2008 Alaska Park Science Symposium
October 14, 2008
Sustaining a Healthy Human-Walrus Relationship in Beringia
Vera Metcalf1, Martin Robards2
1Kawerak Inc., PO Box 948, Nome, AK, 99762, USA, Phone 907-443-4380, vmetcalf@kawerak.org
2Marine Mammal Commission, 4340 East-West highway, Room 700, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA, Phone 301-504-0087, Fax 301-504-0099, mrobards@mms.gov
The rapidly changing arctic environment has prompted concern about the impacts to marine mammals and those that depend on them. A review of the various impacts was recently published in a special edition of the journal Ecological Applications. Here, we summarize our contribution to that effort, which focused on the challenges facing co-managers and hunters of walrus in the dynamic Beringian environment. We describe how the ability of coastal walrus hunters to access, harvest, transport, store and utilize walrus is affected by a dynamic suite of endogenous and exogenous factors, including ecological, social, economic, and political conditions. Impacts specifically as a result of a changing climate will affect subsistence hunters within the context of these diverse and sometimes global factors. We finish by highlighting some of research areas relating to climate change that might contribute to the overall health of the human-walrus relationship.
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