Ecological influences of Thule Inuit whalers on high Arctic pond ecosystems: a comparative paleolimnological study from Bathurst Island (Nunavut, Canada)

Interactions between climate and landscape drive Holocene ecological change in a High Arctic lake on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada

“…According to the age-depth model developed for Lake RS29, these shifts are occurring considerably earlier, as has been found elsewhere (e.g., Finkelstein and Gajewski 2007;Perren et al 2009Perren et al , 2012aSaros and Anderson 2015). Given the uncertainties of radiocarbon (Gajewski et al 1995) and 210 Pb (e.g., Hadley et al 2010) chronologies in Arctic lakes, the timing of these changes should be interpreted with caution.…”

First human impacts and responses of aquatic systems: A review of palaeolimnological records from around the world

“…In other instances, though, even small nomadic communities with limited technological development significantly, albeit locally, impacted on high-latitude freshwater ecosystems. Some of the best examples that illustrate this are the studies by Douglas et al (2004) and Hadley et al (2010aHadley et al ( , 2010b, which showed that seasonal whaling activities by small groups of Thule Inuit led to the eutrophication of arctic ponds across their known historical range in Nunavut, Canada. These palaeolimnological studies identified unprecedented ecological changes in and around the ponds that coincided with the onset and duration of Thule occupation at the sites (dated 1200-1670 ce), which included shifts in diatom community composition, increased primary production (inferred through chl a) and changes in δ 15 N reflecting the input of marine-derived nutrients from sea mammal carcasses.…”

Nutrient enrichment in the High Arctic associated with Thule Inuit whalers: a paleolimnological investigation from Ellesmere Island (Nunavut, Canada)

“…Nutrient additions may drive lake productivity increases in ponds and may also focus contaminants (e.g., PCBs) and metals (e.g., mercury) into highly susceptible shallow freshwater ponds (Blais et al, 2005(Blais et al, , 2007. Transport of marine-derived nutrients and contaminants, linked to seabird colonies (Blais et al, 2005;Michelutti et al, 2009), anadromous sockeye salmon migrations (Finney et al, 2000(Finney et al, , 2002Gregory-Eaves et al, 2003;Krümmel et al, 2009), and whale butchering sites (Douglas et al, 2004a;Hadley et al, 2010), have been shown to induce a variety of ecological changes in freshwater environments, including altered aquatic habitats (e.g., enhanced moss growth), increased primary productivity, and changes in algal species composition.…”

“…Recently, Douglas et al (2004a) and Hadley et al (2010) have recorded major changes in Arctic pond sediment profiles near abandoned Thule wintering sites on Somerset and Bathurst islands (Nunavut, Fig. 1), respectively.…”

“…Although Douglas et al (2004a) showed the potential impacts of Thule whalers on the water quality of Arctic freshwater ecosystems, the scope of that study was limited to a single site near the southernmost range of the Thule people in the High Arctic islands, leaving the potential for further study into the extent of Thule influence in other regions across the Arctic. More recent research conducted on Bathurst Island (Hadley et al, 2010) offered a rare opportunity to compare an ''impact'' and a ''control'' pond, where possible confounding factors such as geology and climate were relatively constant. They too showed marked ecosystem changes as a result of past whaling and other Thule activities, including a notable increase in primary production (spectrally inferred chlorophyll a) and a notable increase in eutrophic diatom taxon Stephanodiscus minutulus (Kütz) Cleve and Müller.…”