Skip to main content

Climate- and Disturbance-Driven Changes in Subsistence Berries in Coastal Alaska: Indigenous Knowledge to Inform Ecological Inference

Human Ecology volume 48, pages 85–99 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Berry-producing plants are a key subsistence resource in Indigenous Alaskan communities. Coastal, high-latitude regions are particularly impacted by global climate change because their location at the land-sea ecotone subjects them to both terrestrial stressors and shifting ocean dynamics. Although changes in near-shore vegetation communities have been previously documented for the sub-Arctic coastal region of Alaska, we know little about vegetation dynamics in the permafrost-underlain portions of the landscape that support berry communities. To fill this gap, surveys were administered in four communities within the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta to identify observations of changes in berry resources and integrate Indigenous Knowledge of drivers of changes with climate projections. We found that while many participants identified changes in berry phenology, abundance, and habitat related to climate drivers, important differences in responses were identified at the community level. Regional consensus can be used in combination with climate projections to forecast potential future impacts to berry resources, while distinctions at the community level can help to account for impacts of local scale disturbances and importance of social context.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4.

References

  • AdaptWest Project. 2015. Gridded current and projected climate data for North America at 1 km resolution, interpolated using the ClimateNA v5.10 software (T. Wang et al. 2015). Available at adaptwest.databasin.org.

  • Ambrose Jr, W.G., Clough, L.M., Johnson, J.C., Greenacre, M., Griffith, D.C., Carroll, M.L. and Whiting, A., 2014. Interpreting environmental change in coastal Alaska using traditional and scientific ecological knowledge. Frontiers in Marine Science, 1, p. 40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Babcock, C.A. and Ely, C.R., 1994. Classification of vegetation communities in which geese rear broods on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Canadian Journal of Botany, 72(9), pp. 1294–1301.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballew, C., Ross Tzilkowski, A., Hamrick, K. and Nobmann, E.D., 2006. The contribution of subsistence foods to the total diet of Alaska natives in 13 rural communities. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 45(1), pp. 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beaudreau, A.H. and Levin, P.S., 2014. Advancing the use of local ecological knowledge for assessing data-poor species in coastal ecosystems. Ecological Applications, 24(2), pp. 244–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bieniek, P.A., Bhatt, U.S., Walker, D.A., Raynolds, M.K., Comiso, J.C., Epstein, H.E., Pinzon, J.E., Tucker, C.J., Thoman, R.L., Tran, H. and Mölders, N., 2015. Climate drivers linked to changing seasonality of Alaska coastal tundra vegetation productivity. Earth Interactions, 19(19), pp. 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonfil, R., Ricaño-Soriano, M., Mendoza-Vargas, O.U., Méndez-Loeza, I., Pérez-Jiménez, J.C., Bolaño-Martínez, N. and Palacios-Barreto, P., 2018. Tapping into local ecological knowledge to assess the former importance and current status of sawfishes in Mexico. Endangered Species Research, 36, pp. 213–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A.O. and McNeil, J.N., 2009. Pollination ecology of the high latitude, dioecious cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus; Rosaceae). American journal of botany, 96(6), pp. 1096–1107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochran, P. L., & Geller, A. L. (2002). The melting ice cellar: What Native traditional knowledge is teaching us about global warming and environmental change. American Journal of Public Health, 92(9), 1404–1409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Converse, J.M. and Presser, S., 1986. Survey questions: Handcrafting the standardized questionnaire (No. 63). Sage.

  • Cuerrier, A., Brunet, N.D., Gérin-Lajoie, J., Downing, A. and Lévesque, E., 2015. The study of Inuit knowledge of climate change in Nunavik, Quebec: a mixed methods approach. Human ecology, 43(3), pp. 379–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Nijs, P.J., Berry, N.J., Wells, G.J. and Reay, D.S., 2014. Quantification of biophysical adaptation benefits from Climate-Smart Agriculture using a Bayesian Belief Network. Scientific reports, 4, p. 6682.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, O.J., 1964. Multiple comparisons using rank sums. Technometrics, 6(3), pp. 241–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, A.M., 2004. Bayesian inference in ecology. Ecology letters, 7(6), pp. 509–520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frink, L., 2016. A tale of three villages: Indigenous-colonial interactions in southwestern Alaska, 1740–1950. University of Arizona Press.

  • Gill Jr, R.E. and Handel, C.M., 1990. The importance of subarctic intertidal habitats to shorebirds: a study of the central Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. The Condor, 92(3), pp. 709–725.

    Google Scholar 

  • Government Accountability Office, 2003. Alaska Native villages: most are affected by flooding and erosion, but few qualify for federal assistance. Government Accountability Office Report GAO-04-142

  • Hamann, A., Wang, T., Spittlehouse, D.L. and Murdock, T.Q., 2013. A comprehensive, high-resolution database of historical and projected climate surfaces for western North America. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 94(9), pp. 1307–1309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman-Mercer, N.M., Laituri, M., Massey, M., Matkin, E., Toohey, R., Elder, K., Schuster, P.F. and Mutter, E., 2019a. Vulnerability of Subsistence Systems Due to Social and Environmental Change: A Case Study in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. ARCTIC, 72(3), pp. 258–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman-Mercer, N.M., Loehman, R.A., Toohey, R.C., and Paniyak, C., 2019b. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook: Results from local expert surveys: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9HDXE32

  • Herman-Mercer, N.M., and Schuster, P.F., 2014, Strategic needs of water on the Yukon—An interdisciplinary approach to studying hydrology and climate change in the Lower Yukon River Basin: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2014–3060, 4 p., https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20143060.

  • Hertog, M.G., Kromhout, D., Aravanis, C., Blackburn, H., Buzina, R., Fidanza, F., Giampaoli, S., Jansen, A., Menotti, A., Nedeljkovic, S. and Pekkarinen, M., 1995. Flavonoid intake and long-term risk of coronary heart disease and cancer in the seven countries study. Archives of internal medicine, 155(4), pp. 381–386.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holden, Z.A., Kasworm, W.F., Servheen, C., Hahn, B. and Dobrowski, S., 2012. Sensitivity of berry productivity to climatic variation in the Cabinet–Yaak grizzly bear recovery zone, Northwest United States, 1989–2010. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 36(2), pp. 226–231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington, H.P., 2000. Using traditional ecological knowledge in science: methods and applications. Ecological applications, 10(5), pp. 1270–1274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hupp, J., Brubaker, M., Wilkinson, K. and Williamson, J., 2015. How are your berries? Perspectives of Alaska's environmental managers on trends in wild berry abundance. International journal of circumpolar health, 74(1), p. 28704.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hupp, J.W., Safine, D.E. and Nielson, R.M., 2013. Response of cackling geese (Branta hutchinsii taverneri) to spatial and temporal variation in the production of crowberries on the Alaska Peninsula. Polar biology, 36(9), pp. 1243–1255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, B.M., Arp, C.D., Jorgenson, M.T., Hinkel, K.M., Schmutz, J.A. and Flint, P.L., 2009. Increase in the rate and uniformity of coastline erosion in Arctic Alaska. Geophysical Research Letters, 36(3). https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL036205

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorgenson, M.T., 2000. Hierarchical organization of ecosystems at multiple spatial scales on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, USA. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 32(3), pp. 221–239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorgenson, T. and Ely, C., 2001. Topography and flooding of coastal ecosystems on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska: Implications for sea-level rise. Journal of Coastal Research, pp. 124–136.

  • Jorgenson, M., Frost, G. and Dissing, D., 2018. Drivers of Landscape Changes in Coastal Ecosystems on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Remote Sensing, 10(8), p. 1280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kincheloe, K.L. and Stehn, R.A., 1991. Vegetation patterns and environmental gradients in coastal meadows on the Yukon–Kuskokwim delta, Alaska. Canadian Journal of Botany, 69(7), pp. 1616–1627.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs, C.J., Boonstra, R., Cowcill, K. and Kenney, A.J., 2009. Climatic determinants of berry crops in the boreal forest of the southwestern Yukon. Botany, 87(4), pp. 401–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruskal, W.H. and Wallis, W.A., 1952. Use of ranks in one-criterion variance analysis. Journal of the American statistical Association, 47(260), pp. 583–621.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhnert, P.M., Martin, T.G. and Griffiths, S.P., 2010. A guide to eliciting and using expert knowledge in Bayesian ecological models. Ecology letters, 13(7), pp. 900–914.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lantz, T. C., Kokelj, S. V., & Fraser, R. H. (2015). Ecological recovery in an Arctic delta following widespread saline incursion. Ecological Applications, 25(1), 172–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lévesque, E., Hermanutz, L., Gérin-Lajoie, J., Bell, T., Boudreau, S., Cuerrier, A., Jacobs, J., Laroque, C., Lavallée, C., Collier, L.S. and Tremblay, B., 2012. Trends in vegetation dynamics and impacts on berry productivity. Nunavik and Nunatsiavut: From Science to Policy. An Integrated Regional Impact Study (IRIS) of Climate Change and Modernization. ArcticNet Inc, Quebec City, pp. 223–247.

  • Loring, P. A., & Gerlach, S. C. (2009). Food, culture, and human health in Alaska: an integrative health approach to food security. Environmental Science & Policy, 12(4), 466–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCaffery, B.J., 1998. Implications of frequent habitat switches in foraging Bar-tailed Godwits. The Auk, 115(2), pp. 494–497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, G., Boxall, P.C. and Wein, R.W., 2005. Distribution, abundance, and utilization of wild berries by the Gwich’in people in the Mackenzie River Delta Region. Economic Botany, 59(2), pp. 174–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, U.C. and Hansen, H.A., 1959. The cackling goose, its migration and management. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.

  • Norment, C.J. and Fuller, M.E., 1997. Breeding-season frugivory by Harris' sparrows (Zonotrichia querula) and white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) in a low-arctic ecosystem. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 75(5), pp. 670–679.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogawa, K., Sakakibara, H., Iwata, R., Ishii, T., Sato, T., Goda, T., Shimoi, K. and Kumazawa, S., 2008. Anthocyanin composition and antioxidant activity of the crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) and other berries. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56(12), pp. 4457–4462.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogle, D., Wheeler, P., Dinno, A. and Ogle, M.D., 2017. Package ‘FSA’. CRAN Repos, pp. 1–206.

  • Passeri, D.L., Hagen, S.C., Medeiros, S.C., Bilskie, M.V., Alizad, K. and Wang, D., 2015. The dynamic effects of sea level rise on low-gradient coastal landscapes: A review. Earth's Future, 3(6), pp. 159–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pastick, N. J., Jorgenson, M. T., Wylie, B. K., Rose, J. R., Rigge, M., & Walvoord, M. A. (2014). Spatial variability and landscape controls of near-surface permafrost within the Alaskan Yukon River Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 119(6), 1244–1265.

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team 2018. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/.

  • Riahi, K., Rao, S., Krey, V., Cho, C., Chirkov, V., Fischer, G., Kindermann, G., Nakicenovic, N. and Rafaj, P., 2011. RCP 8.5—A scenario of comparatively high greenhouse gas emissions. Climatic Change, 109(1–2), p. 33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, T.S., Walsh, J.E., Leonawicz, M. and Lindgren, M., 2015. Arctic sea ice: Use of observational data and model hindcasts to refine future projections of ice extent. Polar Geography, 38(1), pp. 22–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosales, J., & Chapman, J. L. (2015). Perceptions of obvious and disruptive climate change: community-based risk assessment for two native villages in Alaska. Climate, 3(4), 812–832.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruthrauff, D.R. and McCaffery, B.J., 2005. Survival of western sandpiper broods on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. The Condor, 107(3), pp. 597–604.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saalfeld, S.T., Fischer, J.B., Stehn, R.A., Platte, R.M. and Brown, S.C., 2017. Predicting waterbird nest distributions on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta of Alaska. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 81(8), pp. 1468–1481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmutz, J.A. and Morse, J.A., 2000. Effects of neck collars and radiotransmitters on survival and reproduction of emperor geese. The Journal of wildlife management, pp. 231–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedinger, J.S. and Raveling, D.G., 1984. Dietary selectivity in relation to availability and quality of food for goslings of cackling geese. The Auk, 101(2), pp. 295–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serreze, M.C., Walsh, J.E., Chapin, F.S., Osterkamp, T., Dyurgerov, M., Romanovsky, V., Oechel, W.C., Morison, J., Zhang, T. and Barry, R.G., 2000. Observational evidence of recent change in the northern high-latitude environment. Climatic change, 46(1–2), pp. 159–207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, R.D., 1998. An archaeology of the central Yupik: A regional overview for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, northern Bristol Bay, and Nunivak Island. Arctic Anthropology, pp. 234–246.

  • Stickney, A., 1985. Coastal Ecology and Wild Resource Use in the Central Bering Sea Area: Hooper Bay and Kwigillingok, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence, Juneau. Technical Paper No. 85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tande, G.F. and Jennings, T.W., 1986. Classification and mapping of tundra near Hazen Bay, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Investigations Field Office, Wetlands and Marine Ecology Branch.

  • Terenzi, J., Jorgenson, M.T., Ely, C.R. and Giguère, N., 2014. Storm-surge flooding on the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, Alaska. Arctic, pp. 360–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorsteinson, L.K., Becker, P.R. and Hale, D.A., 1989. Yukon Delta: A synthesis of information (No. PB-90-142746/XAB). National Ocean Service, Anchorage, AK (USA). Ocean Assessments Div..

  • US Census Bureau 2018. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018

  • US Fish and Wildlife Service. Region 7, 1988. Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge: comprehensive conservation plan, environmental impact statement, wilderness review, and wild river plan: final. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7.

  • Vermaire, J.C., Pisaric, M.F., Thienpont, J.R., Courtney Mustaphi, C.J., Kokelj, S.V. and Smol, J.P., 2013. Arctic climate warming and sea ice declines lead to increased storm surge activity. Geophysical Research Letters, 40(7), pp. 1386–1390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallenius, T.H., 1999, January. Yield variations of some common wild berries in Finland in 1956–1996. In Annales Botanici Fennici (pp. 299–314). Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board.

  • Walsh, J. E., Chapman, W. L., Romanovsky, V., Christensen, J. H., & Stendel, M. (2008). Global climate model performance over Alaska and Greenland. Journal of Climate, 21(23), 6156–6174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walvoord, M.A., Voss, C.I. and Wellman, T.P., 2012. Influence of permafrost distribution on groundwater flow in the context of climate-driven permafrost thaw: Example from Yukon Flats Basin, Alaska, United States. Water Resources Research, 48(7).

  • Wang, T., Hamann, A., Spittlehouse, D. and Carroll, C., 2016. Locally downscaled and spatially customizable climate data for historical and future periods for North America. PloS one, 11(6), p.e0156720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weeden, R.B., 1969. Foods of rock and willow ptarmigan in central Alaska with comments on interspecific competition. The Auk, 86(2), pp. 271–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, M., Frost, G., Jorgenson, M., Macander, M., Maio, C. and Winder, S., 2018. Assessment of LiDAR and spectral techniques for high-resolution mapping of sporadic permafrost on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Remote Sensing, 10(2), p. 258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, H.M., Flint, P.L., Moran, C.L. and Powell, A.N., 2007. Survival of breeding Pacific common eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. The Journal of wildlife management, 71(2), pp. 403–410.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wipf, S., Rixen, C. and Mulder, C.P., 2006. Advanced snowmelt causes shift towards positive neighbour interactions in a subarctic tundra community. Global Change Biology, 12(8), pp. 1496–1506.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolsko, C., Lardon, C., Hopkins, S. and Ruppert, E., 2006. Conceptions of wellness among the Yup'ik of the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta: The vitality of social and natural connection. Ethnicity and Health, 11(4), pp. 345–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zar, J.H., 1984. Multiple comparisons. Biostatistical analysis, 1, pp. 185–205.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Mission Area, the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, and the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center.

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our partners from participating communities, including the Kotlik Tribal Council, Emmonak Tribal Council, Chuloonawick Tribal Council, the Native Village of Hooper Bay, and the Chevak Traditional Council. Specifically, we would like to acknowledge: Victor Tonuchuk Jr., Bernard Murran, and Earl Atchak. Additionally, we humbly acknowledge the Indigenous participants in this project, and express to them our deepest thanks for sharing their valuable time and knowledge of wild berry resources and cultural practices, without which this work would not be possible. We thank Lindsay Platt for her assistance with data visualization and Karen Jenni for her review of this manuscript.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Funding

This study was funded by the Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Resources Mission Area – Integrated Information Dissemination Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, 80225, USA

    Nicole M. Herman-Mercer

  2. Denver Federal Center, BOX 25046, Mail Stop 410, Denver, CO, 80225, USA

    Nicole M. Herman-Mercer

  3. Alaska Science Center, U. S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA

    Rachel A. Loehman

  4. Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, U. S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA

    Ryan C. Toohey

  5. Chevak Traditional Council, Environmental Department, Chevak, AK, 99563, USA

    Cynthia Paniyak

Authors
  1. Nicole M. Herman-Mercer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rachel A. Loehman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ryan C. Toohey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Cynthia Paniyak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicole M. Herman-Mercer.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individuals who participated in the study.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Herman-Mercer, N.M., Loehman, R.A., Toohey, R.C. et al. Climate- and Disturbance-Driven Changes in Subsistence Berries in Coastal Alaska: Indigenous Knowledge to Inform Ecological Inference. Hum Ecol 48, 85–99 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00138-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00138-4

Keywords

  • Climate impacts
  • Coupled natural-human systems
  • Arctic
  • Permafrost
  • Landscape change
  • Subsistence berries
  • Traditional ecological knowledge
  • Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
  • Alaska