Elucidating the sustainability of 700 y of Inuvialuit beluga whale hunting in the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Elucidating the sustainability of 700 y of Inuvialuit beluga whale hunting in the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada

Published:2024-08-13 Issue:34 Volume:121 Page:
ISSN:0027-8424
Container-title:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
language:en
Short-container-title:Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Author:

Skovrind Mikkel¹^ORCID,Louis Marie¹²^ORCID,Ferguson Steven H.³,Glazov Dmitry M.⁴,Litovka Dennis I.⁵,Loseto Lisa³⁶,Meschersky Ilya G.⁴,Miller Mariah M.⁷,Petr Martin¹^ORCID,Postma Lianne³,Rozhnov Viatcheslav V.⁴^ORCID,Scott Michael⁷,Westbury Michael V.¹^ORCID,Szpak Paul⁷^ORCID,Friesen T. Max⁸^ORCID,Lorenzen Eline D.¹^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 1350, Denmark

2. Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk 3900, Greenland

3. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N6, Canada

4. A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Science, Moscow 119071, Russia

5. Autonomous nonprofit organisation “Chukotka Arctic Scientific Center”, Anadyr 689000, Russia

6. Department of Environment and Geography, Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada

7. Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, Canada

8. Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada

Abstract

Beluga whales play a critical role in the subsistence economies and cultural heritage of Indigenous communities across the Arctic, yet the effects of Indigenous hunting on beluga whales remain unknown. Here, we integrate paleogenomics, genetic simulations, and stable δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotope analysis to investigate 700 y of beluga subsistence hunting in the Mackenzie Delta area of northwestern Canada. Genetic identification of the zooarchaeological remains, which is based on radiocarbon dating, span three time periods (1290 to 1440 CE; 1450 to 1650 CE; 1800 to 1870 CE), indicates shifts across time in the sex ratio of the harvested belugas. The equal number of females and males harvested in 1450 to 1650 CE versus more males harvested in the two other time periods may reflect changes in hunting practices or temporal shifts in beluga availability. We find temporal shifts and sex-based differences in δ 13 C of the harvested belugas across time, suggesting historical adaptability in the foraging ecology of the whales. We uncovered distinct mitochondrial diversity unique to the Mackenzie Delta belugas, but found no changes in nuclear genomic diversity nor any substructuring across time. Our findings indicate the genomic stability and continuity of the Mackenzie Delta beluga population across the 700 y surveyed, indicating the impact of Inuvialuit subsistence harvests on the genetic diversity of contemporary beluga individuals has been negligible.

Funder

Villum Fonden YIP+

Independent research fund, Sapre Aude

Carlsberg Foundation Semper Ardens Accelerate

Canadian Government | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Polar Continental Shelf Program

Aurora Research Institute

Publisher

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Link

https://pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2405993121

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