Linking Inuit and Scientific Knowledge and Observations
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LINKING INUIT AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND OBSERVATIONS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND ARCTIC CHAR (SALVELINUS ALPINUS (L.)) COMMUNITY MONITORING A Dissertation Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Science TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada © Copyright by Jennie A. Knopp 2017 Environmental and Life Sciences Ph.D. Graduate Program May 2017 ! ABSTRACT Linking Inuit and Scientific Knowledge and Observations to Better Understand Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus (L.)) Community Monitoring Jennie A. Knopp Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus (L.)) have been, and remain, an important subsistence resource for the Inuvialuit, the Inuit of the western Canadian Arctic. The effects of climate variability and change (CVC) in this region have been noticeably increasing over the past three decades. There are concerns as to how CVC will affect Arctic Char and the Inuvialuit who rely on this resource as they will have to adapt to changes in the fishery. Community-based monitoring, is an important tool for managing Arctic Char. Therefore, my dissertation focused on the central question of: Which community-based monitoring factors and parameters would provide the information needed by local resources users and decision-makers to make informed choices for managing Arctic Char populations in light of CVC? This question is investigated through an exploratory research approach and a mixed method research design, using both scientific and social science methods, and quantitative (scientific ecological knowledge and observation) and qualitative (Inuvialuit knowledge and observation) information. It is formatted as three journal manuscripts, an introduction, and an integrative discussion. The first manuscript examines potential habitat parameters for monitoring landlocked Arctic Char condition in three lakes on Banks Island in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. The second manuscript examines potential local ! ii! ! environmental parameters for monitoring landlocked Arctic Char growth in the same three lakes. The third manuscript investigates aspects of Arctic Char community-based monitoring programs (CBMP) in the Canadian North that have led to the sustained collection of useful data for management of the resource. This dissertation makes contributions to the field of research by demonstrating the utility of a mixed methods approach. The results demonstrate similarities and differences in char growth and condition within and among Capron, Kuptan and Middle lakes on Banks Island. This supports both lake-specific and regional climate-driven changes, meaning both lake habitat and local environmental monitoring parameters should be used in char CBMP. The investigation of char CBMP across northern Canada demonstrates that an adaptive monitoring approach is important for subsistence fisheries, as changing lifestyles and environmental changes impacting a fishery can have direct effects on the successful operation of char CBMP. Keywords: Arctic, Inuit, Inuvialuit, mixed methods, Arctic Char, Salvelinus alpinus, Traditional Knowledge, Inuit Knowledge, community-based monitoring, monitoring, freshwater ecology, environment, environmental effects ! iii! ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the many people who willingly, and with great enthusiasm, offered their support to ensure the success of my research. I am extremely grateful to the over 100 people who dedicated their time, effort and knowledge. I hope I have not missed any of the key players below. First, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to those who passed on during my research. To Nanny (Kathleen Pitman), your endless encouragement, love, support and joie de vivre kept me going. I know you wanted to be there when I walked across the stage to accept my degree, but know you are always with me. To Omi and Opa (John and Elisabeth Knopp), your strength and determination was a constant source of inspiration. And to Poppa (Arthur Pitman) who passed too soon, you taught me so much, especially how we can persevere beyond hardships in life. Drew Esau, you left before your time, but your assistance and protection while on your beautiful island stayed with me in all that I do. Geddes Wolki, Martha Kudlak, Roger Kuptana and Andy Carpenter Sr., you adopted me as if I were your own, and taught me more than I could have ever imagined about knowing myself and our natural world. Dr. Rob Roughley, you provided me a home whenever I worked in Winnipeg. You are all deeply missed. I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Chris Furgal, who believed in me and guided me through the process of creating and carrying out my own research project, start to finish. Thank you also to my committee members Dr. James (Jim) Reist and Dr. Tom Whillans, for all that you taught me, and your acceptance and encouragement for using a mixed methods approach to research. ! iv! ! Quiyanainnyi and quana to the community of Sachs Harbour, who adopted me, and shared your never-ending knowledge, your beautiful land, and your vibrant culture with me. I cannot wait to see you all again soon. Thank you to the Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Committee, specifically Betty Haogak, for your support and assistance with this research. To my husband, the incredible Dak de Kerckhove, this is quite the life we have created together! I am eternally grateful for your unwavering support throughout this process, in every form imaginable. I love you with all my heart. To my family and friends, your encouragement of persistence got me through difficult times. I appreciate your understanding of my need to be a recluse for many years while working full time and finishing my PhD during evenings, weekends and holidays. Your love, patience, and support over the past nine years are a part of this dissertation. Thank you to my Dad (John Knopp), Mom (Susan Pitman), sisteronis (Rebecca Knopp, Emily Pardy, Delia Pitman), brother (Evan Knopp), nieces and nephews (Kristin Bailey, Owen Bailey, Max Grzegorczyk, Charlie Pardy, Malcolm Pardy and Dexter Pardy), father-in-law (Derrick de Kerckhove), brother- and sister-in law (Charles and Maiko de Kerckhove), Maria Pia Rossignaud, the familia (Christiaan Iacoe, Emma Iacoe, Sarah Iaoce, Jake Howe, Ali Lalani, Yana Lalani), Jaideep and Arlene Narayanan, my godson (Ajay Narayanan), Adam Phipps, Ella Cooper, Sarah Carr, Saul Davis, Céline Cressman, Evan Richardson, Solomon Krueger, and Regan and Elsbeth Fielding. Thank you to my mentors, who taught me so much about various aspects of this research. First and foremost, I would like to thank my community mentors, Lawrence Amos and Sheila Nasogaluak, for teaching me how to be a respectful Bankslamiut. Dr. ! v! ! Burton Alyes, Canada Member of the Canada/Inuvialuit Fisheries Joint Management Committee and Larry Dow of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, thank you for always being there to answer my questions and share your wisdom. Thank you to Dr. Perce Powles and Rick Wastle for teaching me the art of otolith analysis. John Babaluk, thank you for sharing the historical Fisheries and Oceans Canada data and your knowledge of the study lakes. Dr. Evan Richardson, for over 1.5 decades you have continuously inspired me to pursue my passion of Arctic research and have not stopped teaching and encouraging me. Thank you for all you have done. I am particularly grateful to the local experts and key informants who shared their wealth of knowledge with me. Without your input, I could not have conducted half of this research. Thank you to Andy Carpenter Sr., Geddes Wolki, Roger Kuptana, Martha Kudlak, Frank Kudlak, Edith Haogak, Lena Wolki, John Keogak, Donna Keogak, Wayne Gully, Doreen Carpenter, Earl Esau, Lawrence Amos, Larry Carpenter, John Lucas Sr., Samantha Lucas, Betty Haogak, Joanne Eldridge, Brian Dempson, Kim Howland, Lois Harwood, the late Bill Doidge, Barrie Ford, Francois Martin, Larry Ruben, Muffa (John Max) Kudlak, the late Chris Day, and Kevin Bill. To my lab and field assistants, you too made this possible. Thank you to my community research assistants Trevor Lucas (field assistant extraordinaire!), the late Drew Esau, Kyle Wolki, Catherine Kuptana, and Jim Wolki. Thank you to my “southern” field assistants Tracey Loewen, Jonathon Michel, Robert McGowan, and Dak de Kerckhove. Thank you to my community translators Beverly Amos, Jean Harry, and the late Martha Kudlak,and to my interview transcribers Kate Tucker, Damien Lee, Simon Cheesman, and Dakota Brant. James Wilkes, thank you for the inter-coder variability work. Thank you to ! vi! ! all of my lab assistants who worked on the many samples analysed in this research: Mike Harte, Matt Bond, Allen Brett Campeau, Andrew Eccelstone, Robert McGowan, Marie Gauteau, Stephen McGovarin, and Brian Wilcox. Matt Toll, thank you for the GIS work. Thank you also to the HEIC Research Group, especially Kaitlin Breton-Honeyman who was my running mate in this journey, and Kristeen McTavish, Paul McCarney, Eric Lede, and Shirin Nuesslein who helped me sort out items that needed attention at the lab while I was away in the field. The amount of in-kind support for the research was overwhelming. I am indebted to the Sachs Harbour Royal Canadian Mounted Police (especially Clifton Dunn) as well as the Sachs Harbour and Inuvik Parks Canada staff (David Haogak, John Lucas Jr., Aleta Esau, Ifan Thomas, and Joe Kudlak) for making sure I had what I needed including places to stay, rides, and the use of equipment. I am also indebted to Gavin Manson of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for the use of their ATV as well as Evan Richardson from ECCC for my home in Sachs Harbour (the CWS Shack). Thank you Frank and Martha Kudlak, Geddes and Lena Wolki, John and Donna Keogak, Wayne Gully and Doreen Carpenter, and Larry Carpenter and Yvonne Elias for the use of your cabins out at the lakes. In-kind field and lab equipment was also provided by Rick Wastle at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dr.