiver (Figure 1). )e Yukon River provides these com-munities with salmon, a vital part of their food source. )ehunter-gatherers living along this river have been harvestingthe five species of Pacific salmon for over 8,000 years. Eventoday, human activity along the river continues to focusaround salmon, such as the salmon fisheries, which alsoassist in providing the nutritional health, cultural traditions,and ecological integrity. Communities along the river eat

several kilograms of subsistence food per week per capita ofwhich 60 percent is fish [1]. )e Yukon River drainage isapproximately 321,500 square miles and drains about one-third of Alaska (Figure 2). It is roughly 1,980 miles long andis a major transportation corridor for Alaskans living in thestate’s interior region (Figure 1).

Tribal organizations along the river work to sustain theYukon River salmon fishing in partnership with state,provincial, and international treaties and laws. )e YukonRiver Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) is a co-operative network of First Nations and tribes in Alaska andCanada whose goal is to maintain the river as a source of

HindawiScientificaVolume 2018, Article ID 8421513, 12 pageshttps://doi.org/10.1155/2018/8421513

drinking water and healthy salmon and to monitor gov-ernmental agencies management of the river. In the past,using art, the tribal groups created images of a healthywatershed. One major theme was evident: a healthy wa-tershed was not just about clean water. Images portrayedbeauty, healthy animals, interactive people hunting, andfishing and, in general, a healthy cycle of life. In 2002, theYRITWC initiated the first unified water assessment.

While generally considered clean, the Yukon Riverwatershed has an enduring legacy of pollution resulting frommining and military development. )e extraction andprocessing of metals, coal, and natural gas lead to an in-creased risk for water degradation due to contaminantrelease.

Today, pollution also enters the river by global transportform other regions, especially Asia, with its recent activity inenergy and economic development [2, 3]. Industrially cre-ated persistent organic chemicals and metals are being re-ported, both in the watershed and its derived food services,such as salmon [1, 4, 5]. )e Yukon River is not only im-portant to local and regional ecosystem service issues butalso has global economic and industrial applications. )ewatershed’s capacity for resilience serves as an example of anat-risk biocomplex adaptive system tested by both local andglobal stressors [6, 7].

Due to many components and various interactions ofhuman social systems and ecosystems, there is an ability tochange and adapt to new conditions through the generationof new properties [7, 8]. )e emergent properties of bio-complexity include self-organization, stability domains, andcomplex cycles [9]. Viewed on an increasing scale of

complexity from individual species to communities, thesecomplex systems may additionally be characterized bystakeholders and regulators (Table 1).

Each level has a characteristic behavior different fromthe other levels. )ere are hierarchically distinct behaviorsor properties that give the level a property of its own that isgreater than the sum of its parts. An effect that is greaterthan the sum of the individual effects is known as syn-ergism. At higher organizational levels, because the partsare interconnected and their behavior is shaped by feed-back loops, adaptive responses to environmental changecan occur. As biocomplexity increases, the richness ofexpression of emergent properties grows, as does the

Figure 1:Map of the Yukon River watershed.)e Yukon is the third longest river in North America and the fourth largest drainage in NorthAmerica. https://www.yritwc.org/yukon-river-watershed. Credit: Maryann Fidel, Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council.

Figure 2: )e Yukon River Watershed’s footprint compared toAlaska and the United States. Credit: Laris Karklis. Yukon RiverInter-Tribal Watershed Council.

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uncertainty. )is holistic perspective integrates the humanand ecological systems to form a unifying, life-sustainingOne Health approach [10]. As a monitoring model, thisperspective should tie the selected indicator species toeither water or food quality.

Food chains and webs, self-organizing assemblies, arekey properties of ecosystems and form a complex systemof ecological services. )eir ability to change or switch isa property of all complex adaptive systems, such asecosystems and social systems [7]. Organisms remain instability domains related to their niche, but can move toa new stability domain; that is, they switch because of anexternal disturbance into a state of dissolution [11, 12].Reorganization, leading to transformation, occurs whenthe system begins to focus around a new stability domain.Chance and outside factors can be important to the courseinitiated during reorganization. )e growth of the humanpopulation over the centuries has led to divergent humansocial systems. In social system cycles, policies can showdramatic change, thus affecting the earth’s ecosystems andtheir management [13]. Overexploitation of a river sys-tem, when coupled with climate change, can switch anecosystem to a different stability domain with loss of somefunctions [9]. To achieve sustainable and adaptive man-agement in a complex system, we need to be aware of thekey aspects of uncertainty: (1) sources of vulnerability, (2)effects of threats of harm, and (3) validity of cause andeffect relationships [9]. New policies and frameworks areformulated during reorganization [14]. In this paper, weaim to explore the role and importance of long-termenvironmental monitoring in supporting the resilienceof the Yukon River watershed and its people. We exploreframeworks and techniques for aligning stakeholdervalues in a One Health approach with potential bio-indicators of change that could be monitored at differentspatial scales.

2. Impacts of Scale, Evaluators,and Stakeholders

)e environmental impacts of local efforts to provide food,shelter, and clothing for rural communities are much morelimited than those of today’s economically motivated in-dustries (agricultural, forestry, and textile, for example) thatsupply large urban centers. )e very nature of materials haschanged with the advancement of chemical and industrialtechnologies. However, the vast amount of state and federallands surrounding the Yukon River still provide space forwildlife and fish and enable Alaska Native communities topractice a traditional hunter-gatherer culture.

Changes in Alaska are becoming more apparent; aspopulations grow, environmental impacts expand beyondlocal sites. After recovery, impacts on regional and globalsystems are often difficult to track and measure. While theseare concerns at local and regional levels around the world,the Yukon River has an important position in Alaskanenvironmental processes. As human activity forces changesto the ecosystem, it is important to consider impacts atdifferent hierarchical scales. Impacts on stakeholders willvary with the stressor involved (Table 1) and, the YukonRiver’s sustainability, in turn, will depend on its resilienceand adaptive capacity [15].

)e Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) isfederal legislation enacted to return some control to AlaskaNatives and to facilitate disputes between Alaska Natives andthe US government. A major outcome of the legislation wasthe creation of Alaska Native Corporations for economicdevelopment [16]. ANCSA brought Alaska Natives into themiddle of sustainability conflicts between traditional sub-sistence hunting and fishing rights, that is, conservation ofwilderness, economic development, and a cash economy.

Subsistence is the termmost often used to describe a wayof life that Alaska Natives have lived for millennia. )is way

TABLE 1: Types of river resources and their value to potentially impacted stakeholders.

Type Definition Examples Stakeholders

Individual resources Value of individual species by itstrophic position

Keystone species Natural resource trusteesTrophic role Conservationist

Endangered speciesRegulators

Tribal councilsScientists

Specific resources forindividuals

Value of individual species toindividual people or groups of people

Fish, game, and sport activities Fish and game agenciesWildlife for photography;

birdwatching Conservationists

Plants for religious ormedicinal purposes

Businesses catering to recreationistsTribal councils

Scientists and social scientists

Resources forcommunities

Value of ecosystem to humancommunities

Clean water and air RegulatorsHabitat Public policy-makers

Subsistence speciesCoastal zonemanagers/Army Corps of

EngineersTribal councils

Intact ecosystems Ecological, aesthetic, and existencevalues to people

Tundra Environmental protection agencies(state and federal)

Boreal forests and rivers NGOs and tribal councilsRivers

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of life, practiced along the Yukon River watershed, is centralto individual and community identity, well-being, and senseof place. )e government definition of subsistence is morelimited and refers to the use of and access to sources of wildfood. Conflicts with the cash economy, commercial huntingand fishing, and large mineral development activities havearisen. )ese environmental practices can have significantimpacts on the sources of food and water that have providedecosystem services maintaining the local community. Oftenignored is the loss of aesthetic and cultural value such assharing and the preservation of resources for future gen-erations [16].

While assessing water security risks faced by rivercommunities is critical, responses must allow for adaptationto management decisions and international policy. Tradi-tional knowledge, with contributions from local residents,integrated with science, provides vital information regardingvulnerability. )e relationship between researchers andcommunity members’ involvement in research directionempowers all participants by increasing depth of un-derstanding [16].

Mining occupies an historical foothold and remainsa growing industry along Alaska’s Yukon River watershed.)ere are still areas, such as the Red Devil Mine (estab-lished 1921), that have not been fully remediated. )eDonlin Project, also found in the Yukon Kuskokwim re-gion, is one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in theUnited States. An open pit mine, the Donlin Project, willnecessitate the construction of roads and a port on theKuskokwim River. )e development plan also includes theconstruction of a 315-mile pipeline that will move naturalgas from the Cook Inlet. )e management of tailings andsolid rock waste is of considerable concern. Other majorenvironmental considerations include acid mine drainage,mercury contamination, the use of chemicals for pro-cessing, and impacts due to increased road and bargetraffic.

3. Ecosystem Monitoring and the OneHealth Approach

Resilience is the capacity to buffer and adapt to new stresses.Management and governance attributes of human systemsare tools to navigate the change brought on by the stress.)eYukon River is a socialecological system that is complex andthus will involve uncertainty. )e complexity of the YukonRiver watershed makes it difficult and expensive to monitorchanges in resilience due to its variety of conditions and lowpopulation.

One Health is an approach for developing trans-disciplinary collaboration across the watershed for theidentification and mitigation of health risks in humans,animals, and the environment [10, 17]. )e One Healthconcept derives from an understanding that the health ofanimals, people, and the environment is connected. OneHealth is an integrated approach that focuses on the in-teractions between animals, humans, and their diverse en-vironments. It encourages collaborations, synergies, andcross-fertilization of all professional sectors and actors

whose activities may have an impact on health. )e OneHealth concept has special relevance in regions like theArctic, where people live close to the land and depend uponnatural resources for food, medicine, and homemade ma-terials. In Alaska, the One Health approach involves col-laborations not only between the human health, veterinaryhealth, and environmental health communities [10] but alsowith Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) sources inlocal communities [17].

)is special closeness to the land, which is lost in urbancommunities at lower latitudes, has led to a “One Health”approach to develop an interdisciplinary collaboration thatfocuses on the interactions between the physical environ-ment, plants, and animals and the human social system tounderstand the disease processes. )e health and survival ofrural populations have traditionally depended on an ex-tensive knowledge of the plant and animal species in theirlocal environment. Seasonal harvest and fish migrationpatterns have traditionally been major community activitiesthat closely link holistic culture and worldview. )e localterrestrial, coastal, and marine resources supply naturalnutrients and phytochemicals for preventing disease andmitigating metabolic syndromes like diabetes. Un-derstanding the concept of complex processes at both thelocal and global levels is key to understanding the manyvaried factors in stress processes for people living in rural,marginal, or polluted environments. One Health emphasizesecosystem unity. Looking at a map or globe, it is easy toobserve populations living in proximity to marine and riverecosystems are at risk from sea level rise, flooding, and toxindisposition [18].

Rivers are vital to both estuarine and aquatic biota andplay important roles in biogeochemical cycles and physicalprocesses. )erefore, river watersheds are among the mostcomplex terrestrial features, performing valuable ecosystemfunctions and providing services for human society. Tra-ditionally, watershed functions are an indicator for eco-system health [18]. River watersheds have a long history ofhuman activity, but most have not received the holistic andinterdisciplinary research attention given other ecosystems.Coupling ecosystem assessment with education createsresilience within the community. By monitoring key wa-tershed indicators such as wildlife, we can gain insight intoregime-shifting stresses, that is, increasing contaminantsand industrial development (Table 2). Observations of im-pacts from a changing climate or mineral development canbe assessed and inform adaptations to private, state, terri-torial, tribal, and national ecosystem management ap-proaches [19].

Water and food insecurity are key issues affecting humanhealth (Figure 3). Chemical exposure interferes with met-abolic functions and homeostasis by interfering with en-zymes or receptors. Increased industrial development at lowlatitudes and global transport of air pollutants will lead to anincrease in contaminant deposition. Legacy chemicals fromearly development efforts such as gold mining and militaryconstruction have been reported in the rural populations.Industrial waste incidents related to development likemining and oil [20] should be monitored until recovery.)is

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process may result in a return to either the previous eco-system state or the beginning of a reorganization process.

In addition, the tendency of air in temperate regions(some of which is heavily polluted) to warm, rise, and movetowards the poles results in Alaska serving as a global sinkregion for certain kinds of pollution like Hg. )e kinds ofpollution that have been and continue to be problematic toglobal health include radionuclides, heavy metals, oil, andmany persistent organic pollutants. While the United Statesdoes not define carbon dioxide and methane as pollutants,these gasses are the primary waste products resulting from

fossil fuel combustion and are contributing to rapid climatechange.

In order to understand the local diet, metabolic processesand endocrine function of species occupying a watershedtake extended monitoring and research [5]. Even theidentification of sentinel species requires knowledge of theecosystem. )ere are dozens to hundreds of species in anygiven food web, and studies have been quite limited alongthe Yukon River watershed. A true understanding of thehealth threats of pollution that bioaccumulates and bio-magnifies, such as mercury, needs to include data from

Table 2: Potential indicators of change and variation across ecological levels.

Ecological level Indicators/metrics Rationale

Individual species

Salmon Common; abundant; widespread; eaten by highertrophic levelsShellfish

River otter, sea otter, mink, and muskrat Represents higher trophic levels; monitors differentfood webs

PopulationsColonial birds

Of interest to the public, vulnerable because theybreed and feed in aquatic habitats that concentrate

toxins

Red fox and Arctic fox Of less interest to the public, but have circumpolarperspective

CommunitySled dogs Of interest to the public, vulnerable because they eat

what humans eat

Lichens and plants Low trophic level and thus indicative of higher leveleffects; monitors global transport

Ecosystem Species diversity Of interest to the public, can be used to observetrophic dynamics

Landscape Percent habitat Of interest to the public, used to assess quality ofhabitat as well as temporal changes

Figure 3: Alaskan potable water sites that are vulnerable and at risk for contamination. Credit: Maryann Fidel, Yukon River Inter-TribalWatershed Council.

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several trophic levels, beginning with water systems andtheir security [21, 22]. Sanitation is not well studied in theYukon watershed (Figure 3), nor is road building [23]; theseactivities will increase as population and developmentincrease.

)e implementation, growth, and development of theDonlin Gold Mine Project, as mentioned earlier, would bea new stress on the relatively pristine Kuskokwim Riverecosystem. Using biomarkers at multiple trophic levels tomonitor developmental impacts would provide necessarydata for revised management policies that could buffer thenew stressors. )e increased capacity to monitor wouldallow management to adapt their operation to relieve anyunforeseen stress. Extensive monitoring would increase thewatershed’s resilience and the capacity to buffer and adapt tonew stresses.

Another aspect in monitoring ecosystem health, andOne Health, is uncertainty. Uncertainty is present at allhierarchical levels and increases as the complexity of thesystem increases and new system properties emerge. )erealization is that material cycling and energy flow areemergent properties of an ecosystem that result from bothproduction and consumption components. Materials movethrough ecosystems in a cycle of production and con-sumption. Important elements are carbon, hydrogen, andoxygen, which are required for photosynthesis; and nitro-gen, phosphorous, sulfur, calcium, and magnesium, whichare required for the construction of proteins and otherstructural compounds in the bodies of living organisms [22].)ese elements are transferred from soil and water to greenplants when the plants grow (i.e., production). )ey arereturned to the soil and water whenever carbon chains arebroken apart during consumption. Animals and microor-ganisms are consumers. When consumers derive toxicmineral elements from their food, they retain elements likemercury and pass it up the food chain. Microorganisms aredecomposers and consume the bodies of dead plants, ani-mals, and other microorganisms to obtain the carbon-chainbuilding blocks that they need for their growth. As plantsgrow and die, heavy metals are recycled back into the soiland plants. )e growth of all plants in an ecosystem is theecosystem’s net primary production, which is often used asan indicator of function (Figure 4).

)e Yukon River flows through regions of permafrost thatcan accumulate mercury and other potential toxins [24].While the movement of elements in ecosystems is cyclic ina closed system, the movement of energy is not cyclic. Energyenters ecosystems as sunlight, and the energy is used byphotosynthesis to create carbon compounds. When con-sumers use the carbon chains in their food as building blocksfor their bodies, they breakdown some of the carbon chains torelease energy for their metabolic needs. After consumers usethe energy from respiration and the producers and consumersdie, there is a flow of metals and persistent organic toxinsthrough aquatic ecosystems [25–28].

)e indigenous peoples of the circumpolar North aresecondary consumers, quite literally at the top of the trophicfood web [17, 29]. While the physical benefits of subsistenceliving may still outweigh the risks of contaminants, health

risks may become health problems unless there are im-provements in the monitoring of chemical waste. In the lastdecade, the international community agreed to work to-wards the elimination of bioaccumulative toxic contami-nants. )e United Nations has crafted several internationaltreaties for environmental protection. )e StockholmConvention is among those treaties that use precautionarylanguage [4]. )e Stockholm Convention was designed toeliminate or restrict the production and use of persistentorganic compounds. While chemical pollution will in-evitably be an issue for decades to come, implementation ofthe Stockholm Convention should be a major step towardidentifying the toxic contaminants that need monitoring inthe Yukon River watershed. In addition to climate changeand industrial pollution, the Yukon River watershed resi-dents are experiencing a nutritional transition in dietary andlifestyle patterns [30]. )e combination of increased con-taminants and changing dietary patterns suggests that morefrequent monitoring of the watershed’s social ecologicalsystem would provide a finer scale of information for policy-makers [7].

4. Bioindicators for Monitoring Arctic andSubarctic Air, Water, and Food Systems

Subtle changes in the environment that affect vital resourcessuch as air quality, the quantity or quality of fresh water, andthe distribution and assemblages of native and introducedspecies will have profound effects on human, animal, andplant health. )ere have been many examples of the di-sastrous, unintended effects of human actions. )e study ofthe feedbacks between human health and the environmentmust therefore be comprehensive, including research on thelong-term regime shifts associated with climate change[31, 32].

Contaminants associated with air and water createa serious health problem in the Arctic because they stronglyaffect both the city life and traditional way of life of theindigenous peoples [26, 27]. )e contaminants have a ten-dency to accumulate in certain animals, especially in marinemammals, caribou, and moose used as traditional food byindigenous people. )e exposure to contaminants is closelyconnected to local consumption of traditional food. Burgerand colleagues [16] have suggested that bioindicators can beused to monitor the changes in the status of ecosystems or toevaluate remediation efforts. Bioindicators usually refer toorganisms and their properties or functions as componentsof an ecosystem (Figure 4). Both the ecosystem and itsstakeholders benefit by relevant monitoring at differentscales (Table 2) by allowing for adaptive management ofcontaminants and engagement in policy creation.

Healthy ecosystems need to bemaintained to ensure theyreceive services form the ecosystems. Bioindicators thatindicate both organismal and human health are desirable[33]. Carnivores, such as river otters, mink, fox, and otherpredators, have been useful bioindicators. )ere is a need toselect common and widespread species as bioindicatorsbecause their populations can be monitored and stressescompared between regions. Bioindicator species provide

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insight into both the functional and structural aspects ofa healthy ecosystem. Some common indicator species at thedifferent hierarchical levels are listed in Table 2.

Predatory species that live at a higher trophic level aremore comparable to humans and thereby more exposed tobiomagnification, such as mercury [1, 34, 35]. For example,river otters, fox, dogs, and humans all eat fish. Indicator specieslower on the food chain can be used to monitor potentialdamage to higher trophic level organisms within ecosystems.

5. Examples

5.1. Lichens: As Monitors of Global Transport. Lichens con-nect air, water, and environment. Fungi and green algaeform symbiotics called lichens. Lichens are a symbioticassociation of algae (phycobiont) and fungi (mycobiont),and are long lived, growing on rock, wood, or soil substrates.)ey extract water and labile nutrients from the air and aretherefore sensitive to air pollution. Among the manymammal and bird species having potential uses for bio-monitoring, Rangifer spp. (caribou and reindeer) are par-ticularly important because they continue to serve as a foodstaple across the circumpolar north. Reindeer and caribouare associated with boreal forest, taiga, and tundra biomes inwhich the major components of their summer diet are low-growing species such as sedges, willows, and lichens, whilelichens are the main component in the winter diet [36].)ese diet regimes can be impacted by climate changefactors, such as temperature and precipitation by reducingthe growth of lichens, which are replaced by sedges throughcompetitive interactions. Yukon watershed environs may bemore impacted than temperate regions by melting perma-frost and flooding [24, 25, 28].

5.2. Salmon: As a Key Component of Ecosystem Services.Salmon are a key component of the Yukon River watershedand provide insight into both the functional and structural

aspects of this river system. Monitoring should be co-ordinated with the communities and the YRITWC. Salmonprovide nourishment services to the people, animals, and theland. Alaskans depend on salmon for subsistence and em-ployment; spawners feed bears and birds and enrich the soil.)e Yukon River has migrations of all five species of Pacificsalmon.

Salmon run strength is monitored by both communityresidents and state and federal agency personnel. Moni-toring salmon runs during declines is essential to understandthe dynamics of the system. Population declines havesometimes led to restoration polices that aim to restore runstrength. However, restoration practices may introduceexcess nutrients, disease, and toxic substances. Restorationactivities involving nutrients must be balanced and moni-tored to prevent harm caused by increased toxic loads [26].

Human health benefits are related to the intake ofomega-3 fatty acid which is obtained through consumptionof oily fish, such as salmon [37]. )e positive health benefitsof salmon can be reduced by accumulation of environmentalpollutants such as mercury, lead, or persistent organo-chlorine contaminants. Dietary exposure to contaminantscan increase the risk of cancer, immune dysfunction, di-abetes, and effects on the aging process [38].

)e people in the small, rural communities along theYukon River and its tributaries rely on salmon for nour-ishment. )e cost of country store foods should be surveyedto monitor changes in price on a routine basis.

5.3. Red Foxes Can Be a PanArctic and SubArctic Food ChainSentinel. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are a widespread speciesand opportunistic omnivores who inhabit most ecosystemsacross the Arctic and subarctic. )eir feeding ecology caninform the interpretation of contaminant uptake patternswhen the trophic level is characterized. Stable isotope studiestraditionally trace pathways of organic matter using stablecarbon isotopes which are reflective of naturally occurring

Function

Ecological health

Structure

Food chainstructure

Rare andthreatened species

Keystonespecies

Speciesdiversity

Chemical and nutrientcycling

Energyrelationships

Productivity

Food chainstability

Figure 4: Potential Indicators of ecosystem health.

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isotope values in the source of the terrestrial animals’ diet[39]. Besides terrestrial sources, stable isotope ratios can alsoreflect dietary sources from coastal versus noncoastal,bethnic versus pelagic environments (i.e., food webs).Studying the diet composition by using stable isotopeanalysis allows a view of the diet over different time frames,because of the different turnover rates for different tissuesand continuous growth of certain structures. For example,when analyzing the pelage cycle of hair, mammals like thered fox (Vulpes vulpes) will lose hair in late spring, ap-proximately in May, and regrowth occurs through October.Fox hair will be reflective of a diet consumed during latesummer through October [40]. )e stable isotope ratio ofnitrogen has been used to establish trophic levels [39] andfood web structures. In an ecosystem, most organismsconsumemore than one kind of prey; therefore, a network ofoverlapping food webs will influence what trophic level ananimal is occupying. Generally, at each trophic level, thenitrogen isotope ratios of the predator increases in naturalfood chains [41]. )ere are, however, limitations withinterpreting these trophic level interactions when they aredetermined only from stable isotope data; for example, theage and health status of the animal [42, 43]. )e average lifespan of a red fox is five years in the wild; the animal issexually mature at around 10 months [5]. )e red fox maymove north into the Arctic fox range following developmentof road systems [44].

5.4. SledDogsasaHumanHealthSentinel. Dogs have becomea popular model for immune function, nutrition, exercise,toxicology, and cognitive disorders [45–49] because they havekey features associated with cognitive dysfunctions, beta-amyloid pathology, and oxidative damage similar to that ofhumans [47]. Sled dog mushing, once used primarily asa means of transportation around the Yukon River watershed,has evolved into a popular national and international sport.Sled dogs are unique research models because the effects ofdiet, exercise, disease, and environment can be observed on theimmune, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems and theirindicator biomarkers.

Sled dogs in northern climates are often exposed to thesame environmental hazards as their human counterparts[35]. In many Alaskan villages, sled dogs are still a funda-mental part of a traditional lifestyle, used for trapping,packing, and transportation. Most of these villages are smallsettlements, established on or near rivers to facilitate traveland food gathering.)e diet of both Alaska Natives and theirsled dogs often comprises a variety of berries, wild game,fish, and marine mammals [34]. Before the arrival of westerndiets, circumpolar people had a low incidence of obesity,diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Researchers attributethis to the loss of a typical subsistence diet, abundant inpolyunsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants [50]. Sled dogsprovide a large homogeneous sample size for studying theimpact of subsistence lifestyles and subarctic environmentson immune and endocrine functions. Since village caninepopulations live in close association, they are consideredgood sentinels for environmental pollutants [48, 49].

6. Adaptation and Resilience

Alaska is rich in biological, physical, and intangible re-sources. Millions of animals (birds, fish, and marinemammals) migrate to the Arctic to reproduce.)ese residentand migrating animals feed thousands of people dispersed insmall communities throughout the circumpolar North.Several nations also have significant oil and mineral depositsin the Arctic. In addition, the Far North also has tremendousstrategic importance and the space needed for militarytraining and testing. )erefore, the migratory nature ofmany species and their shared ecosystems (the Arctic Oceanand the boreal forest) in the Earth’s largest remaining re-gions of the Arctic wilderness will require resource man-agement in the Arctic to operate at an international scale. Allover the world, the idea of stewardship is being rein-vestigated with new understandings of complexity andrecognition of past adverse effects on watersheds. )ere hasbeen some improvement, as over the last two decades,adaptive management has grown as a model for stewardshipand resilience [7].

Running through the boreal forest, the Yukon Riverwatershed has a long history of human activity but has notbeen given the holistic and interdisciplinary research at-tention in the same manner as the other great NorthAmerican river systems. Using hypothesis-based monitoringof key watershed functions, we can gain insights to regimeshifting stresses such as increasing river carbon transport,food system diversity, contaminant load, and the effect of fireon subsistence plants, animals, and human social structure.)ese stresses could impact the river’s biogeochemical or-ganization, especially the movement of toxins, contami-nants, and waste. Bioindicators will require an importanteffort to monitor change resilience in Alaska’s watershedsand estimate their degree of resilience in the future [7].Additionally, by including students and citizens in themonitoring plan, it becomes more holistic by measuringimpacts on the various “capitals” that may be impacted(Figure 5). Red foxes, river otters, mink, and even dogs havebeen used as bioindicator species to monitor variation inmercury concentrations both within a species and betweendifferent species living in a local geophysical region orecosystem [5, 21, 34, 51]. Foxes can provide information onHg biomagnification patterns and changes in exposure.Since foxes are omnivores, like dogs, examining concen-trations of Hg also provide feeding ecology data on con-taminant concentrations in other small mammals, birds andfish.

A major goal should be to develop a holistic frameworkthat defines resilience. Resilience can maintain stability oradapt and transform to new regimes [52, 53]. Regime shiftscan increase the risk of further regime shifts and lead toa cascade of regime shifts, a tipping point, to a very differentstate [8]. To monitor components of resilience in the YukonRiver watershed, the development of appropriate localecological and social indicators is needed to assess aspects ofadaptive capacity and management (Tables 1 and 2). )eability of the river system to adjust to changing conditions,such as physical impacts of climate change or social desire

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for development, will depend on the degree of potential self-organization, �exibility of action, and avoidance of in-stitutional “one size �ts all” solutions. All sources ofknowledge must be respected to maintain or increaseresilience. People living in the region, some for manygenerations, have knowledge that can lead to sustainablesolutions. Traditional ecological knowledge is a means toincrease both resilience and adaptive capacity as the Yukonwatershed is impacted by the Anthropocene [54, 55].

Monitoring of the Yukon River system for contaminantchanges can lead to activation of a mitigation program. Sucha mitigation program would consist of contaminant removal,development of a robust social support system, and, if nec-essary, nutritional replacement [8]. Mitigation programs thatinclude education programs and stakeholder participationreduce the impact of uncertainty and enhance the resilience ofthe entire watershed (Figure 5). Citizen science or community-based monitoring programs are methods that include stake-holders and emphasize education alongside environmentalmonitoring [58].�ese types of programs have a wide range ofdocumented outcomes that can contribute to the watershed’sresilience (Figure 6). Yukon River watershed users mayeventually face the decision of whether or not to consume wild�sh. Toxic metals and persistent or organic pollutants are risksthat need to be considered in relationship to the bene�tsprovided by omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and other bene�cialnutrients found in �sh. Detailed, local-scaled monitoring,identi�cation of thresholds, and community education will beneeded [55]. Future nutritional transitions have implicationsfor individual and community health.

Mercury in the Arctic is an example of a signi�cantenvironmental and human health issue. Northern people’sreliance on local, traditional foods increases their risk ofmercury exposure [24, 56]. Increased mercury mobility isa major impact of climate change. Sea-level changes and�ooding events in high latitude coastal ecosystems, for

example, will increase the bioavailability of contaminantssuch as mercury [57]. Mercury concentrations have beenused as an indicator of past exposure to heavy metals inancient �sh and animal samples. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris)and river otters are common to the Gulf of Alaska’s coastalareas and paleontological deposits of their bones have beenidenti�ed as far back as the early Holocene. Stable isotoperatios are used to reconstruct ancient food webs and helpidentify sea otter prey, which may have bioaccumulated highconcentrations of the metal. Modern sea otters have δ13C,δ15N, and mercury values corresponding largely to a benthicdiet. Higher δ15N and mercury levels were found in ancientsea otter bones which may demonstrate higher trophic levelforaging and a large increase in the bioavailability of mer-cury in the coastal ecosystem. �ese large increases may beassociated with rising sea level after the glacial maximum.Sea otter paleontological remains can be used to placepresent day predicted climactic perturbations, like �oodingof Beringia during the Holocene.

At this time, proper monitoring and analysis of theYukon River watershed is missing. Individual researchersfrom federal and state agencies as well as the University ofAlaska are studying individual issues related to govern-mental objectives. Resilience is sometimes discussed, but itsconcepts are relatively new and adaptive management is notuniversally used. Linking the concepts of resilience and thepeople power in citizen science is a potential way to ac-complish a holistic study. Currently, during this early periodof stress from development and climate change, the ap-propriate studies are not occurring.�is is an opportunity totest the generalities and ecological concepts on a watershedthat has not yet been reduced by humanity.

In adapting to the impacts of development and climatechange, state and federal managers need to monitor key-stone species so that watershed resilience can be tracked.When choosing a keystone species, place-based factors

Environmentalstressor

Hazard monitoringand characteristics

Current knowledgeand risk awareness

Health infrastructure Emergent healthoutcomes

Community educationNutrition

Ecosystem health

Social conditionsHousingHabitatDiet lifestyle

(i)(ii)

(iii)

Mitigation and adaptation

Figure 5: Resilience framework related to monitoring environmental stressors.

Scienti�ca 9

should be considered equally with the more broad geo-graphic distribution of the plant or animal. In a region aslarge as the Yukon River watershed, it is imperative to recruitcitizen scientists to monitor the selected ecosystem andsocial health indicators to inform local policy and providedata for adaptive management [58, 59].

7. Conclusion

River watersheds are among the most complex terrestrialfeatures in Alaska performing valuable ecosystem func-tions and providing services for human society. Rivers arevital to both estuarine and aquatic biota and play im-portant roles in biogeochemical cycles and physical pro-cesses. �e Yukon River watershed has a long history ofhuman activity but has not been given the holistic andinterdisciplinary research attention of the other greatAmerican river systems. �ere is a need to identify re-lationships and potential feedbacks between the YukonRiver watershed’s health and human health.�ere is a needto increase place-based education in rural communities toincrease the resilience of the river system.�e Yukon Riverwatershed provides a broadscale opportunity for resiliencebaseline studies to determine the impact of stress onecosystem services. Monitoring adaptive capacity andincreased resilience will enable managers and communitymembers to modify watershed policies.

Conflicts of Interest

�e authors declare that they have no con�icts of interest.

Acknowledgments

�is work was supported, in part, by NSF S-STEM (no.1356766).

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