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Trent Researchers Study Arctic Animal Health |
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This NWHP involves Dr. Susan Sang of the World Wildlife Fund Canada and local Hunter and Trapper Organizations (HTOs) from three Nunavut communities - Pangnirtung, south Baffin, as well as Coral Harbour and Arviat (both of western Hudson Bay). The NWHP was established to assess the health of Arctic wildlife using the knowledge of local hunters. The team was looking to determine whether southern contaminants carried northward were impacting the health of animals utilized as country foods. According to Dr. Balch, the workshop underscored to regulatory agencies and members from participating communities the importance of this type of work as it highlighted the multiple stresses Arctic species are now experiencing due to climate induced alterations to habitat, exposure to chemical contaminants and the possible loss of climatic barrier to pathogen movement as the climate warms. "Chemical contaminant concentrations are likely not high enough in most species to be of concern to wildlife health. However, the cumulative impact of climate change, disease / pathogens and contaminants may be larger than the sum of the individual stressor," say Dr. Balch. Arctic Council, a high-level intergovernmental forum released the findings of a multi-year study (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment) last November indicating that the Arctic environment is changing rapidly because of climate change. And Inuit hunters at this month's workshop agreed - they are experiencing these changes first hand. The NWHP also documented that hunters believe subtle changes to harvested wildlife are now occurring. The causes, prevalence and significance of these changes still remain unknown, says Dr. Balch. The gathering in Iqaluit brought together hunters, Nunavut wildlife management boards, regulatory agencies, national Inuit organizations (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit Circumpolar Conference) and an interdisciplinary team of researchers to highlight the multifaceted nature of wildlife health and to begin the process of developing a framework to continue this work. Trent University's Dr. Doug Evans Trent University was also invited to discuss concerns regarding mercury - one of the primary contaminants found in Arctic wildlife. "Historically, impacts to wildlife health have been assessed by looking at individual stressors, for example, chemical contaminants. However, issues in the north are much more complex and a multidisciplinary approach is required to effectively assess wildlife concerns arising from the cumulative impact of climate, disease and contaminants. One of the first steps will be to establish a community-based network to monitor animal health," says Dr. Balch. The purpose of this network would be to gather and document benchmark data on the current health of Arctic wildlife. Benchmark data is essential to detect subtle changes to wildlife health that could occur over one or two decades. Dr. Balch says that without this data, we will still be relying on anecdotal information 20 years from now and be lacking the real proof that wildlife health is changing. Efforts are now underway to develop an interdisciplinary team necessary for assessing the linkages between climate, pathogens and contaminant stressors and assessing the potential of cumulative impacts to animal health. Photo: Dr. Gordon Balch and Denise Malliki, of Repulse Bay, Nunavut, at Trent. Denise visited in August 2004 as part of the Nunavut Youth Abroad Program and worked with Trent and WWF on how best to communicate and consult with northern community members as part of the NWHP. Posted June 7, 2005
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The work of the Nunavut Wildlife Health Assessment Project (NWHP), which involves Trent University researchers Dr. Gord Balch and Dr. Chris Metcalfe, was highlighted at a workshop last month in Iqaluit, Nunavut.