Abstracts
Juliette FunckName of conference: INQUA 2019 |
| Bison were a dominant feature on northern landscapes during the Late Quaternary. We employ a novel approach coupling and comparing strontium and nitrogen isotopes present in ancient and modern bison to provide proxies of bison mobility and nutritional status. As a modern analogue, we conducted stable nitrogen isotope analyses of sequentially sampled tail hairs (keratin) from modern bison from Alaska. These modern bison composed a recently established (Spring 2015) herd of wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) released into the wilds of Alaska. In addition to analyses of many typical members of the main herd, we also analyzed tail hairs from a suite of individuals that had either undergone starvation and subsequent death, or had travelled large distances, corroborated by satellite tracking. Nutritional stresses caused by starvation and the caloric tolls of long distance travel both produced a notable increase in the stable nitrogen isotope values. This pattern resulted from these individuals essentially consuming their own proteins, which imparts a sequential isotopic record in nitrogen rich tissues that grow incrementally, such as tail hairs or horn sheaths. Although tail hairs from bison are not typically found in the fossil record, similar nitrogen isotope analyses aimed at examining the physiological status of ancient bison can be conducted on cores taken from the keratin composing bison horn sheaths. These horn sheaths are abundant in the Beringian fossil record and maintain a continuous record of physiological changes and stresses throughout a bison’s lifetime. Stable nitrogen isotope analyses of horn sheaths can then be coupled with analyses of strontium isotope ratios (Sr87/86 values) of tooth enamel serial sampled from bison molars (molars 1,2 and 3) used as proxies for paleo-mobility. Strontium isotope ratios have previously been used as a geological tracker of (paleo) mobility, as Sr87/86 ratios vary according to a landscape’s underlying geology and location. By coupling these two isotopic paleoecological proxies it is possible to examine whether bison travelled large distances and whether they experienced physiological costs associated with travel. To enhance our use of strontium isotopes to geolocate bison, we conducted and present results from strontium isotope analyses of modern, georeferenced rodents, used to create a spatial model of bioavailable strontium isotope signatures across Beringia (‘RodeMap’). We also present a case study coupling nitrogen and strontium isotope analyses of a single well-preserved, articulated steppe bison specimen (>50,000 years old), demonstrating the advantages of a multi-isotope approach to examine this particular bison’s life history. The early life of this individual showed evidence of both significant markers of paleo-mobility and physiological stress. Our multi-isotope method allows us to examine possible causes of death (i.e. starvation) periods of resource-limitation through life, migrations, and illustrates the potential costs of paleo-mobility in ancient bison. |
Kendall MillsName of conference: American Society of Mammalogists 99th Annual Meeting |
| The hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) has a broad distribution in North America, but melanistic (black) individuals are known only in and around Glacier Bay National Park in SE Alaska. Melanistic individuals are much more visually conspicuous than their wildtype counterparts, and we hypothesize this might make them more vulnerable to predation. To determine if there is fitness effect of melanism in hoary marmots, we first sought to explain the genetic underpinnings of the trait. We identified a missense mutation in the melanocortin-1-receptor gene (MC1R) that is perfectly associated with melanism (n=10 melanistic and n=34 wildtype). The closest living relative of the hoary marmot, the Vancouver Island marmot, is completely fixed for a pelage phenotype highly similar to that of melanistic hoary marmots. Furthermore, the closest relative of these two species, the Olympic marmot, is sandy blond in the spring but molts into a melanistic coat in late summer. Variation in MC1R does not explain melanism in either of these two relatives, and it is unknown if and how melanism impacts fitness in either. Understanding the genetic causes of melanism in these species would shed light on how one trait evolved to become polymorphic, fixed, and plastic in three closely related species. We are leveraging recently sequenced marmot genomes and employing field experiments to further explore the evolutionary history and fitness consequences of melanism in marmots. |
Juliette FunckName of conference: IsoEcol 2018 |
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Northern Alaska is experiencing some of the most rapid climate change globally and is also at the center of questions surrounding the settlement of North America’s earliest humans. Understanding how past animals in this region interacted with their environment is key for examining both these research areas. Paleoecology in the far north is benefited by a wealth of well-preserved faunal specimens. The combination of dry and cold climate, rapid sedimentation, and permafrost has led to the north serving as a long-term storage freezer of ancient organisms. Forensic analyses of faunal specimens, including isotopic and molecular techniques, can add to an understanding of an individual specimen’s environment and their mobility. An articulated steppe bison from the Northern Alaska, affectionately known as ‘Bison Bob’, is providing a glimpse of what is possible using a multidisciplinary approach. Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of carbonate sequentially sampled from growth layers of its teeth indicate a yearly cycle with fluctuations in climate and food availability. The interpretation of these paleo data is aided by isotopic analyses of modern wood bison, recently released into the Inoko Flats, Alaska. We are also including analyses of strontium isotope ratios (Sr87/Sr86), which can inform us about the mobility of bison; by comparing strontium isotope data from sequential growth layers in Bison Bob’s tooth enamel to spatial strontium isotope models of Alaska. From these comparisons, it appears that Bison Bob began his life on the coastal plain of the North Slope and then moved south into the foothills of the Brooks Range during his second year of life. Molecular clock estimates derived from the mitochondrial genomes of Bison Bob and other bison indicate that this individual, who has a non-finite radiocarbon age, is likely to be between ~50-82 thousand years old. These mitochondrial data can also potentially provide insight into the metapopulation dynamics of bison in a discontinuous landscape. Multidisciplinary approaches combining light and heavy isotopes as well as ancient genetic information are in this case providing a greater understanding of how ancient bison interacted with its environment. |
Brooks LawlerName of conference: Alaska Anthropological Association annual conference 2019 |
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Paper abstract: The Late Pleistocene – Middle Holocene was a time of change for the environment, resource availability, human population, and occupation in the Tangle Lakes region, Alaska. An apparent shift of technological strategy also shifted over this time period, from what archaeologists term Denali to Northern Archaic technology. Understanding lithic resource variability and procurement through time in the Tangle Lakes region will provide information about continuity or adjustments in toolstone procurement and mobility strategies. This will be accomplished through spatial, geochemical, and lithic attribute analysis to determine how different materials were utilized and specifically how they were transported from known lithic quarries. Poster abstract: Advanced multidisciplinary analytical techniques have become paramount for generating data that can be assessed in an archaeological context. Non-destructive geochemical analysis has been a major analytical contribution to archaeological artifact provenance or sourcing studies. Archaeologists tend to use Bruker non-destructive energy-dispersive portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometers mainly because this brand was marketed to archaeologists. However, there are other brands that should be considered for better calibration ability for certain materials. The research presented in the poster shows the Niton XL3t pXRF spectrometer has better calibration capability for metamorphic materials from the Tangle Lakes region, compared to the Bruker pXRF. This suggests archaeologists should be concerned with the black box use of these analytical techniques. |
Casey ClarkName of conference: 22nd Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals |
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Organic structures containing incremental growth layers act as biological archives, recording and storing information throughout an organism’s life. Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) tooth cementum accrues dark and light bands seasonally. Naturally occurring trace elements are included in the cementum in concentrations reflecting those of the environment in which walruses lived and fed. By measuring element concentrations, a lifetime history of exposure can be reconstructed, providing information about the movements and life histories of individual walruses. The purpose of this study was to 1) investigate the association between trace element concentrations and seasonal growth layers in walrus teeth; and, 2) examine trends in element concentrations across the lives of individual animals. We used an Agilent 7500ce ICP-MS to measure concentrations of arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt,copper, iron, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, strontium, vanadium, and zinc in modern-day walrus teeth taken during Alaska Native subsistence harvests (n = 30), historic teeth collected between 1883 and 1981 (n = 40), and archaeological teeth from the last 2,500 years (n = 20). Variability in trace element concentrations was compared with annual growth layers to identify elements associated with seasonal movements. Changes in element concentrations within the lifetimes of individual walruses were compared qualitatively. Historic and archaeological samples allowed for comparisons of walrus movements and life histories before and after the onset of recent Arctic warming. Multidimensional scaling revealed strong separation in trace element concentrations between the breeding and feeding periods (nMDS stress = 0.001), but no separation between sexes. Males and females exhibited different patterns of accumulation for some elements (e.g., females tended to accumulate lead across their lives, whereas males did not), but showed similar patterns for most. These results provide novel insight into walrus biology and ecology, and demonstrate the viability of trace element analysis for studying these topics. |
Nicholas SchmuckProject Title: Improving Data Resolution in Southeast Alaska: A Geochemical Analysis of Geological
Obsidian for Sourcing Archaeological Materials, and Creation of a Region-Specific
Marine Reservoir Effect Correction for Radiocarbon Dating. |
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Support from the AQC will contribute to two research projects related to Quaternary research, with direct geology and archaeology applications. The first is a geochemical characterization of obsidian sources from the region using the ICP-MS at the Center for Applied Isotope Studies (CAIS) at the University of Georgia. Previous XRF analyses have found it particularly difficult to differentiate between different geological obsidian sources in the region, although only been a few outcrops, primarily on Suemez Island, have been analyzed. This project will analyze a comprehensive sampling of previously analyzed and new geological obsidian sources using ICPMS, which is capable of reporting geochemistry for a wider range of elements than pXRF. These data will then be incorporated into the Alaska Obsidian Database for sourcing archaeological obsidian. The second project is the production of a much-needed marine reservoir effect radiocarbon correction for southeast Alaska. Paired shell and wood/charcoal samples provided by geologist Jim Baichtal will be analyzed by the author at the CAIS, to assess the divergence of radiocarbon ages between the two materials. The marine shells have already been analyzed, and matching funding are being offered by the US Forest Service to complete the project by analyzing the wood for shell-wood pairs, making this project both timely and cost-efficient. Support from the AQC will be applied towards travel and housing expenses. Funding to cover lab fees associated with the project is being provided by the Geist Fund, with matching funds provided by the US Forest Service. Both projects will prove useful to both geologists and archaeologists working in Alaska, and the marine reservoir correction will have a broader regional impact for researchers in a variety of disciplines. These projects will also provide a foundation for my Ph.D. research at the Department of Anthropology at UAF. |
Mattew WhitleyName of conference: USPA Young Researchers Workshop/ 11th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP)
2016 |
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The YK Delta of Alaska is a dynamic region where permafrost and coastal processes drive the majority of landscape change. The YK Delta has relatively warm permafrost that is fragile to disturbance from storm surges and rising air temperatures (Terenzi et al. 2014). While most of the YK is low and wet, ground ice raises the land surface in some areas, creating 'permafrost plateaus'. These plateaus have better drainage and are elevated above the level of saltwater influence; they support characteristic vegetation and soil conditions classified as a Lowland Moist Graminoid-Shrub Meadow ecotype (LMGSM) (Jorgenson and Ely 2001). Large storm surges in the region are known to drive up to 40 km inland due to the low elevation profile of the region (Terenzi et al. 2014). These periodic surges set off thermokarst around the perimeters of permafrost plateaus, and the sea water kills salt-intolerant vegetation. With the decrease of fall sea ice in the region are expected to increase in the future, and should be monitored closely. |
Paul WilcoxName of Conference: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting |
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Emerging evidence of increasing humidity during the Younger Dryas (YD) in the North Pacific (1) is supported by analysis of cores from Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago. Consistent with other records from southeast Alaska, palynomorph assemblages reveal a decline in Pinus (pine) pollen indicative of cooler temperatures at the onset of the YD. A decline in monolete spores suggests an initial decrease in humidity. However, greater percentages of fern spores and Picea (spruce) pollen during the second half of the YD indicate increasingly humid conditions. Two lake sediment cores from Baker Island contain the entire Younger Dryas (YD) interval, which coincides with a change in pollen assemblages and sediment grain size. AMS dates on terrestrial plant macrofossils have ages of 11,590 – 12,627 and 12,712 – 12,916 cal yr. BP, bracketing the YD. Sedimentologically, this interval is represented by ~ 25 cm of silt; a layer of gravel near the top of the interval has higher magnetic susceptibility values than the overlying Holocene gyttja. The YD interval is underlain by an 8 cm-thick black tephra layer. Palynological analyses reveal that pine dominated the assemblages (60% of total pollen grains) at ~13,500 cal yr. BP, with lesser amounts of monolete spores (ferns, 20%) and Alnus(alder, 15%). Pine pollen decreases to 5% at the onset of the YD interval (~12,900 cal yr. BP) while alders and ferns increase to 75% and 70%, respectively. Shortly afterwards, (~12,700 cal yr. BP), pine pollen briefly increases to 20%, followed by a decrease to minimal frequency (5%) about halfway through the YD (~12,200 cal yr. BP). Percentages of alder pollen and fern spores also decrease to 55% and 35%, respectively, during the first half of the YD. Beginning at ~11,900 cal yr. BP, spruce increase to 40% and fern spores increase to a 65%. A gravel layer at ~12,000 cal yr. BP may also be indicative of wetter conditions that increased sediment input into the lake. These data expand the region experiencing greater effective moisture during the latter half of the YD (1) significantly further south to Baker Island. 1 Kaufman et al., QSR 29 (2010): 1445-1452. |
Caitlin HollowayName of conference: Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting |
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Vegetation and plant resources can impact forager mobility and subsistence strategies. However, misconceptions about the preservation of organics in subarctic archaeological contexts and underestimations of the importance of plant resources to foraging societies limit paleoethnobotanical research in high-latitude environments. This research addresses these issues with analyses of archaeobotanical remains found in hearth features from multiple components (approximately 13,300 through 8,000 cal BP) at the Upward Sun River site in the Tanana River basin, central Alaska. Final results from macrobotanical and charcoal identification suggest the presence of several key taxa on the landscape while the site was occupied, including birch, willow, Populus sp., and bearberry. This research contributes to our understanding of plant resource use among foraging populations and broadens our understanding of human-environment interaction in subarctic regions. |
Louise FarquharsonName of conference: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting |
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The glacial and interglacial periods of the Quaternary resulted in repeated growth and decay office sheets, and consequently in sea level oscillations. Along the Beaufort coast of Alaska, highsea level during interglacial periods followed extensive marine transgressions (the rise of sea relative to land). During these transgressions, thick units of sediment were deposited nearshore. These deposits preserve valuable archives of coastal environments during previous interglacials. Of particular interest is the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS 5), a period when the Arctic Ocean may have been largely ice-free in summer. Along the Beaufort coast, discontinuous marine terraces and coastal landforms located 7-10 m above modern sea level have been assigned to this time period (~120 ka BP) and are termed the Pelukian transgression. In light of current climate warming and sea ice decline, MIS 5 is a fascinating analogue for future conditions and may provide insight into the rates and magnitudes of the landscape scale shifts that we might expect over coming centuries. We present an OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) based chronology from an exposure
on |
Benjamin GagliotiName of conference: XIXth INQUA Conference |
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Wildfire is a keystone disturbance in the boreal forest, affecting everything from public safety to woodpeckers, and permafrost. How settlement by European people impacted wildfire regimes in Alaska is poorly known because paleo-fire records near population centers are rare. High-resolution studies are needed to detect recent changes in the ‘natural’ tempo of wildfire in the far North because the eras of human settlement and fire suppression are relatively short. Here, we describe the limnological and depositional conditions that produce a varved record in a thermokarst lake near the city of Fairbanks, Alaska (est. AD 1902). This archive is then used to reconstruct the frequency of local wildfires over the last 500 years. Clastic-biogenic varves consisting of silt and annual succession of algae blooms are deposited in deepwater zones (>5 m) and preserved by meromictic conditions in the lake are used for the chronology of paleo-wildfire activity. We measured charcoal area as viewed in epoxy thin sections to detect the age and relative magnitude of paleo-wildfires. The timing of charcoal peaks in the varve record correlate with the timing of scarred spruce trees around the lake based on tree-ring analyses, indicating that four local wildfires occurred since AD 1900, and the last one occurring in AD 1962. During the ~400 years before Fairbanks was founded, local fires occurred on average every 56 years (35-98 year range). After European settlement, local fires became significantly more frequent (mean 21 years, 10-28 year range) suggesting a human impact on the fire regime during the settlement era that, until now, has had little prehistoric context. This period of anomalously frequent wildfires followed by fire suppression has caused the forest stand-ages, successional seres, and wildfire fuels to be synchronized around Fairbanks today. The paleo-record indicates that this forest will soon be overdue to re-burn. |
Louise FarquharsonName of conference: XVIIth INQUA Conference |
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Thermokarst lakes dominate large areas of the Arctic and form through ground collapsing
as ice |
Samuel CoffmanName of conference: Society of American Archaeology (SAA) Annual Meetings |
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We report recent research at Teklanika West, one of the original sites used to define the Denali Complex. Multiple components were confirmed at this site, dating throughout the Holocene. Lithic analyses indicate multiple site activities, including weapon maintenance and primary reduction. Faunal analyses are used to infer changing subsistence economies present at the site. |
Phoebe GilbertName of conference: Alaska Anthropological Association Annual Meeting |
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Questions of paleo-climate/human interactions on the occupational landscape of interior Alaska have intrigued archaeologists for years. Unfortunately most archaeological sites in interior Alaska are shallow or surface sites with little preservation or stratigraphy. The Mead Site, a deeply buried site with multiple occupations and excellent preservation, provides a rare opportunity to study the human/climate relationship in prehistory. Buried surfaces at the site may indicate discrete intervals of when the site would have been available for occupation, and which may correlate with times of environmental stability in the area. Utilizing both geological data and spatial analytical data of the cultural remains from the site, correlations between occupations and climate change in Alaska are presented. |
Abstracts from 2008 and earlier |
Jason Addison2008 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California We present data from four new ultra-high resolution (SAR >2 mm/yr) marine sediment cores recovered along the margin of the Gulf of Alaska region in the Subarctic Northeast Pacific Ocean (SNEPO) recording fluctuations in detrital, biogenic, & authigenic sedimentary components. These regional records of climate change indicate four major regimes since the onset of the Holocene along the SNEPO margin. One of the most distinctive environmental shifts was the change from the relatively warm & moist conditions of the early Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) into colder & drier conditions that occurred between approximately 3000 - 7000 cal yrs BP in this high-latitude region. There is a key shift in both paleoproductivity proxies and redox-sensitive trace metal accumulation rates associated with this climatic transition. Based on observations of modern atmosphere-ocean-ecosystem interactions operating in the SNEPO, we interpret these biogeochemical shifts to reflect a change in the baseline mechanics of the atmospheric Aleutian Low (AL) pressure cell. The AL is the principal driving force that leads to nutrient upwelling in the Alaska Gyre, as well as the mechanism that controls coastal stratification via precipitation input & associated fluvial runoff. The measured changes in productivity and trace metals imply a millennial-scale oscillation in upwelling intensity and concomitant horizontal advection towards the more stratified waters of the coastal SNEPO. This oscillatory behavior lasts only 3000 years and terminates during a widespread glacial advance, when paleoproductivity indicators increase monotonically into the late Holocene. Both the magnitude and the millennial-scale frequency are statistically different from observational data of modern conditions in the SNEPO, suggesting that different mechanisms controlled the atmosphere-ocean-ecosystem linkage over this earlier time interval. Changes in high-latitude Northern Hemisphere summer insolation coupled to complex ocean-atmosphere feedbacks may be responsible. Sarah J. MeitlAnnual Meeting of the Alaska Anthropological Association. Anchorage, AK The Denbigh Flint Complex (Denbigh) has been known for over fifty years, yet there is still much we do not understand. Questions of origin or affiliation often receive the most attention, but other aspects of Denbigh culture remain conjecture, tied loosely to archaeological evidence. The majority of Denbigh material remains are lithic scatters and hearths representing a passing occupation of a location. However, the Denbigh occupation at Onion Portage contains hundreds of features and thousands of artifacts, separated into nine stratigraphic levels. These remains present a unique opportunity to examine how Denbigh people lived and if or how their behavior changed through time. Selected artifact assemblages are compared between features and evaluated in terms of current theories concerning the timing, mobility, and other behavior patterns of Denbigh culture. Previous interpretations are discussed based on these findings. Eva StephaniAmerican Geophysical Union 2007 Fall meeting In the permafrost, massive ice bodies occur as buried glacier ice, aufeis ice, recrystalized
snow, massive segregated ice, injection ice, ice wedges or ice formed in underground
cavities (“pool ice”, “thermokarst-cave ice”). The origin of massive ice bodies in
the permafrost bares considerable implications for the reconstructions of paleoenvironments
and paleoclimates. Our work aims to help the permafrost scientists working on massive
icy sediments to distinguish buried basal glacier ice from other types of buried ice.
To do so, the properties and structure of contemporary basal ice must be well known. Fortier, D., Kanevskiy, M, Stephani, E., Dillon, M., Shur, Y. 2007. Facies and cryostructures of glacier basal ice as an object of permafrost study, an example from the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. Canadian Quaternary Association Conference, Ottawa, June 2007: 75. Lawson, D.E. 1979. Sedimentological analysis of the western terminus region of the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. Cold Regions Engineering and Research Laboratory, Hanover, N.H., Report 79- 9. Yiming WangAGU annual fall meeting Several techniques are available to examine the isotopic composition of historic lake waters, providing data that can subsequently be used to examine environmental changes. Recently-developed techniques are the stable oxygen isotope analysis of subfossil chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae) head capsules (mostly chitin) preserved in lake sediments and stable hydrogen isotope analyses directly on bulk sediments. The advantage of using δ18O of chironomids is that the chitinous chironomid headcapsules preserve well in lake sediments, retaining the stable oxygen isotope signature of the lake in which they lived. An advantage of δ D analyses of bulk sediments is that a sediment core can be analyzed relatively easily and when the %C (total organic carbon) and %H profiles correlate the data can be used to infer past δD changes of the organics in the sediments. We present results from these analyses of a lake sediment core from Idavain Lake (58°46´N, 155°57´W, 223m asl) in southwest Alaska in concert with other paleolimnological proxies including δ15N, δ13C LOI, magnetic susceptibility, organic content and opal concentrations for a better understanding of paleolimnological changes since deglaciation for the region. Our preliminary result showed that downcore shifts of δ18O analyzed from chironomid head capsules coincide with LOI and pollen changes. The δD of sediments showed large magnitude changes during the record as well. This study will add to the relatively small database of paleoenvironmental reconstructions from terrestrial sites Southwest Alaska. Jason Addison2006 Annual American Geophysical Union Meeting The rapidly accumulating sediment in the Gulf of Alaska (GoA) presents a unique opportunity to study the effects of climate change on marine production over decadal to millennial timescales during the Late Quaternary. Because several parameters that influence marine production are directly related to climate, it is possible to quantify the effects of both short-term regime shifts in the Aleutian Low/Pacific (inter)Decadal Oscillation and long-term Milankovitch orbital forcing using techniques that measure marine paleoproduction. This study describes fluctuations in the accumulation of biogenic and terrestrial sedimentary components using sediment cores recovered from the Gulf of Alaska during the R/V Maurice Ewing EW0408 cruise in the summer of 2004. This set of cores provides an opportunity for the first systematic assessment of marine paleoproductivity for this sector of the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Bulk sediment samples from a subset of these cores along the southern margin of the Gulf of Alaska were analyzed for biogeochemical concentrations and isotopic ratios. We analyzed a suite of proxies to assess paleoproductivity, including opal, Corg, CaCO3, δ13C, δ15N, and C/N ratios. A suite of major, minor, & trace elements were also measured using X-ray fluorometry to assess fluxes of lithogenic, biogenic, and redox sensitive components. Preliminary results indicate that opal & Corg concentrations are more than two times higher in fjords than in adjacent shelf environments. A strong correlation between opal & Corg records for the GoA shelf suggests a diatom-dominated ecosystem throughout the Holocene. This observation is supported by δ13C measurements that indicate carbon contributions dominantly from phytoplankton with minor terrestrial C3 plant input. δ15N data are relatively constant over the Holocene suggesting either persistent advection of upwelled Alaska Gyre nutrients towards the GoA margin, or rates of denitrification have remained constant since the onset of modern oceanographic conditions. Hayley LanierVisit to US National Museum (Smithsonian) I am currently studying the phylogeography, morphological variation, and evolutionary history of the collared pika (Ochotona collaris). Although the fossil data indicate that O. collaris was widespread during the Pleistocene, genetic data suggest the extant populations may have recently radiated from a single small population. Where this refugial population was located, and how it is related to the numerous fossil forms, has yet to be determined. My research integrates genetic samples, skeletal measurements, and locality information obtained from newly collected and preexisting O. collaris specimens located at the University of Alaska Museum. To improve geographic and temporal coverage we have been collecting samples in the field, and I have been requesting specimens on loan from other museums. While a number of these museums have smaller holdings that can be obtained on loan, some museums possess samples that are so numerous (>100 individuals) or rare (e.g, type specimens) as to necessitate visiting in person. This is, understandably, a costly undertaking given our current location. I am applying to request funds for travel to the US National Museum in Washington D.C. to examine, measure, and sample their collection of Recent and fossil Ochotona from Alaska and northwest Canada. Objectives of visit:
Tammy GreeneAmerican Association of Physical Anthropologists 75th Annual Meeting While the archaeological record can tell us what foods were available to a population, it cannot reveal whether all members of a group consumed the same diet. This study examines 196 individuals from the Predynastic working class cemetery (HK43) at Hierakonpolis Egypt in order to determine whether males, females, and juveniles shared a similar diet. The burials, as determined through pottery date to Naqada II. Sub-adults account for 16% of the sample. Forty-six percent of the adult sample is male and 54% is female. Methods for determining diet include macrowear scores for the maxillary and mandibular first and second molars; microwear for the phase II wear facet of the second molar, and carious lesion frequency and severity for all teeth. This analysis shows that while the diets are very similar for all individuals, there are dietary differences between males and females at this site. The dentition of males tends to wear at a significantly faster rate than females. Juveniles are shown to have a diet very similar to that of the adults, the only significant difference being in the number of juveniles who exhibit polish on their micrographs. Data from macrowear, microwear and caries is compared to known available foodstuffs from Predynastic Egypt in order to determine the most likely cause of the patterns seen. This project was supported by a National Science Foundation grant (BCS- 0119754) awarded to Dr. Jerome Rose at the University of Arkansas. Nicole MisartiSociety for American Archaeology, 71st Annual Meeting In order to characterize the chemical signatures of middens with differing faunal remains, this study determined chemical compositions of soils collected from middens from two Aleutian islands, Sanak and Unalaska islands, Alaska. Concentrations of Al, Ba, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, Sr, Ti, and Zn from 200 samples were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Results show this type of research could be utilized to determine the presence and possibly faunal composition of middens at older sites in the Aleutians that no longer contain organic remains. Amy RodmanAmerican Geophysical Union Fall Meeting In the foothills of the Brooks Range of northern Alaska, an abundance of spring discharge occurs year-round. This current research focuses on hydrologic conditions, source of the springs, its residence time and geometry. Possible sources for the spring water are sub-permafrost groundwater and baseflow and groundwater flow immediately adjacent to the Kuparuk River. Water samples were collected in 2005 from the Kuparuk River Watershed, including Imnavait Creek, prior to snowmelt (April), during/after snowmelt (June) and late summer (August). Electric conductivity (EC) values ranged between 50-65 mS/cm for spring water, while EC values at the Kuparuk River ranged from 34.6-235 mS/cm. Alkalinity readings of water from the Kuparuk River ranged from 13.9-64 mg/L; this is compared with spring water values of 24.3-39.9 mg/L. Variations in chemical properties (total and dissolved organic and inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, electrical conductivity, and dissolved oxygen) suggest that local spring water is related to the baseflow of Kuparuk River during summer periods. Preliminary data collected in the 2005 field season demonstrates interaction between the flow of the Kuparuk River, nearby spring discharge, aufeis development and permafrost dynamics. |