A Transdisciplinary Approach to Brucella in Muskoxen of the Western Canadian Arctic 1989–2016

Tomaselli, Matilde; Elkin, Brett; Kutz, Susan; Harms, N. Jane; Nymo, Ingebjørg Helena; Davison, Tracy; Leclerc, Lisa‐Marie; Branigan, Marsha; Dumond, Mathieu; Tryland, Morten; Checkley, Sylvia

doi:10.1007/s10393-019-01433-3

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…In many cases this was attributed to environmental changes, and in some cases explicitly to climate change. An observed increase in the presence of parasites is consistent with recent brucellosis and lungworm research conducted recently on muskox populations across Victoria Island [ 107 ]. Increased incidences of disease hold implications both for species availability, as some parasites can leave animals more susceptible to predation, but also from a food quality perspective; brucella-infected meat can be particularly dangerous if consumed, for instance [ 108 , 109 ].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

Monitoring the dynamic vulnerability of an Arctic subsistence food system to climate change: The case of Ulukhaktok, NT

et al. 2021

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Vulnerability to climate change is highly dynamic, varying between and within communities over different timescales. This paper draws upon complex adaptive systems thinking to develop an approach for capturing, understanding, and monitoring climate vulnerability in a case study from northern Canada, focusing on Inuit food systems. In the community of Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, we followed 10 hunters over a 2-year period, asking them to document their harvesting activities and discuss their lived experience of harvesting under changing environmental and societal conditions. GPS monitoring and participatory mapping sessions were used to document 23,996km of trails (n = 409), with conversational bi-weekly semi-structured interviews and secondary instrumental weather data used to contextualise climate change within a nexus of other socioeconomic, cultural, and political stressors that also affect harvesting. Our results demonstrate that climate change has considerable potential to affect harvesting activities, particularly when its impacts manifest as anomalous/extreme events. However, climate change impacts are not necessarily the most salient issues affecting harvesting on a day-to-day basis. Instead, factors relating to economics (particularly financial capital and the wage-based economy), social networks, and institutions are found to have a greater influence, either as standalone factors with cascading effects or when acting synchronously to augment the impacts of environmental change.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

Monitoring the dynamic vulnerability of an Arctic subsistence food system to climate change: The case of Ulukhaktok, NT

et al. 2021

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“…Further research bringing together both IK and SK is needed to investigate the interactions of warming temperatures with other possible stressors and the resulting cumulative effects of all stressors on muskoxen. Some of the hypotheses generated in this study could be explored through targeted SK studies, as has previously been done for brucellosis in muskoxen (Tomaselli et al, 2018b(Tomaselli et al, , 2019.…”

Section: Positive and Negative Factors Affecting Muskoxenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Documenting Indigenous Knowledge to Identify and Understand the Stressors of Muskoxen (<i>Ovibos moschatu</i>s) in Nunavut, Canada

Francesco¹,

Hanke²,

Milton³

et al. 2022

ARCTIC

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Indigenous knowledge provides valuable information on wildlife health and ecology, contributing to a broader understanding of the patterns and phenomena observed. Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), an important species for the subsistence and culture of Inuit communities in the Arctic, are increasingly exposed to diverse stressors linked to rapid climate change and other anthropogenic changes. Identifying and understanding these stressors and their impacts on muskoxen will inform management, health monitoring, and future research. To achieve this understanding, we documented Indigenous knowledge through seven semi-structured small group interviews, each involving two to three purposely chosen muskox harvesters in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, Canada to (1) establish the characteristics of healthy muskoxen, (2) determine the factors considered to impact muskoxen, and (3) understand, from an Indigenous knowledge perspective, the results from a study on the sex, seasonal, and annual patterns of glucocorticoids (described as “stress hormones” for the purposes of the interviews) in muskox hair. Key outcomes include (1) a more holistic understanding of muskox health and what it encompasses, (2) recognition and exploration of a rich One Health perspective expressed by participants around factors influencing muskoxen in a changing world and highlighting the multiple socioecological connections, and (3) a broader comprehension of the glucocorticoid (stress) patterns measured in muskox hair, the various factors that influence them, and their interrelations. This study represents a meaningful advancement in the process of actively involving communities at all steps of the research and highlights the important contributions Indigenous knowledge can offer to the complex field of wildlife endocrinology research.

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“…Community-based monitoring, Indigenous Knowledge, participatory epidemiology, and citizen science have become increasingly relevant as ways of centering research on community needs and priorities, and obtaining invaluable information on health and the environment (190,193,197,201,331,(335)(336)(337)(338). Rich knowledge, including on preventing certain food-borne illness, results from the long-standing relationships of Indigenous Peoples and local communities with their environment, including their harvesting of nutritionally and spiritually important native plants, fish, and wildlife (56,57,118,339,340).…”

Section: Current and Future Considerations For Monitoring Surveillance And Risk Reduction Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of Zoonoses From Hunting and Use of Wildlife in North American Arctic and Boreal Biomes: Pandemic Potential, Monitoring, and Mitigation

Keatts

Robards

Olson

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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The COVID-19 pandemic has re-focused attention on mechanisms that lead to zoonotic disease spillover and spread. Commercial wildlife trade, and associated markets, are recognized mechanisms for zoonotic disease emergence, resulting in a growing global conversation around reducing human disease risks from spillover associated with hunting, trade, and consumption of wild animals. These discussions are especially relevant to people who rely on harvesting wildlife to meet nutritional, and cultural needs, including those in Arctic and boreal regions. Global policies around wildlife use and trade can impact food sovereignty and security, especially of Indigenous Peoples. We reviewed known zoonotic pathogens and current risks of transmission from wildlife (including fish) to humans in North American Arctic and boreal biomes, and evaluated the epidemic and pandemic potential of these zoonoses. We discuss future concerns, and consider monitoring and mitigation measures in these changing socio-ecological systems. While multiple zoonotic pathogens circulate in these systems, risks to humans are mostly limited to individual illness or local community outbreaks. These regions are relatively remote, subject to very cold temperatures, have relatively low wildlife, domestic animal, and pathogen diversity, and in many cases low density, including of humans. Hence, favorable conditions for emergence of novel diseases or major amplification of a spillover event are currently not present. The greatest risk to northern communities from pathogens of pandemic potential is via introduction with humans visiting from other areas. However, Arctic and boreal ecosystems are undergoing rapid changes through climate warming, habitat encroachment, and development; all of which can change host and pathogen relationships, thereby affecting the probability of the emergence of new (and re-emergence of old) zoonoses. Indigenous leadership and engagement in disease monitoring, prevention and response, is vital from the outset, and would increase the success of such efforts, as well as ensure the protection of Indigenous rights as outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Partnering with northern communities and including Indigenous Knowledge Systems would improve the timeliness, and likelihood, of detecting emerging zoonotic risks, and contextualize risk assessments to the unique human-wildlife relationships present in northern biomes.

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A Transdisciplinary Approach to Brucella in Muskoxen of the Western Canadian Arctic 1989–2016

Cited by 23 publications

References 43 publications

Monitoring the dynamic vulnerability of an Arctic subsistence food system to climate change: The case of Ulukhaktok, NT

Monitoring the dynamic vulnerability of an Arctic subsistence food system to climate change: The case of Ulukhaktok, NT

Documenting Indigenous Knowledge to Identify and Understand the Stressors of Muskoxen (<i>Ovibos moschatu</i>s) in Nunavut, Canada

Implications of Zoonoses From Hunting and Use of Wildlife in North American Arctic and Boreal Biomes: Pandemic Potential, Monitoring, and Mitigation

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