National Park Service U.S. Department of Interior Alaska Regional Office Alaska Park Science Anchorage, Alaska Science in Southwest Alaska In this issue: Invasive Species Management 10 Salmon in a Volcanic Landscape 16 Archiving Bird Data 26 ...and more. Volume 11, Issue 2 Table of Contents Spatial Correlation of Archaeological Sites and Subsistence Resources in the Gulf of Alaska ________ 4 S K A Invasive Species Management in A Southwest Alaska: Current Projects L and Areas of Need ______________________________ 10 A Salmon in a Volcanic Landscape: How Salmon Survive and Thrive on the Alaska Peninsula _________________________ 16 Using Archaeofaunas from Southwest Alaska Lake Clark National Park to Understand Climate Change ___________________ 20 and Preserve Archiving Southwest Alaska’s National Park Bird Data Into eBird and Avian Knowledge Network Database ___________________ 26 ALAGNAK Kenai Fjords WILD RIVER National Park Katmai National Park and Preserve KODIAK Gulf of Alaska ISLAND Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve Cover Photo: Close up of orange hawkweed. Article on page 10. Public Domain Photograph by Brigitte Werner Gulf of Alaska Beach Public Domain Photograph by Achim Thiemermann Backcover Photo: A close look at a prehistoric shell and bone midden, Amalik Bay Archeological District National Historic Landmark. Article on page 20. 2 NPS photograph This project is made possible through funding from the National Park Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the National Park Service and other contributors. Alaska Park Science is published twice a year. Recent About the Authors issues of Alaska Park Science are available for sale by Alaska Geographic (www.alaskageographic.org). Aron L. Crowell Charitable donations to help support this journal Arctic Studies Center (Alaska Office), Smithsonian Institution. may be sent to: Alaska Geographic Association, Michael A. Etnier 810 East Ninth Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501 Affiliate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington. ATTN: Alaska Park Science. Tracey Gotthardt Program zoologist in the Alaska Natural Heritage Program, University of Alaska Anchorage. Gino Graziano Invasive Plants Instructor, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Troy Hamon ISSN 1545-4967 December 2012 Chief of Natural Resource Management and Research, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, and Alagnak Wild River. Alaska Park Science Joseph Liddle Project Lead: Robert Winfree, Regional Science Advisor, Department of Mathematics, University of Alaska Southeast. email: [email protected] Editor: Monica Shah Mark Matson Alaska Park Science Journal Board and Liaisons: GIS consultant, Corinna, Maine Celeste Brooke Carney, Science Communications Specialist, I&M Daniel Flook, Historian, Alaska Regional Office Amy Hartley, Information Officer, University of Alaska liaison Bonnie Million Jeremy Karchut, Archeologist, Alaska Regional Office Exotic Plant Management Team Liaison, National Park Service. Rachel Mason, Cultural Anthropologist Lisa Oakley, Alaska Geographic Association John Quinley, Assistant Regional Director for Communications Scott Pavey Ned Rozell, Science Writer, University of Alaska liaison Fishery Biologist, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Aniakchak National Monument Rebecca Talbott, Chief of Interpretation and Education, Alaska Carissa Turner, Coastal Biologist, Katmai National Park and Preserve and Preserve, and Alagnak Wild River. Sara Wesser, Inventory and Monitoring Coordinator, Alaska Region Robert Winfree, Chair of Journal Board Roy Wood, Chief of Interpretation, Jeanne Schaaf Katmai National Park and Preserve Chief Cultural Resources, Lake Clark/Katmai National Park and Preserve and Aniakchak Printed on recycled paper with soy based ink National Monument and Preserve. Published twice a year in June and December by Alaska Geographic, a nonprofit partner of the Alaska Region of the National Park Service, supporting educational programs through publishing and operation of Kelly Walton visitor center bookstores. Assitant zoologist in the Alaska Natural Heritage Program, University of Alaska Anchorage. Disclaimer: Information published in Alaska Park Science has been subjected to general review by the National Park Service Alaska Region. Publication in Alaska Park Science does not signify that the contents reflect the views of the National Park Service, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute National Park Service endorsement or recommendation. All issues of Alaska Park Science are posted for easy reading on-line at www.nps.gov/akso/AKParkScience/akparkarchives.html 3 2 1 4 3 Alaska Park Science, Volume 11, Issue 2 Spatial Correlation of Archaeological Sites and Subsistence Resources in the Gulf of Alaska By Aron L. Crowell, Joseph Liddle, and Mark Matson Introduction Peninsula, Cook Inlet, the Kodiak Island archipelago, This paper summarizes preliminary results of a Kenai Peninsula, and Prince William Sound, a region that Abstract regional Geographic Information System (GIS) study of encompasses the traditional territories of the Sugpiaq A GIS-based spatial analysis of 1,959 indigenous the spatial relationships between coastal archaeological (Alutiiq) and coastal Dena’ina. The sample includes 1,959 coastal archaeological sites in the central Gulf of Alaska sites and maritime subsistence resources in the central known coastal archaeological sites: 41% are estimated coast demonstrated that settlements are clustered in Gulf of Alaska. Two modes of variability are relevant from radiocarbon dates, artifacts, and features to have areas where maritime hunters and fishers had access to the model – the uneven geographic distributions of been occupied since A.D. 900; 10% are older than A.D. to numerous nearby locales for harvesting subsistence key subsistence resources and temporal cycles in the 900; and 49% are of indeterminate age (Figure 1). For each species. Zones of high resource richness – primarily climate and marine ecosystem (Crowell et al. 2003). The of the 6,800 shoreline segments (1.6 mi/2.5 km in length) associated with bay mouths and complex shorelines latter include the annual seasonal cycle, the 20 to 50 we computed the number of archaeological sites present – provided stability of food access as the availability year intervals of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), as well as the number of locally accessible harvest locales of individual species fluctuated both seasonally and and multi-century trends including the Medieval Warm for each of 24 different fish, bird, and sea mammal species as the result of decadal and centennial climate cycles. Period (~A.D. 1000-1400) and Little Ice Age (~A.D. (Figure 4). Harvest locales for offshore subsistence species Factor analysis revealed distinct associations between 1400-1900). Salmon increase during warmer PDO phases, (e.g. seal concentrations, bird rookeries, and pelagic site locations and groups of species that are more or while colder phases yield increases in forage fish and fishing areas) were counted as accessible if located within less abundant during cold and warm climate phases. shrimp that in turn support larger numbers of the seals, a 6.2 mi (10 km) kayak travel radius from any point on the sea lions, and seabirds who consume these prey (Benson shoreline segment. Access to anadromous fish streams and Trites 2002, Finney et al. 2002, McGowan et al. 1998). was computed using a 0.6 mi (1 km) pedestrian radius, Figure 1. Locations of all reported coastal archaeological We propose that indigenous hunting and fishing peoples reflecting the ethnohistoric pattern of establishing fishing sites in the central Gulf of Alaska. of the Gulf of Alaska settled primarily in areas with the camps at these locations. Statistical analysis utilized Figure 2. A 3000 year-old fishing sinker at an eroded highest numbers and diversity of marine fish, mammal, simple “richness” scores – the total number of resource archaeological site in Nuka Bay, Kenai Fjords National Park. and bird harvesting locales in order to increase harvesting access locales (all species) for each segment – as well efficiency and to buffer the risk of individual species as multivariate correspondences between site occur- Figure 3. Test excavations in midden at an 800 year-old Sugpiaq village site in coastal forest along Nuka declines due to climate and marine ecosystem change. rence and the availability of various species groups. Passage, Kachemak Bay State Park, 2007. Left to right: Forest Kvasnikoff (Port Graham), Mark Luttrell (Seward), Data and Methods of Analysis Results Ann Ghicadus (Seward), and student intern Justin Malchoff Geographically, the highest richness scores occur (Port Graham). The study area spans 10,560 mi (17,000 km) of mainland and island shoreline including the Alaska in protected bays with complex shorelines (including Photographs courtesy of A. Crowell 5 Spatial Correlation of Archaeological Sites and Subsistence Resources in the Gulf of Alaska the northern Kodiak archipelago, Cape Elizabeth and GIS Layer Data Source Kachemak Bay at the tip of the Kenai Peninsula, and the Archaeological Sites AK Office of History and Archaeology Kukak Bay-Amalik Bay section of the Alaska Peninsula, A graph of site count per segment plotted against rich- King Salmon Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game 2006 ness score (Figure 6) suggests a threshold at approximately Sockeye Salmon Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game 2006 10 resources, below which relatively