Arctic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage

University of Alaska Anchorage: ARCUS Member Institution University of Alaska Anchorage: ARCUS Member Institution

Alaskan Anthropology Environmental and Ecosystem Studies The eight faculty members in the Depart- ated in 1996 and focuses on late prehistoric bear, caribou, and fox remains. Ongoing continued from page 1 indicates that deeper snow in winter results a better understanding of past vegetation ment of Anthropology focus on both past subsistence, including development and analyses focus on refining the chronology Thule Air Base, Welker and his research in higher rates of winter and summer CO2 changes in this geologically young area. and present aspects of Alaska Native cul- acquisition of whale hunting techniques of the cave and its faunas, the morphology team have established the first multi-level efflux and in higher levels of soil nitro- With funding from OPP, Bjartmar ture and work to preserve sites that reflect and social organization and ethnic affini- and biometrics of the mammoth and polar warming experiment in a polar semi-des- gen mineralization during winter. These Sveinbjörnsson (Department of Biologi- ert to test the magnitude and linearity of RCTIC the state’s heritage. ties of three distinctive sites at Wales—the bear materials, the taphonomy (processes altered magnitudes and patterns of CO cal Sciences) recently completed a study 2 A Hillside, the Beach, and Kurigitavik affecting remains of organisms after death) warming effects on plant, soil, and micro- and nitrogen cycling appear to control the in collaboration with Roger Ruess at UAF Coastal Prehistory and Mound. Preliminary results based on 20 of bone alteration due to scavenging, and bial processes, and feedbacks to climate. annual carbon sequestration of tundra and and their graduate students examining Paleoecology new radiocarbon dates show that the oldest DNA and stable isotope analysis of the This project and a companion experiment may enhance growth and encroachment of treeline in the Chugach Mountains, White Arctic Research Consortium of the United States Member Institution Spring 2006, Volume 12 Number 1 Diane Hanson (Department of Anthropol- occupation in the area was at the Hillside mammoth and polar bear bones. using snow fences indicate that warming woody plants, contributing to changes in Mountains, and Brooks Range. A primary ogy) is currently analyzing animal remains site, dating to at least 1,300 years ago; ini- of arctic tundra elicits direct and indirect the quality of caribou forage. goal of Arctic and Alpine Treelines in recovered during archaeological excava- tial occupation of Kurigitavik Mound took Interior Prehistory response of plants and soils, though these Kim Peterson (Department of Biologi- Alaska was to obtain a broad geographi- Arctic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage tions in 2000 and 2002 at Uivvaq, north place approximately 1,000 years ago; and With funding from the NSF Arctic Social responses depend on soil water conditions. cal Sciences) works with a multidisciplinary cal view of factors and processes affecting of Point Hope, Alaska. The Uivvaq project initial occupation of the Beach site, where Sciences Program and the National Geo- For instance, ecosystem photosynthesis team of scientists as a field consultant on treeline. Experiments and observations he University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) was founded in 1954. Today, with is conducted under a Memorandum of the modern village is located, occurred graphic Society, Yesner and Crossen also only increased in response to warming the NSF-funded project Investigation of were replicated in three separate watersheds Tnearly 20,000 students, it is the largest campus in the state. UAA offers more than For more information, contact: Agreement with the U.S. Air Force and the approximately 500 years ago. Harritt also work with the DNR Office of History when summer water was increased by 50%. Paleoenvironment, Geomorphic Processes, in each mountain range with study plots 130 programs, ranging from certificate programs to associate, baccalaureate, and mas- Douglas Causey Alaska State Historic Preservation Office recently directed two projects mitigating and Archaeology in the Broken Mam- The team also found that the amount of and Carbon Stocks of Drained Thaw Lake in the forest as well as in the treeline zone. ter’s degrees, and a Ph.D. degree in collaboration with the University of Alaska Fair- Vice Provost for Research & Graduate Studies University of Alaska Anchorage and with funding from the NSF Arctic human grave disturbances from coastal moth Archaeological Project. The Broken carbon buried deep in the soil through Basins in Alaska. In this project, he quanti- Although the data have not been fully banks. In addition to the Anchorage Campus, the university comprises four other col- 3211 Providence Drive Social Sciences Program and the U.S. Air erosion, one near Dillingham on Nush- Mammoth site, located 20 miles north of cryoturbation is considerably greater in the fies vegetation succession and ecosystem analyzed, early results indicate that the size leges: Kenai Peninsula College with four locations, Kodiak College, Matanuska-Susitna Anchorage, AK 99508-4614 Force. The principal investiga- Delta Junction, is one of the old- high Arctic than previously thought (up changes following the drainage of shallow of carbon pools in white spruce needles College, and Prince William Sound Community College with three locations. UAA’s 907-786-4833 • [email protected] tors, John Hoffecker (University est archaeological sites yet known to ten fold). Consequently, climate warm- lakes in near-surface permafrost on the strongly correlates with elongation growth. rich research opportunities for faculty and students encompass the boreal forest, arctic www.uaa.alaska.edu of Colorado, Boulder) and Owen in Alaska, dating to more than ing and changes in precipitation will have North Slope of Alaska. A primary goal of This is consistent with the hypothesis that tundra, and northern Pacific Ocean, as well as the heart of a major northern metro- Mason (Geoarch Alaska), used 11,500 b.p. The site contains deep feedback consequences to atmospheric this work is to provide regional estimates elongation growth of white spruce trees is politan area, the second largest island in the U.S., and roadless expanses untouched by radiocarbon dating to determine loess deposits with excellent preser- CO2 concentrations, which may accelerate of soil organic material and thus the poten- carbon limited. It further suggests that the civilization. UAA is well placed to explore the past, present, and future. that Uivvaq was occupied by pre- vation of organic materials in basal alterations in terrestrial and aquatic habi- tial for greenhouse gas emission feedbacks premature needle loss, and hence reduction historic coastal people between paleosols (specific soil layers that, tats across the Arctic. from arctic tundra in a changing climate. of carbohydrate pool size and photosyn- A 5,700 year-old woolly mammoth tooth from Qagnax^ Cave on St. Paul Island. The a.d. 900 and a.d. 1620 with a tooth is approximately 25 cm long. Photo by Douglas Veltre. in this case, were formed by natural Welker also collaborates with colleagues Vegetation succession was used to estimate thetic tissue, is responsible for the growth Environmental and Ecosystem Studies a d a d at the University of Alaska Fairbanks hiatus between . . 1170 and . . processes and human debris). The the relative age of drained thaw lake basins, reduction from the forest to the treeline he faculty in the Department of and riparian ecology, conservation biol- Vegetation Responses to Climate 1425. Faunal data support ethnohistoric agak Bay and the other at Port Heiden on organic materials include bones of mam- (UAF) in the NSF-funded project North which were also characterized with respect zone of the windy Chugach Mountains in Biological Sciences and in the Envi- ogy, metal biogeochemistry, and coupled In the Arctic, interactions between mois- descriptions of year-round occupation at the western side of the Alaska Peninsula. mals, birds, and salmonid fish, as well as American Tundra Experiment, which to soils and permafrost. A good correlation the south and the White Mountains in the T ronmental and Natural Resources Institute natural-human systems. Observational and ture, temperature, and nutrients govern Uivvaq and its importance as a hunting Under contracts with the U.S. Air Force, organic tools. Geoarchaeological analyses contributes to the International Tundra was found between vegetation succession, interior. At the northernmost treeline in (ENRI) conduct a wide range of arctic experimental studies at locations in Alaska ecosystem function, including carbon place. The most abundant animals were Elmendorf Air Force Base, and IHI Envi- are focused on the site stratigraphy, chro- Experiment (ITEX; see Witness Winter surficial geomorphic features, soil develop- the Brooks Range, where there is signifi- environmental and ecosystem process stud- and across the Arctic, in combination with cycling and feedbacks to climate. With sup- seals, commonly hunted in winter and ronmental of Salt Lake City, Harritt and nology, and sedimentology. Zooarchaeo- 2000/2001). This project, which is based ment, and soil carbon content. Remote cantly less winter wind, there is no decline ies. These units have a suite of federally and local and international collaborators, facili- port from the NSF Biocomplexity in the spring, and caribou, which dominated others at the ENRI worked with researchers logical analyses are focused on taxonomic at Toolik Lake, Alaska, examines how sensing techniques were used to extend this in carbohydrate pool size or annual elonga- state funded projects that examine vegeta- tate UAA’s contribution to understanding Environment (BE) Program and Office of summer and fall activities. The relatively at the Department of Anthropology, Alaska identifications, paleoenvironmental and increases in summer temperature and snow information regionally and provide maps tion growth of white spruce trees from the tion responses to changes in climate, ani- pan-arctic processes, as well as those occur- Polar Programs (OPP), Jeff Welker (ENRI low numbers of bird remains is unusual Department of Natural Resources (DNR) dietary reconstructions, seasonality studies, depth alter vegetation composition, plant and estimates of soil carbon. Pollen and forest to the treeline. mal adaptations to cold climates, aquatic ring in Alaska. and Department of Biological Sciences) since the site is near a large bird colony. Office of History and Archaeology, and and scanning electron microscope analyses mineral nutrition, trace gas exchange, and other microfossil remains from peat depos- With his graduate student Brian Heitz, and colleagues from the University of After the faunal analysis is complete, the Geoarch Alaska to recover graves eroding of cut marks on bone. soil microbial processes. Their research its are currently being analyzed to provide Sveinbjörnsson also studies the internal Washington and the University of Califor- bones will be placed in a repository at the from shorelines. and external controls on growth and dam- nia, Santa Barbara, study high arctic land- Iñupiat Heritage Center in Barrow. David Yesner (Department of Anthro- Linguistics age of feather mosses across a latitudinal scape complexity and responses to climate With funding from the NSF Arctic pology), Douglas Veltre (Department Dena’ina is the Athabaskan language of gradient from southern Oregon to Toolik Cold Regions Engineering change in northwest Greenland. Their Social Sciences Program, Roger Harritt of Anthropology), and Kristine Crossen Eklutna, Cook Inlet, and Kenai Peninsula Lake as part of his research under the research examines how physical, chemical, (ENRI) leads an on-going archaeologi- (Department of Geological Sciences) col- of Alaska. Alan Boraas (Department of With funding from EPSCoR and the State and colleagues from UAF and Florida State Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological and biological processes interact to control cal investigation of sites at Wales, Alaska, laborate with colleagues at Pennsylvania Anthropology, Kenai Peninsula College) is of Alaska Department of Transportation, University are engaged in a long-term proj- Research (LTER) project. Moss patches vegetation processes, carbon, water, and a late prehistoric cultural center on the State University and the University of Utah currently working with the Kenaitze Indian Zhaohui (Joey) Yang (School of Engineer- ect designed to investigate the efficacy of have been transplanted between sites and nitrogen cycling. Using electricity from eastern Bering Strait. The project was initi- in the Qagnax^ Cave Project. “Qagnax”^ is Tribe to complete an interactive web-based ing) and Utpal Dutta (Environment and evapotranspiration-based landfill covers in tissue temperature and moisture, photon Natural Resources Institute) study the cold regions. Their field project, installed an Aleut word meaning bone. Their research and teaching tool linking top- flux density, air temperature, humidity, Each winter approximately 2–3 feet of snow accumulate effects of frozen ground on the engineer- at Elmendorf Air Force Base, involves This mask, approximately 1,000 years work focuses on the analysis of onyms, environmental and ethnobiological and wind speed are monitored. The persis- on the north side of this snow fence near Toolik Lake old, was uncovered from Kurigitavik animal bones from a lava tube cave terms, and place-based descriptors to the ing structures in northern regions. Using the use of two large scale lysimeters (soil tence and plasticity of the structural/physi- Field Station. This is approximately 3–4 times the aver- Mound by the Wales archaeology a seismic sensor array on the Ship Creek water samplers) constructed to measure age snow accumulation. As part of the North American on St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands. present usage. Words, phrases, and stories ological features are being examined to Tundra Experiment, Jeff Welker examines this area to project crew. The mask is 9.5 cm by Bridge in Anchorage, this team monitors the amount of water percolating through 12 cm and made of spruce driftwood. The cave contains the most recent recorded from the last few native speak- better understand if these populations are understand how deeper snow alters vegetation composi- The nose and eyes are hollowed out mammoth remains ever recorded in ers of the Kenai dialect of Dena’ina are the structural integrity of the bridge and its two test caps. The aim of this research is to preadapted to cope with changes in climate tion, plant mineral nutrition, trace gas exchange, and soil microbial processes. Photo courtesy of Jeff Welker. on the back side and based on its North America, dating to approxi- being digitized and decoded to examine responses to earthquake tremors. develop a more effective, more sustainable or if they will need to migrate north to relatively small size it was probably William Schnabel (School of Engineer- type of landfill cover in Alaska. continued on page 6 worn by a child. Photo courtesy of mately 5,700 years ago. The cave the relationship of language, environment, find suitable living conditions. Roger Harritt. also contains mid-Holocene polar thought, and cultural values. ing), Jens Munk (School of Engineering), Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road • Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 5 6 University of Alaska Anchorage: ARCUS Member Institution University of Alaska Anchorage: ARCUS Member Institution

Social and Economic Research Environmental and Ecosystem Studies Environmental and Ecosystem Studies Researchers at the Institute of Social and coPhillips, BP Alaska, the Alaska Gasline research on the effects of oil development Animal Adaptations in the Arctic recycle nitrogen to live efficiently in N- Keith Boggs (Alaska Natural Heritage transitional areas between the terrestrial to map the coupled social-ecological space Economic Research (ISER) examine social Port Authority, TransCanada Corporation, on the North Slope community of Nuiq- With funding from the NSF OPP and deficient boreal and tundra ecosystems. Program) is working to develop a 30-meter and marine environments of the subarctic. and quantify significant community-articu- and economic issues important to Alaska and the Murkowski administration. sut has been published in the 2004 Arctic Experimental Program to Stimulate Ian van Tets (Department of Bio- grid resolution map of ecological systems This research is significant because of the lated values in the biophysical space at and other countries around the Arctic. For the past 20 years, Gunnar Knapp Human Development Report. Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and logical Sciences) and his students are for Alaska. This map and classification will potential for future resource development local scales. This tool is a first step towards Established in 1961 by the state legislature, (ISER) has concentrated on studies of Vic Fischer (ISER) directs a project the National Oceanic and Atmospheric working to understand the physiological provide consistent data describing vegeta- in coastal Alaska. understanding responses and adapting to ISER is the oldest public policy research Alaska fishery issues. His work has exam- that makes Alaska expertise available to aid Administration (NOAA), Jennifer Burns mechanisms that enable lemmings and tion, fire, and fuel characteristics, as well as Munk and Steve Smith, another UAA change. organization in Alaska. ISER’s annual ined, among other things, changing Alaska social and economic development in Chu- (Department of Biological Sciences) and voles, abundant rodents in the arctic, to insights into fire behavior and effects. graduate student, investigate freshwater In a project funded by the NSF Arctic budget is currently about $4 million. One seafood markets; the causes of and possible kotka, Russia. This is a joint project with her students study how the age and physi- survive winter. Lemmings and voles do With support from the National Fish mussels (Anodonta beringiana) as bioindi- Social Sciences Program and EPSCoR, quarter of that funding is from the Univer- cures for the economic crisis in Alaska’s UAA’s Russian American Center. ological status of juvenile marine mammals not hibernate, migrate, or use torpor to and Wildlife Foundation and the Bureau of cators of metal accumulation in aquatic Alessa and Kliskey work with communi- sity of Alaska; ISER generates the remain- salmon fisheries; and the economic effects Diane Hirshberg and Alexandra Hill, influence their diving and foraging capaci- temporarily lower their body tempera- Land Management, Matt Carlson (Alaska environments of southcentral Alaska. ties on the Seward Peninsula to collectively ing three quarters in grants and contracts of individual fishing quotas (IFQs) and both of ISER, study Alaska Native educa- ties and how differences in rates of physi- ture. Rather, they maintain a constant Natural Heritage Program and Department Because of the wide distribution of mussels understand responses to changing institu- from public and private sources. other fisheries management changes. He tion issues. ISER has a long history of ological development impact life history high body temperature and in winter of Biological Sciences) and Helen Cortes- in this region, Munk and colleagues at the tional, economic, and biophysical regimes. Matthew Berman (ISER) and Lance regularly collaborates with fisheries experts studying social and economic change live in the space between the snow and Burns (Alaska Natural Heritage Program) National Park Service can examine pat- This research identifies the social landscape traits. For all marine mammals, the ability Richard Bernhardt, a Ph.D. student working with Frank von Howe (ISER) are currently working with in other states and countries. He and among Alaska Natives, and has established to remain submerged for long periods of the ground, surviving and reproducing Hippel, studies stickleback morphology in Wallace Lake, Alaska study ecology, distribution, and patterns of terns of heavy metal accumulation through as it is constrained and/or enabled by the Lee Huskey (Department of Economics) Norwegian researchers Trond Bjørndal research partnerships with Alaska Native time is largely dependent on the amount of at temperatures below freezing. With during February of 2002. Wallace Lake has low ionic-strength rarity of flora in the Alaskan Arctic. They time as stored in the shells and tissues of biophysical system and encompasses deci- and colleagues at the North Slope Borough and Audun Lem did a 2003 study of communities and organizations, including funding from EPSCoR, van Tets and his water, which leads to high physiological costs for the production identify regions of the North Slope that this organism. Correlating the trends from sion making, values, trade offs, and risks. oxygen that can be carried to depth and the of stickleback body armor. Individuals with robust body armor and Nunavut Arctic College to examine global salmon supply and demand for the the Alaska Native Science Commission, the rate at which it is used. Burns’ research sug- students conduct research on northern may survive predation attempts but are more likely to starve in harbor high and low levels of vascular plant shells with sediment cores will provide “Networks” (individuals linked to each the causes and consequences of migra- GLOBEFISH unit of the United Nations’ Alaska Federation of Natives, and the First gests that juvenile behaviors are constrained red-backed voles (Clethrionomys rutilus) winter, which leads to greater survival rates of poorly armored diversity, high numbers of rare plants, and information on how metal accumulation is other and resources through processes such tion of indigenous people in Alaska and Food and Agricultural Organization. Alaskans Institute. ISER also maintains in the Chugach State Forest and brown fish and results in a wide array of phenotypes in the lake. Photo regions that are under-sampled in the con- related to changes in land use. as family or economic ties) and “agent as a result of higher oxygen use rates, courtesy of Frank von Hippel. Canada. Berman and Stephanie Martin Sharman Haley (ISER) has done broad the largest online collection of materials on smaller reserves, and reduced body size, lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus) in Barrow. text of oil and natural gas development. behaviors” (decisions and actions) are criti- Modeling Coupled Natural-Human (ISER) are collaborating with Gary Kofinas research on the social and economic effects Alaska Native history, language, and cul- and that these constraints likely impact Kalb Stevenson, a UAA-based Ph.D. tonic uplift during the 1964 earthquake. cal in predicting which communities will Metal Contaminants Systems (UAF), Brad Griffith (UAF), and research- of oil and gas activities in the Arctic. Her ture at http://www.alaskool.org. growth and survival. Research on Steller student working with van Tets, studies the He studies the morphological changes that thrive or subside under conditions of envi- ers in Canada, Finland, and Russia to sea lions and phocids (earless seals) suggests body condition of voles using dual-energy occur during the evolutionary process and Biogeochemical research at UAA examines As a consequence of rapid change in arc- ronmental change. assess the adaptability to global change of that the rates at which muscle stores oxygen x-ray absorptiometery. By using compos- behavioral and genetic mechanisms that the linkages between sources, transport tic systems, multiple feedbacks challenge Alessa also collaborates with research- communities in North America and Russia Circumpolar Health and aerobic capacity develops influence the ite pictures produced by x-rays of various lead to rapid evolutionary change. With mechanisms, and pathways of metals and researchers, communities, managers, and ers at UAF in a project funded by the NSF that rely heavily on caribou or reindeer. length of the dependent (lactation) period. strengths, Stevenson can precisely measure support from the NSF Division of Envi- trace elements that impact arctic and sub- policy makers to develop frameworks under Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program Jack Kruse, Stephanie Martin, and Zoonotic Diseases alcohol-related neurological disorders, Furthermore, the rate and extent of physi- the amount of bone, fat, and muscle in ronmental Biology, von Hippel collabo- arctic ecosystems. With funding from EPS- which societies can minimize risk and rec- entitled the Intersection Between Climate Virgene Hanna, all of ISER, recently Douglas Causey (Department of Biologi- fetal alcohol syndrome [FAS], and sentinel ological development in young phocids is each vole. Stevenson has found that the rates with Michael Bell (Stony Brook Uni- CoR, LeeAnn Munk (Department of Geo- ognize opportunities. Lilian (Na’ia) Alessa Change, Water Resources, and Humans in worked with Patricia Cochran (Alaska cal Sciences) works with colleagues at UAF physical findings) resulting from prenatal closely correlated with the onset of inde- percentage of body fat increases as summer versity) and William Cresko (University logical Sciences) investigates metals in the (Department of Biological Sciences) leads the Arctic. She is developing a model that Native Science Commission) to complete and the Centers for Disease Control and alcohol exposure. pendent foraging. Changes in marine eco- and autumn progress, suggesting that voles of Oregon) to understand how patterns Anchorage watershed. She has found ele- the Resilience and Adaptive Management integrates traditional knowledge, sociocul- the Alaska portion of a survey of living Prevention (CDC) to understand the From 2001–2005, Ryan conducted 165 systems that alter ice extent and duration begin winter with stored fat. of morphological, behavioral, and genetic vated concentrations of lead, copper, zinc, (RAM) Group at UAA with Andrew Klis- tural, economic, biophysical, and demo- conditions among indigenous people role of arctic breeding birds in the global interviews and 400 hours of observations may disproportionately influence newborns Van Tets also works with the Bar- changes relate to one another. Recent and arsenic, primarily in the suspended and key (Departments of Biological Sciences graphic information in an effort to under- across the Arctic. Researchers from Russia, dimensions of avian influenza. Wild birds in five Alaskan communities. Results of her that rely on this substrate to complete the row Arctic Science Consortium and results indicate that significant assortative bed sediments of four major streams. The and Environmental Studies). Using com- stand how climate induced changes in the Norway, Finland, Sweden, Greenland, and naturally carry the influenza virus without research indicated that students with FASD postweaning fast. with Barrow high schools, including the (non-random) mating evolves in freshwater metals exceed aquatic water quality stan- plexity theory and existing data from col- hydrologic cycle will impact communities Canada are also surveying indigenous peo- getting sick. Causey examines the envi- are often in the care of foster or adoptive Don Spalinger’s (Department of Bio- Kiita Learning Center that serves Alaska populations in as little as ten generations dards and are bioconcentrated in streambed leagues, databases, and collections through- and resources on which they depend. In ple; data from all surveys will ultimately be ronmental correlates of reinfection among parents and that they experience multiple logical Sciences) research focuses on the Native students who have difficulty with after colonization by anadromous ances- macroinvertebrates. Munk works with out North America and Europe, they are another recently funded ARCSS project, available in a public-use dataset. migrating birds. There are many subtypes deaths in their family due to consumption foraging ecology and nutrition of rumi- traditional high school environments, to tors, and that a suite of morphological, life graduate student Bradley Burich examining developing an understanding of where gaps Alessa and Daniel White at UAF’s Water Scott Goldsmith (ISER) has 30 years of of the influenza virus that are created of alcohol. The research also showed that nants such as moose and caribou to under- develop parallel studies on brown lem- history, and behavioral traits evolve quickly the extent to which these metals move to lie in the “big picture” of the arctic coupled and Environmental Research Center will experience analyzing how oil development through genetic recombination between students often spend time in residential stand the link between plant communities mings. during this brief period of isolation. It is higher trophic levels of the food chain. natural-human system. Their goal is to work with the University of New Hamp- and subsequent state oil wealth have trans- different virus types within an individual. treatment facilities and prison and are often and the health and productivity of these Frank von Hippel (Department of a primary goal of the project to provide With funding from the U.S. Geological develop ways to identify what features lend shire’s Water Systems Analysis Group and formed both the state economy and the This seems to take place in arctic breeding taught by teachers who are ill prepared to herbivores. With funding from the Alaska Biological Sciences) studies rapid evolution research experience for students. Currently, Survey, EPSCoR, and the Minerals Man- resilience or create vulnerability in systems Complex Systems Research Center to state government. He is currently examin- grounds. Causey and his students are work- meet their unique educational needs. Department of Fish and Game and the and the emergence of new species, or spe- six graduates and numerous undergradu- agement Service, Munk also investigates at local scales. apply this model to the pan-arctic scale. ing issues related to Alaska’s aging popula- ing to understand what roles are played by Ryan plans to continue her research to U.S. Forest Service, he and his colleagues ciation, in the threespine stickleback (Gas- ates from all three universities work with fluxing of heavy metals into coastal areas In a recently completed tion and other demographic changes. habitat, breeding phenology, and popula- investigate the increase in the rate of FASD are developing new chemical techniques to terosteus aculeatus) fish species complex. the team conducting experiments across of Prince William Sound near abandoned project funded by NOAA, the Steve Colt and Arlon Tussing, both tion structure in subtype recycling and and the potential overrepresentation in the assess plant nutritional quality. They also Alaska offers opportunities to observe spe- Alaska. copper-sulfide mines. She has found that RAM Group in collaboration of ISER, and colleagues from inside and disease virulence. population diagnosed with FAS of Alaska examine the foraging behavior and diges- ciation in action by studying incipient spe- flux rate and metal concentration are with Greg Brown (University of outside UAA recently studied the issues Native children. Further research is also tive physiology of moose and caribou in cies in new environments, and von Hippel Conservation Biology controlled by a combination of watershed South Australia) developed a way surrounding North Slope natural gas and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders necessary to determine the needs of chil- investigates sticklebacks in places where the and biogeochemical processes. Micro- Nelchina Basin and elsewhere in Alaska. Fire is a major disturbance process in The Beatson Mine, located on LaTouche the proposed pipeline to carry that gas Susan Ryan (Department of Special Edu- dren with FASD and their families living Nutritional balance studies are conducted marine form has colonized new freshwater Alaska, especially in boreal forests, and is bial communities in these environments Island in Prince William Sound, was to market. To help Alaskans understand cation) studies the educational and com- in other circumpolar regions, as well as to on moose to determine their ability to habitat and the age of the new habitat is an important venue of research at UAA. also provide information about biologi- in operation from 1903–1930 and pro- the important issues at stake, ISER held a identify educational practices that are effec- known. This includes lakes colonized after cal processes affecting the weathering of duced over 5 million metric tons of ore. munity needs of students who experience digest protein in plants, overcome nutri- With funding from the multi-organization The metal-rich sulfide waste rock on the public forum, bringing together represen- fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) tive for students with FASD and services tional constraints (low protein diets and they were poisoned, man-made lakes, lakes partnership LANDFIRE and in coop- mine waste. These studies will provide an beach at the mine site shows a range of tatives of the major organizations involved in rural, remote, and urban Alaska. FASD required by families and communities to plants with high tannin defenses), and formed in the wake of receding glaciers, eration with the U.S. Geological Survey, understanding of the extent of metal con- oxidation effects due to ground and sea in pipeline discussions, including Cono- support the needs of these students. and lakes formed from the sea due to tec- tamination derived from mine waste in the water exposure over the past 100 years. describes a range of birth defects (e.g., continued on page 4 Photo courtesy of LeeAnn Munk.

2 3 4 University of Alaska Anchorage: ARCUS Member Institution University of Alaska Anchorage: ARCUS Member Institution