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The Ecology and Paleoecology of Human-Landscape Interactions on the North Pacific and Southern Bering Sea Investigating the Role of the Aleut as Ecosystem Engineers. Herbert Maschner, James Jordan, Nancy Huntly, Bruce Finney, and Katherine Reedy-Maschner. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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The Ecology and Paleoecology of Human-Landscape Interactions The Ecology and Paleoecology of Human-Landscape Interactions on the North Pacific and Southern Bering Sea on the North Pacific and Southern Bering Sea Investigating the Role of the Aleut as Ecosystem EngineersInvestigating the Role of the Aleut as Ecosystem Engineers
Herbert Maschner, James Jordan, Herbert Maschner, James Jordan, Nancy Huntly, Bruce Finney, Nancy Huntly, Bruce Finney, and Katherine Reedy-Maschnerand Katherine Reedy-Maschner
The Theoretical Context
Catastrophic Change• Environmental Catastrophes
– seismic events– volcanic eruptions– tsunami– short term climatic perturbations
• Social Catastrophes– migration– technological change– Disease– Political upheaval– Imperial expansions
Punctuated Change
Data Requirements• Paleoecology (James Jordan)
– ash falls– sea level– glacial history– tsunami– short term climatic perturbations
• Archaeology (Maschner)– 100% survey– villages– households– subsistence economy
• Social Anthropology (Katherine Reedy-Maschner)– Modern subsistence– Social organization– Local histories– Traditional knowledge
Lower Alaska Peninsula Project• 10 field seasons, 400 km surveyed, 214
villages, 8252 surface depressions, 500,000 lithics, 700,000 faunal elements, 196 AMS dates.
• Complete glacial history • Fairly complete volcanic history • Complete sea level history• Geographic information system• 6 pollen and diatom cores• Hundreds of hours of ethnographic
interviews
Drivers and Causes
• Top down drivers– Large scale– Local scale
• Bottom up drivers– Large Scale– Local Scale
Top Down Drivers and Causes
• Large scale• Climate• Salmon cycles• Sea mammal cycles
• Local scale• Catastrophic environmental events
– Sea level
• Landscape evolution– Shorelines
Wind
Sea level
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000
Age, 14C yr BP
De
pth
, m r
ela
tiv
e t
o m
od
ern
Umnak Is.
(Black, 1974, 1976)
Shumagin Is.
(Winslow, 1991)
W. AK. Pen.(Jordan, 2000,
2001)
Climate
Region-wide climate trends (**)
9500 - 8000 yr BP** cool, dry8000 (6200) - 3200 yr BP warm, mesic3200 - 2100 yr BP** cool, mesic2100 - 0 yr BP cool, wet
Region-wide coastal landscape changes
11,000 - 4000 yr BP RSL fall, coastal emergence3000 - 2000 yr BP RSL rise, shoreline erosion2000(?) - 1000 yr BP RSL fall, estuarine sed.1000 - 500 yr BP Embayment of estuaries
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
05 7 9
Yea
r B
P15N
5 7 915N
Karluk Lake Iliamna Lake
Holocene Trends in Alaska Salmon and Climate
Neoglacial
Hyp
sitherm
al
LIA
MW
?
Climate
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Toothed Whale
Walrus
Sea Lion
Harbor Seal
Porpoise
Caribou
Fox
Mink
Short-Tailed Weasal
Arctic Ground Squirrel
Percent number of specimens
Mammals 3500 Years Ago
Mammals 2500 years ago
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Brown Bear
Caribou
Canid sp.
Mink
Arctic Ground Squirrel
Vole sp.
Ribbon Seal
Ringed Seal
Harbor Seal
Bearded Seal
Northern Fur Seal
Steller Sea Lion
Otariidae sp.
Sea Otter
Walrus
Whale
Percent number of specimens
Bearded SealRinged Seal
Ribbon Seal
Mammals 400 years ago
0 10 20 30 40
Brown BearCaribou
Canid sp.Mink
Arctic Ground SquirrelVole sp.
Ribbon SealRinged SealHarbor Seal
Bearded SealNorthern Fur Seal
Steller Sea LionOtariidae sp.
Sea OtterWalrusWhale
Percent number of specimens
Birds 3500 Years Ago
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Arctic LoonAuklet
Bald EagleCommon Loon
Common MurreCormorant
Duck sp.Eider
GooseHarlequin duck
KittiwakeOld SquawPtarmigan
PuffinSandpiper
ScaupScoter
Shearwater
Percent number of specimens
Birds 2500 years ago
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Loon
Grebe
Albatross
Shearwater
Cormorant
Swan
Goose
Dabbling Ducks
Diving Ducks
Bald Eagle
Ptarmigan
Gulls
Murre
Auklet
Puffin
Raven
Percent number of specimens
Modern Species at Izembek NWR
Common year round residents include:
• Black Brandt (<0.5% NISP)
• Emperor Goose (<1% NISP)
• Mallard (<1% NISP)
• Pintail (<0.5% NISP)
Extirpated Species found in Adamagan Excavations
Albatrosses 14% NISP
Auklets 4% NISP
Birds 400 years ago
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Arctic LoonAuklet
Bald EagleCommon Loon
Glaucus Wing-GullCormorant
Duck sp.Eider
GooseHarlequin duck
KittiwakeOld SquawPtarmigan
PuffinSandpiper
ScaupScoter
Shearwater
Percent number of specimens
Volcanics
Bottom up drivers and causes
• Large Scale• Technological evolution
– warfare
• Harvesting– Sea mammals
• Local Scale• Evolution of villages
Modeled Human Impacts on the Marine Ecosystem
DATE (years before present)
ALEUTPOPULATION
PHOCIDS HARVESTED
PINNIPEDS HARVESTED
10000 250 300 68
9000 400 480 108
8000 750 900 203
7000 1300 1560 351
6000 1800 2160 486
5000 2500 3000 675
4000 4000 4800 1080
3000 7500 9000 2025
2000 12000 14400 3240
1000 23000 27600 6210
altered plant communities
Past Ecological Studies
Bank, 1953
McCartney, 1976
Bank, 1953
Axis 1
Axi
s 2
Outlier
Village
Offsite
Results: Polar Ordination
Edible Flora
Archaeological sites contain a higher edible plant cover
used by contemporary Aleutsin King Cove, AK (X2 contingency table p <
0.001)30 % Village cover11 % Offsite cover
Simplified models of human impacts on marine ecosystems from Jackson et al. 2001 Science
Humans on the Alaska Peninsula Landscape
Crux: in the last 6000 years, and more likely the last 12,000 years, there has never been a time when humans were not harvesting north Pacific resources.
Thus, humans have always been an integral part of the regional ecosystem.
Therefore, there is no a priori reason to assume that the north Pacific ecosystem can be understood without reference to the role humans played (or now play) in that ecosystem.
Inuit and Cree within a complex ecosystem web east of Hudson Bay
Testable Hypotheses
• First, what have been the roles of prehistoric, historic, and modern Aleut in the structure and functioning of the north Pacific ecosystem and is it possible for that role to continue to viably sustain the communities that live in this ecosystem today?
• Second, how have major changes in the environment, such as sea level, climate, tsunami, and volcanic eruptions, conditioned human social behavior in the context of humanity’s role as a key variable in the functioning of the North Pacific ecosystem?
Aleut as Ecosystem EngineersA model for investigating humans as part of the ecosystem
Cattle
Coastal Erosion
Contaminants
Sea Level
Dune Formation
Prehistoric
Historic andModern
Marine TerrestrialAleutArchaeological Faunas
Aleutian Low
Occupation History
Vegetation
BirdsSalmon
GroundfishSea Mammals
Traditional KnowledgeOral HistoryEthnohistory
Pollen
DiatomsIsotopes
Peat Bogs
Paleoclimate
Ancient DNA
Modern DNA
Soils
Ground SquirrelsLemmings
FoxesCanneriesNavy Base
Villages
Tsunami
Tephras
Acknowledgements• National Science Foundation grants OPP-
8912981, 9814086, 9714926, 9630072, 0137756 and BE/CNH 0119743
• Idaho State University• King Cove Corporation• Agdaagux Tribal Council of King Cove• Isanotski Corporation of False Pass• Nelson Lagoon Tribal Council• Pauloff Harbor Tribe• Sanak Corporation• False Pass Tribal Council• The Aleut Corporation• The Aleutians East Borough• Izembek National Wildlife Refuge• US Fish and Wildlife Service