IAB 2008-09 Annual Report by Edward Debevec

Science of Life

Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks

The Institute of Arctic Biology advances basic and applied knowledge of high-latitude biological systems through integration of research, student education, and service to the nation and Alaska.

Science of Life

Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks

Executive Editor Brian M. Barnes

Managing Editor Graphic Design Marie Gilbert

Printing UAF Printing Services

UAF Institute of Arctic Biology PO Box 757000 Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7000 www.iab.uaf.edu

About the cover: Brooks Range and the Atigun River just south of IABâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Toolik Field Station. Photo by Marie Gilbert. All photo credits on page 47.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. UAF is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution. June 2011.

Contents

Institute of Arctic Biology

FROM THE DIRECTOR

INSTITUTE OF ARCTIC BIOLOGY, IN BRIEF

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: F. STUART “TERRY” CHAPIN III

7-8

RESEARCH PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

9-14

SPECIALIZED RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND FACILITIES

16-21

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: GERALD “JERRY” MOHATT

FACULTY

24-32

SPECIAL EVENTS

33-34

OTHER FACULTY, STAFF, STUDENTS

35-37

2008 SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS

37-41

HONORS AND AWARDS FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

42 43-45 46

PUBLISHED IN 2011, THIS REPORT PROFILES THE YEARS 2008-2009

4 Research Research in Life in Life Sciences Sciences

Institute of Arctic Biology

From the Director W

elcome to the Institute of Arctic Biology (IAB) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). This report is an introduction to our faculty and their individual and collaborative research programs, highlighting the years 2008-2009. We include a bit about IAB’s history and the infrastructure we have built to support research and graduate training in the life sciences of Alaska and the Arctic. By life sciences, I mean the comprehensive areas of biological research in which our faculty are experts. Topics range from plant and animal genetics and cell biology to neuroscience, nutrition, and ecosystem structure and function; research subjects include arctic microorganisms, lichens, insects, trees, and wildlife; with questions related to control over breathing and respiration in extreme environments, cold hardiness, migration, hibernation, fire and climate change, and evolution. An increasing number of our research programs address human biology, including social-ecological research, health psychology, and disease disparities in Alaska Natives. IAB scientists study life in Alaska! In addition to research, IAB faculty are fully integrated into the academic and service missions of the University. They teach the full curriculum of the Department of Biology and Wildlife, home to the largest major at UAF, and an increasing number of courses in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Department of Psychology. In addition, IAB faculty developed the Resilience and Adaptation Program, which cross-trains graduate students in disciplines of biology, anthropology, economics, northern studies, and resource development. Currently, IAB faculty serve as the major advisors of more than 175 master’s and doctoral students, the largest graduate program in the University of Alaska (UA) system; several graduate students are coadvised with University of Alaska Anchorage faculty. IAB faculty are leaders and principal investigators or collaborators in major, organized research programs at UA. The

Brian Barnes, 2007, during field work near the IAB Toolik Field Station on Alaska’s North Slope. Center for Alaska Native Health Reseach is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Long-Term Ecological Research sites in the boreal forest and the Arctic, the Alaska Environmental Agents and Disease program, and the Toolik Field Station are sponsored by the the National Science Foundation. Additionally, the U.S. Geological Survey, UAF, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game sponsored the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the Department of Defense sponsored the Center for Molecular and Genetic Studies of Hibernation.

Studying life in Alaska since 1963 In this report we include summary information on the IAB budget showing trends in state appropriations, research expenditures, and indirect cost recovery for fiscal years 2001-2010. The story is of significant growth,

with annual grant expenditures increasing from about $6.5 million to more than $18 million, due to the success of IAB faculty in competition for grants with proposal success rates in recent years that ranged from 36-42% at NSF and 31-43% at NIH. These accomplishments make IAB a major research unit of UAF and the UA system, contributing 18.2% of the total of direct research expenditures of UAF, which is about 17% of the UA total. This level of unit research activity was the second highest in the UA system in both 2008 and 2009.* Faculty and graduate students report their research findings in the peerreviewed literature and in 2008-2009 together authored 238 articles in topranked journals including Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, BioScience, Ecology, Journal of Geophysical Research, and Ecological Monographs. I congratulate the faculty, graduate students, and staff of the Institute of Arctic Biology for these achievements and invite you to learn more about life science research in the pages that follow. *http://www.alaska.edu/swbir/ir/ua-inreview/

Research in Life Sciences

Institute of Arctic Biology

Institute of Arctic Biology, in brief The mission of the Institute of Arctic Biology is to advance basic and applied knowledge of high-latitude biological systems through the integration of research, student education and service to the nation and Alaska. The Institute of Arctic Biology was founded in 1963 by the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska. Laurence Irving, a pioneer in the field of comparative physiology, was the founding director.

Center for Molecular and Genetic Studies of Hibernation, Alaska Geobotany Center, Resilience and Adaptation Program and the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research program.

The Institute continues Irving’s innovative spirit through our mission. The Institute supports faculty and post-doctoral research and graduate student training in the life sciences of wildlife, physiology, genetics and evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystems, biomedicine, and bioinformatics and computational biology.

The Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, administered by IAB, began in 1950 and is part of a nationwide cooperative program to promote research and graduate student training in the ecology and management of fish, wildlife and their habitats. The unit exists by cooperative agreement among UAF, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the Wildlife Management Institute.

Scholarly publications, a listing of graduate theses, research project highlights, Laurence Irving, 1952. facility descriptions, events, IAB history, research news, and IAB’s Biological Papers of the University of Alaska are online at www.iab.uaf.edu.

IAB faculty deliver the curriculum for undergraduate majors in biology and wildlife biology, a component of chemistry and biochemistry majors, and provide UAF undergraduates with opportunities for hands-on research experiences in the field and laboratory.

IAB provides and supports platforms for research in programs from ecology and ecosystems to molecular biology and genetics, including field stations, small- and large-animal facilities, and core laboratories for geographic information systems and DNA sequencing. The Institute’s Toolik Field Station is a world-renowned arctic research station located in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range. National and international scientists are drawn to the facility to study climate change and the structure and function of high-latitude ecosystems. The Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station maintains colonies of muskoxen, reindeer and caribou available for nutritional, physiological and behavioral research. LARS is open to the public as an educational and outreach center between Memorial and Labor days. Major research programs at IAB include the Center for Alaska Native Health Research, Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program,

The Institute of Arctic Biology is administered from the Laurence Irving Building on the West Ridge of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. IAB faculty members hold joint appointments with the Department of Biology and Wildlife, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Psychology, and the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences. Faculty members mentor more than 150 graduate students including 75 doctoral candidates. www.iab.uaf.edu

Institute of Arctic Biology

Special Recognition F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III As one of the most serious issues facing the world, climate change grabs headlines daily. Warming temperatures could change the face of Earth radically in this century. Models and experiments have shown that polar regions will be hit first and hardest, and ecologist F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III, elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2004, has watched firsthand as these changes arrive in Alaska and is working on ways to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.

that plants differed in their ability to adjust to different situations. He observed that plants from more variable environments were better able to adjust their capacity to take up phosphorus than plants adapted to more stable environments. “Plants were adapted not only to the average conditions in their environment but also to the variability in the environment,” he says.

A distinguished professor of ecology in the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Chapin was the first Alaskan elected to the National Academy of Sciences. His initial research concentrated on the adaptation of plants to changing environmental conditions and has evolved to investigating the dynamics of socioecological systems under changing conditions. Among the honors Chapin has received are the Kempe Award for Distinguished Ecologist in 1996 and the Usibelli Award for the top researcher in all fields from the University of Alaska in 2000. Beginnings in Plant Nutrition Chapin began his undergraduate studies as an economics major at Pennsylvania’s Swarthmore College in 1962. But an introductory biology elective class and many hours spent outdoors while growing up convinced him to switch his major to biology. After graduating in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, Chapin spent two years in the Peace Corps, stationed in Bogota, Colombia. He then entered graduate school at Stanford University in California and earned a Ph.D. in biological sciences in 1973, with National Academy of Sciences member Hal Mooney as his advisor. Chapin’s thesis focused on plant nutritional adaptations to low temperature, with most of his research conducted in Alaska. “I focused initially on phosphorus, partly because it had a convenient radioactive isotope, and it was one of the two elements most likely to limit plant growth in the tundra,” Chapin says. The main findings of his thesis were that plants adapted to low temperature by maintaining high capacity to take up nutrients. If conditions were altered to grow plants under different temperature regimes, the plants were found to adjust physiologically to absorb more nutrients at low temperature. Plants basically compensate for effects of low temperature by increasing rates of physiological activity. During his thesis work, Chapin also found

Biology of the Arctic Instead of conducting postdoctoral research after finishing his doctorate, Chapin obtained a faculty position at the Institute of Zoophysiology, now called the Institute of Arctic Biology, where he had worked as a graduate student. “They had had one botanist who had been in the Army and was being reassigned. They decided they liked the idea of having a botanist, and the time was right to hire me,” he says of the institute. Chapin, his wife Melissa, and their two young sons became permanent residents of Fairbanks. “We both very much enjoyed Alaska, so we were excited about the opportunity to move there,” he says. Chapin met his wife while they were both undergraduates at Swarthmore. Today they play together in the Fairbanks Symphony, with Chapin on viola and his wife on cello, in a string quartet, as well as with friends in Irish music groups. Chapin’s wife also assists in research, particularly in Siberia, where she acts as an interpreter. “During my first sabbatical in 1979–80, one of the things I realized was that, even though I had been studying and teaching courses about plant nutritional adaptations to the environment, I didn’t really have a sense of how plants adapt to low nutrient availability,” Chapin says. He had studied several particular physiological processes associated with the uptake of nutrients but had not considered

these processes in a whole-plant context. “One of the things I did was try to come to a better understanding of the nutrition of wild plants. What are the various options plants have to cope with low-nutrient environments?” he asked. Chapin’s findings showed that plants cope based not on their capacity to extract nutrients from the environment, but rather by adjusting their growth rate to the nutrient supply available in the environment. Important plant adaptations are those that conserve nutrients or prevent nutrient loss, rather than a high capacity to acquire nutrients from the environment. Chapin saw that similar processes occurred in grasses, shrubs, and trees. Plants employ two broad strategies for conserving nutrients in lownutrient environments: chemical protection from herbivores and conservation of nutrients by extracting them from leaves before or during senescence. The leaf litter that returns to the soil is fairly resistant to microbial attack because of plant defenses and its relatively low nutritional quality. “This implies that plants have substantial impact on their environment, in part by creating the low-nutrient environment to which they’re adapted. There’s relatively little herbivory in these low-nutrient environments and relatively slow rates of decomposition, which in turn reinforce the conditions that favor the presence and success of these plants. This caused me to think about ecosystem processes, rather than just about plants,” says Chapin. Expanding to Ecosystems and Climate Such findings led Chapin to consider not just a plant’s particular physiological adaptations, but how a plant’s adaptations affect its interactions with the environment. “An important aspect of global change and climate change is thinking about how climate is going to affect all these interactions,” he says. Climate change will likely affect the availability of resources for plants, including water, carbon, and other nutrients, and in turn, the plants’ changes in physiology and species composition affect the environment. Over the past 15 years, Chapin has participated in several international commissions focused on the environment and climate, including the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which examined worldwide climate change and ecosystems. “I learned of the tremendous magnitude of human impacts through global change. It redirected my scientific interest, because I felt if people are having this large an impact on Earth, it’s really important to do research to improve our understanding of the

Research in Life Sciences

societal consequences of these impacts,” he says. In his experiments, Chapin used small plastic greenhouses to warm the tundra; shade frames to mimic the effects of cloudiness; and the withholding of nutrients or water from plants to explore what factors most strongly limited growth. After initiating the experiments, he realized that these changes were similar to those expected to occur with climate warming and therefore came upon a new perspective for his research. Chapin now looks more broadly at entire ecological and social systems and their vulnerability or resilience to change. “It’s important to view people as integral components of regional systems, rather than as separate ecological and social systems. It’s also important to understand or learn how these socioecological systems adjust to change,” Chapin says. “One of the things characterizing our environment today, more than at any previous time, is that it’s changing along a directional pathway. Change has always occurred, so that’s nothing new, but the fact that changes are directional means that people and systems are going to adjust to new conditions and things will change no matter what sort of actions we take. So it’s important to improve our understanding of the dynamics of change,” he explains. Direct Effects on Alaska In his Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences inaugural article (published online Sept. 28, 2006), Chapin and colleagues make recommendations to aid Interior Alaska residents in sustaining their livelihoods in light of predicted climate change effects. The recommendations include education and training emphasizing human adaptability on large and small scales, strengthening feedback systems that foster the resilience of Interior Alaska’s desirable characteristics, creating more links among institutions that deal with climate change impacts in the north and the lower-latitude causes of such changes, and facilitating change to potentially more beneficial practices by Interior Alaska residents by taking advantage of opportunities created by crisis. Each strategy alone could provide societal benefits, and effects could increase if used together, Chapin and the researchers say. These policies could also be applied to other regions facing environmental and social change. The policies have been developed in part from Chapin’s meetings with Athabascans living in Interior Alaska, who have faced environmental and social changes for

Institute of Arctic Biology thousands of years, long before contact with European settlers. “[The Native Alaskans] have been finding that changes in climate are tremendously affecting their life on the land,” Chapin says. “They probably were more aware of large-scale ecological change in Alaska than ecologists were until the last few years. They certainly listen to the radio and TV and hear a lot about global change. They put two and two together to realize that many of the changes they were observing on the landscape were related to climate change.” Chapin added that the Native Alaskans asked to meet with researchers from the University of Alaska to discuss these issues. One major ecological change that Chapin has since studied is the increase in fire frequency. “Fire has been a really important part of the boreal forest for the last 5,000 or 6,000 years,” he says. The fires are variable from year to year, but when a season is particularly dry, the fires are more frequent than usual. Such years of extreme dryness are coming more frequently, says Chapin. Although climate models predict that more precipitation should occur at high latitudes with climate warming, so far such an increase has not been observed. “The increases that we see in precipitation haven’t been nearly as dramatic, so the net result of warmer conditions and modest precipitation has been a drying of the landscape. We see lakes drying up, changes in river levels, and thawing of permafrost, which causes better drainage. A whole variety of conditions have converged to make the landscape drier,” says Chapin. In the September PNAS article, Chapin and colleagues say that the policies they recommend could help Alaskans deal with and adapt to changes in fire and water dynamics, among others. The team says the policies should be implemented simultaneously to maximize their effects and that their recommendations will also be useful for other regions facing directional climate change. “There are a lot of people who have been interested in sustainability and have been for at least a decade,” Chapin says. “It’s such a complex process that it’s difficult to think about how to sustain something if you know that you’re on a trajectory of directional change.” Different approaches of study have emerged, some growing out of geography, based on the study of vulnerability of populations and regions. Another approach has been to study adaptability, which has been applied to agricultural adjustments to climate change. Resilience, a third intellectual thread, is a whole-system framework that considers how socioecological systems as a

whole respond to changes. “In the Inaugural Article, I’ve tried to integrate those three frameworks to combine the benefits of each of those approaches and to consider the general categories of predictions of how socioecological systems respond to change and what policies might cause changes that are beneficial to society,” says Chapin. Chapin points out a general lack of awareness of the deep ties that the people in Interior Alaska have to the land. “There’s a lot of other ecosystem services we tend to be less aware of,” he says. The underlying ecosystem and population processes support both the goods and the regulatory services the people receive, and cultural services also influence cultural connections to the land. “These cultural services tend to be particularly important in Alaska. These are the things that have galvanized people to take actions that might reduce the rates of climate change,” says Chapin. Another major problem facing Alaska is the disproportionate effects that climate change will likely have there. “There is an important disconnect in Alaska in the sense that the major causes of climate change are concentrated at lower latitudes because that’s where the people, the technology, and the power base are. The major impacts of climate change are at high latitude, so there is no feedback from high-latitude consequences to low-latitude behavior,” Chapin explains. Indigenous people in the north have taken their case to the Arctic Council, a forum of high-latitude nations, to try to get these nations to consider more seriously actions mitigating climate change. Chapin believes humans can adapt to climate warming. “There’s hundreds of ways to make things better, and there’s no one way to do it. Ideally, all of these approaches need to be undertaken in concert, rather than as a piecemeal patchwork approach to global change. These represent a spectrum of win– win solutions and trade-offs to address the serious consequences of what people are doing to the life support system of the planet,” he says. Eventually, climate change will be felt in most places on Earth, and Chapin says nations must be ready. “We have to keep our eyes open for what’s going on around the globe, because in a more globalized society, things occurring elsewhere will affect us more,” he says. “We need to be prepared for changes we see on the horizon and the unexpected.” This is a member profile published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science on Oct. 31, 2006.

Research in Life Sciences

Bert B. Boyer

Brian M. Barnes

Professor of Biology

Professor of Molecular Biology

Professor of Zoophysiology

Ecosystem-level Consequences of Mutualist Partner Choice in Alder across a Forest Successional Sequence in Interior Alaska

Genetics of Obesity in Yup’ik Eskimo

Hibernation Genomics: Mechanisms for Metabolic Suppression and Neural Protection

Ruess’ team is investigating whether coordinated changes in host selection for ectomycorrhizal fungi and Frankia partners by alder, specifically Alnus tenuifolia, enables persistence of this keystone nitrogen-fixing species throughout forest succession and regulates ecosystem-level nitrogen (N) inputs to Interior Alaska river floodplains.

Obesity is a common preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. Ethnic minorities, independent of socioeconomic status, are disproportionately affected. Genetic and environmental factors are known to be important in the development of obesity, yet the interactions between and within genes and environmental risk factors are poorly understood.

Developing mammalian hibernation as a new paradigm for investigating the molecular basis of metabolic inhibition and neuroprotection which can lead to new drugs and treatment strategies for stroke, heart attack, and major trauma is our goal.

Understanding controls over N fixation by native and invasive plants is a problem of fundamental scientific value, particularly in Alaska, where invasive N fixers are just beginning to appear, and where the range of toothed-leaved trees and shrubs in the birch family called alders has expanded substantially across the boreal/tundra boundary over the past 150 years. This project will be the first to study mechanisms for Frankia and ectomycorrhizal fungi partner choice in a natural system, or account for mutualist partners in evaluating ecosystem-level N inputs through N fixation. Most N-fixing plants form complex mutualisms, with both bacterial and fungal partners, involving the exchange of host carbon in support of nitrogenase and mycorrhizal activities to meet plant nutrient demands. Such plant mutualisms can be modeled as market economies, whereby hosts choose partners based on cost:benefit assessment, and regulate trading partners through a highly evolved sanction/reward system. The project has strong ties to the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research program at UAF. Project support: National Science Foundation. Project collaborators: Donald Lee Taylor, Knut Kielland.

One of our objectives is to investigate whether selected gene- environment interactions are risk factors for obesity in Yup’ik Eskimos. Genes and their encoded proteins are regulated by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and physical activity. Yup’ik Eskimos have traditionally eaten a diet rich in PUFAs, and were extremely active, but modernization has resulted in dramatic differences in diet and activity levels among individuals. We seek to test the hypothesis that polymorphisms in biologically plausible candidate genes are sensitive to reduced PUFA availability and physical activity, and that these interactions ultimately influence the degree of body fat accumulation in Yup’ik Eskimos. The discovery of gene-environment interactions will be relevant to future studies aimed at developing and testing interventions, and identifying novel therapeutic targets for obesity.

Project support: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Project collaborators: Alaska Yup’ik Eskimo community members.

The proposed work will develop natural animal model systems of hibernators including the arctic ground squirrel (AGS) and black bear as genetic and physiological resources in determining the molecular basis of hibernation. Our intent is to identify the biochemical pathways that are altered to regulate preparation for, entry into, and recovery from hibernation and to provide candidate pharmaceutical products that can induce and reverse similar states in humans. Even when not hibernating the AGS is unique in its ability to resist 45 minutes of cardiac arrest. While resistance to neuropathy following cardiac arrest has been fully characterized, other organ systems have not been systematically studied. The overall well-being of AGS following cardiac arrest suggests that other organ systems typically affected by post-cardiac arrest syndrome are unaffected. If AGS prove to be as resistant to hemorrhagic shock (HS) as we expect, subsequent research will address how to translate this resistance to nonhibernating species and toward the longterm goal of producing prophylactic therapies that will significantly enhance resistance to HS and decrease human mortality. Project support by: U.S. Department of Defense. Project collaborators: Kelly Drew, Vadim Fedorov, Øivind Tøien.

Research Project Highlights

Roger W. Ruess

Institute of Arctic Biology

Research in Life Sciences

Research Project Highlights

Matthew Olson

Marvin K. Schulte

Gary P. Kofinas

Associate Professor of Biology

Assoc. Prof. of Neurochemistry

Assoc. Prof. of Resource Policy

Tools and Resources for Plant Genome Research: Association Mapping and Comparative Population Genomics of Adaptation in Poplar

Microcantilever Biosensors Based on Ligand Gated Ion Channel Receptors

Heterogeneity and Resilience of Human-Rangifer Systems: A Circumpolar Social-Ecological Synthesis

Populus species are economically, ecologically and environmentally important; they are harvested for paper pulp and particle board production, and hold potential for playing important roles in carbon dioxide biosequestration and biofuel production.

The primary goal of this project is to develop improved microcantileverbased biosensors using receptor proteins based on a recently discovered acetylcholine binding protein (AChBP).

The goal of this project is to improve understanding of the relative resilience and adaptability of regional humanRangifer systems to the forces of global change, and to derive generalized propositions about their functional properties as critical aspects of the Arctic system.

Moreover, Populus is the model organism for hardwood tree genomics and physiology. Population genetic tools needed to conduct association mapping and understand evolutionary history are not, however, available for any Populus species. Olsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s group proposes to develop these tools for Populus balsamifera, use them to conduct an association mapping study designed to identify the genetic basis for phenotypic variation in bud set (an important determinant of cold adaptation and growth rate), and use comparative population genomic analyses to test whether the same nucleotides and genes are responsible for phenotypic variation and adaptive evolution of bud set in North American P. balsamifera and European P. tremula.

The AChBP is a soluble protein that displays structure and pharmacology that is strikingly similar to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) present in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Since the nAChR is a member of a large super-family of ligand gated ion channels (LGICs), this project will ultimately develop sensors that will be useful in high-throughout drug screening and drug discovery for this class of neuronal receptors. Specifically, we aim to: 1) Develop a microcantilever biosensor utilizing the AChBP and its derivatives as biological sensor proteins. 2) Investigate fundamental surface conjugation chemistries and establish modification protocols for microcantilever sensing.

Development of these genomic tools and the association mapping will be accomplished through collaboration with Canadian researchers at the AAFC-PRFA Shelterbelt Centre who are establishing long-term common gardens of P. balsamifera. These common gardens will be maintained as a longterm resource and are available to the wider scientific community; therefore, the data generated will greatly facilitate future association analyses on additional traits (wood density, drought tolerance, etc.). Project support by: National Science Foundation. Project collaborators: PĂ¤r Ingvarsson.

In North America, wild Rangifer are called caribou and domestic Rangifer are called reindeer. In Eurasia, both wild and domestic forms are called reindeer. Our work is motivated by the unprecedented rapid changes recently observed in the Arctic at multiple scales, their potential impacts on important human-environment relations, and the need to understand the trajectories and rates of change in a manner that builds the capabilities of society to respond to change. A human-Rangifer system is defined here at the regional scale as the set of ecological and social processes underlying the human use of Rangifer. These processes include bio-physical interactions, socio-economic dynamics, and social institutions that shape human adaptation. HumanRangifer systems have historically and continue to provide keystone ecosystem services to indigenous residents, with Rangifer being the most important terrestrial subsistence resource of the Arctic system.

Project support by: National Institutes of Health.

Project support by: National Science Foundation. Project collaborators: Brad Griffith, David Douglas, Donald Russell, Gennady Belchansky, Bruce Forbes, Leonid Kolpaschikov, Matthew Berman, Konstantin Klokov, Craig Nicolson.

Institute of Arctic Biology

Donald “Skip” Walker

Syndonia Bret-Harte

Distinguished Professor of Biology

Professor of Biology

International Polar Year: Impacts of High-Latitude Climate Change on Ecosystem Services and Society

Application of Space-Based Technologies and Models to Address Land-Cover/Land-Use Change Problems on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia

IPY: Collaborative Research on Carbon, Water, and Energy Balance of the Arctic Landscape at Flagship Observatories in a PanArctic Network

The arctic system is undergoing unprecedented changes, many of which result from global warming trends that become amplified at high latitudes. These changes include warmer temperatures, northward movement of the summer sea-ice margin, retreating glaciers, thawing permafrost, earlier snow-melt, drying of uplands and boreal wetlands, increased extent of wildfires, subsidence of the ground surface in some boreal lowlands, and changes in lake area.

This project uses remote-sensing technologies to examine how the terrain and anthropogenic factors of reindeer herding and resource development, combined with the climate variations on Russia’s Yamal Peninsula, affect the spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation change and how those changes are in turn affecting traditional herding by indigenous people of the region.

The best hope for observing arctic change in the terrestrial system and its impacts is through intensive observations at a network of longterm, flagship observatories.

These changes have had profound social impacts on indigenous and nonindigenous people because of both the large magnitude of changes and the generally strong dependence on renewable resources that characterize northern societies. Ecosystem services, which are the benefits that society derives from ecosystems, are the critical link between environmental and ecological changes and their impacts on society. The interactions and consequences of these changes are too poorly known to provide policy makers and the public with a firm foundation for policy formulation and change. This project seeks to (1) document the current status and trends in ecosystem services in the arctic and boreal forest, (2) project future trends in these services; and (3) assess the societal consequences of altered ecosystem services. Project support: National Science Foundation. Project collaborators: Scott Rupp, Gary Kofinas.

The Yamal Peninsula in northern Russia has been identified as a “hot spot” for both arctic climate change and landuse change. The Yamal has undergone extensive anthropogenic disturbance and transformation of vegetation cover over the past 20 years due to gas and oil development and overgrazing by the Nenets reindeer herds. We established a transect of eight sites across the Yamal to investigate the combined effects of climate change and anthropogenic influences. We investigated how vegetation changes in this heavily impacted region on poor sandy soils compares with other areas in the Arctic, especially a similar transect on loess soils with less grazing impact in North America. We will use a combination of groundbased, remote-sensing studies of Nenets land-use activities to help develop vegetation-change models that can be used to predict future states of the tundra. Project support: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Project collaborators: Gary Kofinas, Uma Bhatt, Vladimir Romanovsky.

Associate Professor

Key aspects of this IPY research include data collection as integrated, multivariable time series, with the aim of using the temporal correlations among variables to sort out controls on short- versus long-term rates of change of individual variables and of the whole system. A second key aspect of this proposal is the creation of a network of observatories, in the U.S. and other arctic countries, in which carbon, water and surface energy budgets are monitored at the landscape scale. One long-term aim of this network is to develop PanArctic models of terrestrial responses and feedbacks to climate change. Because each of the sites in this network are also the site of extensive long-term, finescale research on biogeochemical processes and on the individuals, populations, and communities of plants and animals that mediate those processes, we will establish a platform for scaling up this finescale knowledge to prediction of the functioning and changes of whole arctic landscapes. A major product of this research will be the creation of a database for use in modeling the larger arctic system. Project support: National Science Foundation. Project collaborators: Brian Barnes, Sergei Zimov.

Research Project Highlights

F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III

Research in Life Sciences

Research Project Highlights

Mark Wipfli

Jonathan Runstadler

James Allen

Assoc. Prof. of Freshwater Ecology

Assoc.Prof. of Biology and WIldlife

Professor of Psychology

Food Web Dynamics in Arctic Streams

A Research Proposal to Build Surveillance Capacity in the Mount Sinai Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis (CRIP)

Elluam Tungiinun: Toward Wellness

Oil and gas activities in the Arctic pose a probable threat to aquatic resources by altering physical and chemical characteristics of arctic streams. Small lower-order streams are potentially the most susceptible to impacts and the most likely to demonstrate the first signs of change. These small stream systems are thought to provide critical habitat for many fish species.

Alaska scientists at UAF aim to increase our understanding of the ecology, evolution, and epizootiology of avian influenza virus, particularly in wild bird hosts. Because of our location we have chosen to focus on the Pacific Rim, which encompass a geographically continuous region of coherent resident and migratory wild bird populations. These migratory and resident populations also overlap with migratory birds on other flyways in both the Eurasian and North American continents making the Pacific Rim region a highly significant but little understood area in the context of avian influenza.

Alaska Native peoples constitute an underserved population characterized by significant health disparities. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Center for Alaska Native Health Research and the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation have joined together to design, plan, and implement a Community Based Participatory Research Project (CBPR) with the following aims:

To evaluate potential impacts from oil and gas activities, land managers must first understand the ecological processes in these systems. This project addresses food web dynamics and energy flow in streams and between streams and their riparian habitats in Arctic Alaska. This study will measure fish prey abundance in streams, the flow of terrestrial prey to streams, and document the diet of selected fishes on Alaska’s North Slope. Benthic, D-net, and drift samples in streams will be taken to assess the abundance of prey in selected aquatic habitats. The information from this project can greatly enhance the Bureau of Land Management’s ability to address issues concerning the potential impacts of oil and gas activities on aquatic ecosystems in the National Petroleum Preserve-Alaska.

Project support: BLM Fairbanks District Office. Project collaborators: Graduate student.

Within this context we will focus our efforts on linking local viral ecology in critical habitats with the global or flyway-scale movement and transmission of virus in migratory birds. Among the critical questions for avian influenza that our research addresses are: Why has H5N1 virus not been detected in movements north and east as it has north and west into Europe? Do Arctic regions play a major role in the distribution, perpetuation, and ecology of influenza in birds? Are migratory avian populations adversely affected by influenza infection?

Aim 1: To determine the highest priority behavioral health need in a preventative intervention in the largest Alaska Native cultural group, the Yup’ik of southwestern Alaska, through a CBPR process led by a group of Yup’ik leaders who will constitute the Yup’ik Research Coordinating Council. Aim 2: To develop a manual of interventions appropriate to a multi-level and multifactorial culturally based intervention procedure at the community, family, and individual levels. Aim 3: To pilot test a universal, selective or combined preventative intervention model for the behavioral health need identified in Aim 1. Aim 4: To design a five-year project for a randomized community-based prevention trial to compete for the next round of funding.

Project support: Mount Sinai. Project collaborators: George Happ, Falk Huettmann, Florian Aldehoff, Lori Gildehaus, Jennifer Gingrich.

Project support: National Institutes of Health, National Center on Minority Health and Heath disparities. Project collaborators: Alaska Native community members.

Institute of Arctic Biology

Kristin Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

Professor of Biology

Assoc. Prof. of Biology and Wildlife

Habitat Modeling and Diet of Yellow-Billed Loons in Northern Alaska

Role of Deep Soil Organic Carbon in Interior Alaska: Data, Models, and Spatial/Temporal Dynamics

Linkages Among Mitochondrial Form, Function, and Thermal Tolerance of Antarctic Fishes

Yellow-billed loons occur in low densities and only in Arctic habitats with large lakes. About 5,000 such loons occur on breeding areas in the United States. Of these, 80% occur on Alaskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s North Slope, and 90% occur within the National Petroleum ReserveAlaska (NPR-A). Most of the remaining 20% occurs on the northern half of the Seward Peninsula in northwestern Alaska. Due to this small population size and restricted distribution, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently evaluating a petition to list this species under the Endangered Species Act.

The loss of soil carbon (C) in northern high-latitude terrestrial ecosystems in response to climate warming has the potential to act as a positive feedback to climate warming. In Interior Alaska soil C storage has been measured in hundreds of locations yet variations and changes in storage remain highly uncertain. Of particular importance are carbon storage estimates for deep soils in Interior Alaska, where permafrost is generally within 1 degree Celsius of thawing, where permafrost has been warming, and fire disturbance has substantially increased in recent decades. Thus, carbon in these soils may be particularly vulnerable to decomposition. This project will compile and synthesize existing data toward development of statistical models to estimate soil carbon storage and incorporate this information into a biogeochemical modeling framework that can identify how strategies for additional sampling of soil organic carbon will reduce uncertainties in estimating regional carbon dynamics. Research results will provide policy makers with information about the degree to which carbon sequestration may be offset by responses of carbon storage in Interior Alaska.

Waters surrounding the Antarctic continent are unlike any other: isolated, chronically cold, welloxygenated, and low in species competition. Within this remarkable environment, the notothenioid fishes have evolved many unusual physiological traits. One of the most notable is the complete absence of the circulating oxygen-binding protein, hemoglobin within the Channichthyid (Icefish) family. Some members of this family have lost the ability to express the oxygen-binding and storage protein myoglobin in cardiac muscle. To date, nothing is known about how modifications in mitochondrial architecture of icefishes affect organelle function, or more importantly, how they affect organismal-level physiology.

Given the conservation concern for this species, wildlife managers need to be able to identify the most important loon habitats. Due to the impracticality of surveying all habitats, there is a clear need to predict what these important habitats are via a transferable, predictive statistical model. This study aims to substantially improve habitat models by (a) incorporating modified metrics or other remotely sensed metrics not yet evaluated, (b) contrasting performance of habitat models based on Colville River delta data and data from the high density strata within NPR-A, and (c) obtain ground-based data on several metrics, including the presence of fish species. Project support: Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Project collaborators/cooperators: Amanda Rosenberger, Joel Schmutz, Rick Johnson, Matthew Witman, Tom Rothe.

Project support: U.S. Geological Survey. Project collaborators/cooperators: Jennifer Harden, Shuhua Yi, Dan Hayes, Pete Murdoch, Norm Bliss, Mark Waldrop, Kim Wickland, Bronwen Wong, Tara Barrett, Teresa Hollingsworth, Dave Swanson, Jason Neff, Chien Lu Ping, Torre Jorgensen.

Mitochondria produce ATP and overwhelming evidence indicates that changes in mitochondrial structure and function impact organismal biology. Most critical for Antarctic fishes is that mitochondria have been linked to how well ectotherms can withstand temperature increases. Our collaborative research project addresses the hypothesis that unusual mitochondrial architecture has led to changes in function that affect the ability to withstand elevations in temperature. Project support: National Science Foundation. Project collaborators: Bruce Sidell, Elizabeth Crockett, Sara Hickox, Gail Scowcroft.

Research Project Highlights

A. David McGuire Professor of Landscape Ecology

Mark S. Lindberg

Research in Life Sciences

Research Project Highlights

Donald Lee Taylor

Abby Powell

Brad Griffith

Associate Professor

Assoc. Prof. of Wildlife Ecology

IPY: A Community Genomics Investigation of Fungal Adaptations to Cold

Breeding Biology and Migration of King Eiders on Alaska’s North Slope

Implications of Climate Variability for Monitoring and Adaptive Management in Wetland Systems

Fungi survive, reproduce, and carry out diverse biogeochemical transformations in arctic soils that are extremely cold, often dry, and mostly snow covered. Clearly, these fungi are adapted to extremes of cold and dark. Yet our knowledge of the identities and activities of these cold-adapted fungi is negligible.

This project focuses on the breeding ecology and migration of King Eiders, a sea duck species that is an important food source for native subsistence hunters along the coast of Alaska. The importance of the Beaufort Sea as a spring and fall migratory corridor for hundreds of thousands of sea ducks has been well established.

The goal of this research is to enhance the potential for adequate and rigorous monitoring and adaptive management of the habitats and populations of United States Fish and Wildlife Service trust species of migratory waterbirds that are likely to be affected by the recent rapid increase of global temperature.

Offshore oil and gas developments in the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf have the potential to impact significant numbers of staging, migrating, and molting sea ducks. Offshore oil reserves and potential developments discovered in the Beaufort Sea extend from Milne Point to Camden Bay. The British Petroleum Exploration (Alaska) Northstar project is the first offshore oil development project in the Beaufort Sea and the first to use a six-mile subsea pipeline to transport oil under the pack ice in the entire Arctic.

Project scientists will approach this goal through collaboration with multiple refuges in two regions to establish relevant contexts; modeling that identifies the spatial and temporal frequency of sampling necessary to attain reasonable statistical power for detecting relevant changes in habitats/populations; explicitly addressing the implications of attaining reasonable statistical power on the long-term planning and budgeting components of management; delivering the results of this work to the National Wildlife Refuge System in a manner that will enhance the strategic ability of the system to successfully adapt to climate change in the 21st century.

Principal investigator Donald Lee Taylor and colleagues are conducting a large-scale community genomics analysis of fungi in the Arctic to provide insights into the diversity, metabolism, and seasonal dynamics of cold-adapted fungi. Taylor’s goal is to better understand fungal adaptation to cold. The first steps to achieving this aim are to determine which species actually occur in the coldest climates and which species are metabolically active at the coldest temperatures. While focused on adaptation, Taylor’s project will also inform ecosystem ecology. Polar regions provide significant ecosystem services to society, including climate regulation. The ongoing changes in polar regions, which are often more rapid and of larger magnitude than in lower latitudes, are having uncertain effects on ecosystem services, particularly positive and negative feedbacks to global warming.

This project will provide information to identify critical marine areas where conflicts with uses such as oil and gas exploration could affect population numbers. The project also provides information on basic breeding ecology that will be necessary to predict potential effects of a warming climate on breeding grounds.

Project support: National Science Foundation. Project collaborators: Chad Nusbaum.

Project support: Minerals Management Service. Project collaborators: M.S. and Ph.D. students.

Project support: U.S. Geological Survey. Project collaborators: Jane Austin, Christine Hunter, J. Michael Scott, Gina Wilson, Bill Schultz, Kristine Askerooth, Shilo Comeau, Paulette Scheer, Mark Bertram, Lisa Saperstein, Bud Johnson, Steve Kovach.

Institute of Arctic Biology

Research Programs in Life Sciences

Center for Alaska Native Health Research

Specialized Research Programs

The Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) is developing unique biomedical knowledge and translating it into research for the prevention and reduction of health disparities among Alaska Natives. CANHR, administered by the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, was established in 2001 through a five-year grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources. CANHR partners with the YukonKuskokwim Health Corporation and communities in southwest Alaska. Projects begun in 2008-2009 include: • The Yup’ik Perceptions of Body Weight and Diabetes: Cultural Pathways to Prevention project will move researchers toward intervention and prevention planning tailored to the context of rural Alaska and the values of Yup’ik peoples. •The Yup’ik Experiences of Stress and Coping: Intervention via Cultural Understanding project will develop a way of assessing stress and trauma in a Yup’ik cultural context and more importantly how Yup’ik people find healthy ways of coping with stress and trauma. •The Contaminants and Nutrients in Alaskan Subsistence Foods: Striking a Balance project will measure nutrients and environmental contaminants in specific subsistence foods. •The Developing a Novel Set of Diet Pattern Biomarkers Based on Stable Isotope Ratios project will develop a new method to measure subsistence intake by matching natural isotopic signatures in blood or hair samples with those in foods.

Three themes guide CANHR researchers: •Prevention and reduction of health disparities. CANHR seeks new knowledge through basic and applied research that can ultimately be applied to understand, prevent and reduce health disparities in indigenous communities.

•Cultural processes awareness. The center’s researchers study how cultural variables influence the understanding of disease expression in Alaska Natives so that research findings and intervention are valid and culturally appropriate. •Community-based participatory research methods. CANHR researchers work closely with and take significant direction from indigenous communities. Tribal community members become coresearchers. CANHR embraces a collaborative research model. At every stage of the research, faculty and staff work with tribal groups and health-care agencies to frame research questions, develop methodologies and procedures, and to interpret and apply data to prevention and treatment. Our offices are located on the UAF campus with field staff hired in each participating community. CANHR’s goal is to achieve a permanent and sustainable research center at UAF to investigate obesity and chronic disease-related risk and protective factors. In 2007 the NIH renewed the center’s grant for $11 million to continue CANHR’s research on obesity and its relationship to diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Alaska Natives. It is with tremendous sadness that we note the passing of CANHR foundering director Gerald “Jerry” Mohatt in February 2010. Professor Bert Boyer is now the director of CANHR.

Research Programs in Life Sciences

The Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program (ABNP) strives to expand and stimulate basic neuroscience research with a focus on neuroprotection and adaptation at the cellular and molecular level and related regulatory mechanisms at system levels. The ABNP incorporates interdisciplinary research to study mechanisms of neuroprotective adaptations, spanning from behavioral to cellular and molecular aspects. Research objectives in 2008-2009 concentrate on circadian rhythms and thermoregulation, hibernation as a model of neuroprotection, and neuronal regeneration and survival with an emphasis on the role of reactive oxygen species. The interdisciplinary research effort of the ABNP constitutes an integral part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks initiative addressing health disparities of Native Alaskan and arctic populations. ABNP supports the strategic goal of

UAF to function as a national center of excellence and international leader in arctic research. The ABNP is supported by grant U54, a Specialized Neuroscience Research Program (SNRP) grant, through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH),

and the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). The mission of SNRPs is to enhance and strengthen both the quality and intensity of basic neuroscience research at Minority Institutions and other non-researchintensive institutions. Larry Duffy is the director of the Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program.

Resilience and Adaptation Program The Resilience and Adaptation Program (RAP) is an interdisciplinary training and education program of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, administered by the Institute of Arctic Biology, which focuses on sustainability in times of rapid socioecological change. RAP explores the link among cultural, economic, and ecological conditions of Alaska and the North to offer integrative graduate training that prepares scholars, policy-makers, community leaders, and managers to address issues of sustainability in an integrated fashion. Through coursework, an internship experience, thesis research, and other training, students enrolled in Ph.D. and master’s degree programs address a major challenge facing humanity: Sustaining the desirable features of Earth’s socialecological systems at a time of rapid change. Questions of sustainability for Alaska and the Circumpolar North are the focus of RAP. Students explore this topic through an investigation of global-local interactions, up- and down-scale effects, important

feedbacks, adaptive capacity, and critical thresholds of social-ecological change. RAP offers master’s and PhD degrees in Biology and Wildlife, Anthropology, Resource Economics, Natural Resource Management, Northern Studies, and Interdisciplinary Studies. The program prepares students for positions of leadership in academia, government, Native organizations, nongovernment organizations, and agency management. RAP is supported by an Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to encourage establishment of graduate programs that are interdisciplinary. There are about six IGERT fellowships available each year for Ph.D. students in RAP. The rate of fellowship salary is determined by NSF. Past stipends have been about $30,000 plus tuition and health insurance. Interdisciplinary research opportunities are available in climate-disturbance-

human interactions, food security, adaptive resource co-management, forestry, sustainable fisheries, alternative energy, and wildlife and subsistence resources. F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III is director and Gary P. Kofinas is the assistant director of the Resilience and Adaptation Program.

Specialized Research Programs

Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program

Research Facilities in Life Sciences

Specialized Research Facilities

Toolik Field Station

The Institute of Arctic Biology (IAB) Toolik Field Station (TFS) is a world-renowned Arctic climate change research station located in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range in Alaska at 68o 38â&#x20AC;&#x2122; N, 149o 36â&#x20AC;&#x2122; W, elevation 720 m. Much of what is known about the structure and function of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the Arctic and the effects of climate change and feedbacks to global climate has emerged from long-term, process-based ecological research projects at TFS. These projects have resulted in significant discoveries on adaptations of organisms to the Arctic and population-level changes in animal and plant phenologies and distributions. Because climate is changing rapidly in arctic and boreal regions and changes in the Arctic are predicted to strongly affect the global climate system, continuing research into the causes, mechanisms of response, and feedbacks to further ecosystem change is a high research priority. Continuing strong interest by scientists from a broad array of disciplines for use of TFS as a research platform for year-round studies of the arctic environment and ecosystems promises a steady demand for TFS-based scientific support into the future.

The station has been selected as the arctic tundra site for the National Ecological Observatory Network, which is expected to begin operations in 2014. TFS is also a member of SCANNET, which is envisioned as a key terrestrial building block in the international Sustaining Arctic Observatory Networks initiative following the International Polar Year. More than 734 peer-reviewed journal articles, 107 books and book chapters, and 81 graduate theses have been published since 1975 on research based at TFS. TFS is accessible by road and air from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean, 212 kilometers (132 miles) to the north, and from Fairbanks in the Interior, 596 kilometers (370 mi) to the south. Toolik-based researchers have access to 87,000 acres designated by the Bureau of Land Management as a Research Natural Area. The station hosts the Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research program, managed by the Marine Biological Laboratory, and other long-term, intensive, process-based ecological research projects. Our location allows scientists access to three major physiographic provinces of Alaska: the Brooks Range, the arctic foothills, and the arctic coastal plain. TFS also serves as a base for scientists working

along the ecological transect stretching from the coastal tundra of Prudhoe Bay to the boreal forest of Fairbanks. TFS has been a major location for scientific research in the Arctic since 1975. TFS is operated and administered by IAB at the University of Alaska Fairbanks through a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. IAB works closely with users to provide management that is creative, accountable, and responsive to the needs of the research community. The TFS management team hosts regular user forums, weekly research seminars, site visits, camp meetings, and other formal and informal channels to facilitate communication among scientists, staff, and students. Brian M. Barnes is the science director of Toolik Field Station. Syndonia Bret-Harte is the associate science director.

Research Facilities in Life Sciences

The Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research (BNZ-LTER) program focuses on improving understanding of the long-term consequences of changing climate and disturbance regimes in Alaska’s boreal forest. BNZ-LTER is located in the boreal forest of Interior Alaska. The site was established in Fairbanks in 1987 as part of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program. The central questions which drive research at BNZ-LTER is how are boreal ecosystems responding, both gradually and abruptly, to climate warming, and what new landscape patterns are emerging? The objective is to identify factors that buffer systems from radical changes in structure and function (i.e., resilience) versus factors that might precipitate changes to alternative states (i.e., vulnerability). This requires an extension beyond the assumptions of steady-state dynamics to ask under what conditions changes in drivers might trigger a fundamental change in the nature of boreal ecosystems. BNZ-LTER’s research on these dynamics of change is based in resilience theory including: •Climate sensitivity of physical and biological processes to temporal variation in the environment, which defines the limits of resilience to climate change;

vegetation, and precipitation is changing the distribution and functioning of boreal wetlands and tundra. BNZ-LTER has two primary research sites located in the boreal forest of Interior Alaska.

•Changes in the successional dynamics caused by changes in climate and disturbance regime, which define the points in the adaptive cycle of disturbance and recovery at which ecosystems are most vulnerable to change; •Threshold changes that are likely to cause the boreal forest to function in a qualitatively new way; and •Integration and synthesis in which these modes of climate response are integrated across multiple temporal and spatial scales and their societal consequences are explored. The boreal forest is the second most extensive biome on Earth, covering 1.7 million km2 (420 million acres) of the Northern Hemisphere, and accounting for approximately one third of Earth’s total forest area. Globally, the northern and southern boundaries of the boreal forest are associated with the Arctic air mass, which extends southerly in winter to define the southernmost extent of the boreal forest, and shrinks

northward during summer to delineate the boundary between boreal forest and tundra.

The Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest is located about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) south of Fairbanks. The Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed is located about 45 kilometers (28 miles) north of Fairbanks. Our lab, administrative, and office facilities are on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

This forest system remains remarkably resilient but appears to be undergoing changes in ecosystem and landscape structure, feedbacks, and interactions that, with continued warming, will likely cause reorganization or potentially transformation to a substantially different system. BNZ-LTER’s study design recognizes three landscape units that differ in their environmental controls and likely responses to climate change: uplands, floodplains, and wetlands. The uplands and floodplains have been the focus of previous BNZ LTER research while wetlands, which are widespread in the boreal region, have not been intensively studied in Alaska. Alaska contains more than half the wetlands in the U.S., but the response of permafrost to complex interactions among topography, surface and ground water, soil properties,

The Boreal Ecology Cooperative Research Unit provides support and coordination for the BNZ-LTER through research in partnership with Joint Fire Science Project, Alaska Division of Forestry, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Florida, Yukon College, University of Saskatchewan, Michigan State University, and Kyoto University. The BNZ-LTER program is supported by NSF, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station and is jointly administered by the Institute of Arctic Biology and School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences at UAF. Principal Investigators of the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research program are F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III, Tomas Haley, Andrea Lloyd, A. David McGuire, and Roger Ruess.

Specialized Research Facilities

Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research

Research Facilities in Life Sciences

Large Animal Research Station

Specialized Research Facilities

The Institute of Arctic Biology Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station (LARS) is the only facility of its kind in North America and is recognized for undertaking high-quality research and education that focuses on ungulates from the subarctic and arctic for more than 30 years. Located within skiing and biking distance via a wooded trail system from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) campus, the 134-acre research station features both pasture land and boreal forest. LARS’ tightly controlled operations comply with Alaska and federal regulations for disease surveillance and treatment of captive wildlife ensure the safety and health of its colonies of muskoxen, caribou, and reindeer. The facility offers a relaxing and easily accessible outdoor venue close to campus. Outreach and educational opportunities for school groups are

Other research at LARS has focused on the different ways arctic herbivores use their food and conserve their body stores to survive, grow, and produce young despite the harsh conditions of a long winter and the brief respite of northern summers. LARS is used to establish methods for evaluating wild animals for management of populations. LARS is located on a former homestead established by Mike Yankovich, who donated the property to the university on October 12, 1963 to conduct muskox research. The muskox farm, as it is still called, was devoted to domestication of muskoxen for their superfine under wool or qiviut, which is shed in the spring each year. The LARS gift shop sells qiviut, T-shirts, hoodies, and other items during the summer tour season. All proceeds go toward support of the facility and research. LARS began operation as a research facility for basic research in animal physiology and ecology in 1979 when

available year-round, and public tours of the facility are offered from Labor Day to Memorial Day. Scientists from IAB, UAF, Canada’s National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, and the University of Northern British Columbia collaborated on a research project to study tamed woodland caribou to explicitly quantify the relationship between caribou habitat, the nutrition they receive, and how well caribou reproduce and survive. The results of this project will improve resource managers’ ability to design effective caribou conservation programs.

the National Science Foundation awarded a grant to Robert G. White of the Institute of Arctic Biology. The station was stocked with Greenlandic muskoxen from Nunivak Island in western Alaska, Siberian reindeer from western Alaska and barren ground caribou from central Alaska. Perry S. Barboza is the science director of IAB’s Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station.

Research Facilities in Life Sciences

Animal Quarters Animal Quarters (AQ) provides safe and sanitary facilities for animal research projects in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act, Public Health Service Policy, National Institutes of Health Guidelines for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the UAF Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. AQ supports research and instruction at the Biological Research and Diagnostic Facility and Irving I Building, the Biological Reserve, and the Large Animal Research Station.

The Institute of Arctic Biology and Department of Biology and Wildlife Greenhouse is a state-of-the-art facility for conducting research and teaching activities. The greenhouse provides a reliable, computer-controlled environment ideal for performing research and educational projects in plant genetics, physiology, ecology, evolution and systematics. Facilities include four separate computer controlled (QCom) zones housing research projects and plant collections, and three climatecontrolled (Conviron) growth chambers.

Housed animals include caribou, reindeer, muskoxen, arctic ground squirrels, laboratory mice, red-backed voles, syrian hamsters, American widgeon, northern shovelers, lesser scaup, greater scaup, northern pintail, green-winged teal, zebrafish, sticklebacks, bettas, and black bears. The labor, care, and feeding costs of specific animals are recharged to research projects. The LARS Science Director oversees the use of AQ facilities and support staff by faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students, and visiting scientists and collaborators from UAF and other research institutions.

Matt Olson, associate professor, is leading a project to develop genetic tools and use those tools to conduct an association mapping study designed to identify the genetic basis for phenotypic variation in bud set which is an important determinant of cold adaptation and growth rate. Roger Ruess, professor, is leading a project to understand controls over nitrogen (N) fixation by native and invasive plants, a question of fundamental scientific value. This project, focusing on toothedleaved trees and shrubs in the birch family, called alders, will be the first to study mechanisms for the N-fixing bacteria Frankia and ectomycorrhizal fungi partner choice in a natural system, or account for mutualistic partners in evaluating ecosystem-level N inputs through N fixation.

Naoki Takebayashi, associate professor, is the principal investigator on a collaborative project exploring the diversification of the self-incompatibility locus in poppies. Self-recognition loci, such as the self-incompatibilty locus of flowering plants, provide the most stunning examples of extreme genetic variation known. The greenhouse maintains a collection of arctic plants and a special collection of Dalechampia. The greenhouse is a valuable and readily accessible on-campus resource for undergraduate and graduate biology courses and projects, faculty and visiting scholars, research collaborators, and art classes, which use the facility for botanical drawing. Tours of the facility are also available by request for off-campus groups including elementary and high schools, garden clubs, and others. Interested researchers and educators from IAB, UAF and the Fairbanks community may request to use the greenhouse facility by e-mail, phone, or in person. Completed in 1994, construction was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, with matching funds from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and from an appropriation from the state of Alaska.

Specialized Research Facilities

Research Greenhouse

Special Recognition

Gerald “Jerry” Mohatt

the UAF-University of Alaska Anchorage Joint Ph.D. Program in Clinical-Community Psychology. Previously, he was one of the founders of the Sinte Gleska Tribal College, now Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Lakota Reservation, the nation’s first tribal college. “Jerry was a visionary and teacher, whose whole career was a commitment to social justice and self-determination to American Indians and Alaska Native people,” said Bert Boyer, professor, CANHR co-founder, and now CANHR director. His work was noted nationally and internationally upon the announcement of his death. In Alaska CANHR research project collaborators were grateful for Mohatt’s dedication. “We thank Jerry, from the bottom of our hearts, for his dedication and welfare toward Native and Indian people of Alaska,” said Ray Oney, tribal administrator for the Native Village of Alakanuk. “Jerry has laid a foundation for us to build upon, so let’s work together in unity “toward wellness” (The English translation for the Yup’ik name for one of CANHR’s research projects) for our people.”

Gerald “Jerry” Mohatt, founding director of the Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) and professor of psychology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, died in February 2010.

Jerry Mohatt clearly saw the suffering of Native people: suicide, homicide, proverty, and drug and alcohol abuse. But what he saw best was Native resilience, the ability to overcome or even bypass those tragedies. The strength came from Native people themselves and on this he focused his career. And learned many lessons. “I believe if we grapple with the ideas that come from the people, whose land this is and has been, who are the first people of this land, we can serve them better,” said Mohatt during his acceptance speech for the Victor I. Howery Award in 2004. “I also think that the knowledge we gain will help us see avenues for working with

all people in a deeper and more respectful manner. Mohatt died unexpectedly in February 2010 at age 69. He was the director, cofounder and principal investigator at the Institute of Arctic Biology’s Center for Alaska Native Health Research. The center, which started in 2001, was Mohatt’s final mark on the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). Mohatt managed to bring researchers from many science disciplines to study obesity, genetics, subsistence nutrition, suicide, substance abuse prevention and more. Mohatt came to UAF in 1983 to become the dean of the new College of Human and Rural Development. He helped start

His loss is deeply felt within IAB, also. Kelly Drew, UAF professor of chemistry and biochemistry and IAB associate director, called Mohatt a “wise and perceptive leader.” “His legacy will inspire others to rise to the same level of excellence, selflessness and understanding,” she said.

Selected Honors 1990 UAF Award for Demonstrated Leadership in Promoting Minority Employment. 1999 American Book Award for Transforming the Culture of Schools: Yup’ik Eskimo Examples 2004 Victor E. Howery Award for Contributions to Rural Mental Health, National Rural Mental Health Association 2007 Distinguished Career Contributions in Research Award, American Psychological Association: Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues 2011 Distinguished Elder, 2011 National Multicultural Conference and Summit. By Diana Campbell/CANHR/IAB

Institute of Arctic Biology

Life Scientists

The Science of Life in Alaska

Perry S. Barboza Professor of Biology and Wildlife Institute of Arctic Biology, 1997 Ph.D. University of New England, Australia, 1991

Brian M. Barnes Professor of Zoophysiology Institute of Arctic Biology, 1986 Ph.D. University of Washington, 1983

Andrea Bersamin Assistant Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2008 Ph.D. University of California, Davis, 2006

My research defines the relationship between food, bodies, and babies for wildlife populations; linking nutrition to demands for survival and reproduction in harvested species and nongame species. My lab studies the ability of animals to respond to changes in the supply of nutrients from the environment and the demands of completing their life history. Barboza is the science director of the IAB Large Animal Research Station.

I’m interested in understanding the diversity and underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms of alternative life histories of arctic organisms, currently insects and mammals, particularly in regard to overwintering strategies. Current projects include cryobiology of insects, freeze tolerance and overwintering in wood frogs, and phenology and genetics of hibernation in arctic ground squirrels and marmots. Barnes is the director of IAB and the science director of IAB’s Toolik Field Station.

My research focuses on understanding and reducing health disparities in nutritionrelated chronic diseases, primarily obesity and diabetes, in minority and under-served populations. My research concentrates on: chronic disease prevention, development of valid and culturally relevant dietary assessment tools, identifying risk factors for child and adolescent obesity, and food security in rural and remote communities. Bersamin is a member of the Center for Alaska Native Health Research.

Richard D. Boone Professor of Biology Institute of Arctic Biology, 1995 Ph.D. University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1989

Bert B. Boyer Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 1992 Ph.D. Louisiana State University Medical Center, 1988

Syndonia Bret-Harte Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2003 Ph.D. Stanford University, 1990

My research focus is ecosystem ecology and soil biogeochemistry with an emphasis on how soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics respond to biotic and abiotic factors. Recent research focused on how and why the dynamics of soil carbon and nitrogen change with succession and after fire and in response to nitrogen additions. I’m also examining the efficacy of inquiry-based learning in undergraduate biology courses. Boone is the chair of the Department of Biology and Wildlife.

I am broadly interested in genetic and environmental risk and protective factors related to obesity and diabetes in Yup’ik Eskimos. We have established a longitudinal cohort study involving about 1,200 Yup’ik Eskimos in 11 communities in rural southwest Alaska and found obesity prevalence equal to that in the general U.S. population, but found type 2 diabetes prevalance to be less than half that found in the U.S. Boyer is the director of the Center for Alaska Native Health Research.

I focus on the effects of plant species on ecosystem cycling of carbon and nitrogen and plant community response to altered environmental conditions in the Arctic. This includes research on the interactions of shrubs and snow, how species influence the trajectory of tundra ecosystem response to increased nutrient availability, and comparisions of ecosystem carbon, water, and energy balance in different types of tundra. Bret-Harte is the associate science director at IAB’s Toolik Field Station.

Life Scientists

Institute of Arctic Biology

F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III Distinguished Professor of Ecology Institute of Arctic Biology, 1981 Ph.D. Stanford University, 1973

Pat Doak Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 1998 Ph.D. Cornell University, 1997

Kelly L. Drew Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Institute of Arctic Biology, 1991 Ph.D. Albany Medical College, 1988

I research the effects of changes in climate and wildfire on Alaska ecology and rural communities, particularly on ways that communities and agencies can increase sustainability of ecosystems and human communities over the long term in spite of rapid climatic and social changes. I try to determine how climate, ecology, and subsistence resources are likely to change in the future. Chapin is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, director of the Resilience and Adaptation Program and principal investigator of the Bonanza Creek LTER.

My research is motivated by three main areas of interest: population and evolutionary ecology of plant-insect interactions, the impact of patchy or fragmented habitat structure on population and communitylevel processes, and how detailed examination of individual behavior can be used to scale up to explanations of population level processes. My own research centers on insect population ecology, however my interests extend beyond the world of insects.

Research in the Drew lab focuses on hibernation. One focus area involves mechanisms of neuroprotection in arctic ground squirrels, a hibernating species. Another focus area involves study of how the brain regulates hibernation. Drew is part of IAB’s Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program.

Lawrence K. Duffy Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Institute of Arctic Biology, 1987 Ph.D. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1977

Erich Follmann Professor of Zoology Institute of Arctic Biology, 1985 Ph.D. Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1973

Thomas Green Professor of Chemistry and Biology Institute of Arctic Biology, 2001 Ph.D. University of Tennessee, 1984

Since the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, I have broadened my research activity from protein structure into the area of wildlife and human environmental health. Currently I am working on the question of how the central nervous system protects itself from contaminants, especially considering the extreme environment of the Arctic and environmental health. Duffy is the interim dean of the UAF graduate school and part of IAB’s Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program.

My research program focuses on the biology and ecology of mammalian carnivores including bears, wolves, and foxes. Recent emphases are ecology related to rabies and the potential for control of rabies in arctic fox populations. Current research includes evaluation of oral rabies vaccines in captive foxes and reproduction in bowhead whales. Graduate student projects include fox ecology and behavior, and diseases of arctic foxes. Professor Follmann died July 26, 2010.

My research focuses on bioorganic and bioanalytical chemistry. We are developing robust capillary electrophoresis methods for the analysis for neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, with a special emphasis on fluorescence detection of D-amino acids and adenosine in the mammalian brain. Our group is also involved in applications of cyclodextrins in both analytical and environmental chemistry. Green is part of IAB’s Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program.

Life Scientists

The Science of Life in Alaska

Brad Griffith Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology Institute of Arctic Biology, 1996 Ph.D. University of Idaho, 1988

Michael Harris Assoc. Prof. of Integrative Physiology & Neuroscience Institute of Arctic Biology, 2003 Ph.D. University of British Columbia, Canada,1998

Karsten Hueffer Assistant Professor of Microbiology Institute of Arctic Biology, 2006 D.V.M. School of Vet Medicine Hanover, Germany, 1999 Ph.D. Cornell University, 2003

My research focuses on developing an understanding of large scale effects of climate and development on landscape dynamics and the implications for: nutritional and population ecology of ungulates, the mechanisms of change and cross-taxa biodiversity in boreal forest wetlands, adaptation strategies for land management agencies and adaptive resource management. Griffith is assistant leader of the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

My research focuses on determining the necessity and sufficiency of serotonergic processes and features within the brainstem in controlling breathing. This includes how failures or deficits contribute to physiologically abnormal states such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. My work is directed at understanding the essential mechanisms of respiratory control toward development of tests and therapies to reduce the occurrence of SIDS. Harris is part of IABâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program.

My research focuses on understanding how bacteria infect vertebrates and cause disease - bacterial pathogenesis. My lab uses Francisella novicida as a model for the causative agent of tularemia (rabbit fever). We want to know how the bacteria interacts with host cells and changes host cell biology. In addition, we examine disease ecology in Alaska and beyond with a special emphasis on diseases transmitted from animals to humans.

Falk Huettmann Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology Institute of Arctic Biology, 2003 Ph.D. University of New Brunswick, Canada, 2000

Kris Hundertmark Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology Institute of Arctic Biology, 2005 Ph.D. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2002

Christine Hunter Assistant Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2006 Ph.D. University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ, 2001

I am a wildlife ecologist working on landscape ecology and predictive modeling of biodiversity and habitat in Alaska, and in polar, tropical, and mountain regions worldwide. My data come from open access online sources and international fieldwork covering land and sea. The efforts of the students and our EWHALE lab can be applied to various questions such as distribution models, cumulative impact studies, disease spread, economic assessments, and future climate predictions, for example.

Research in my lab relies primarily on application of molecular genetic methods to answer questions in wildlife ecology and management. We focus on large mammals but also work on less charismatic fauna such as snow crabs. Our research themes are: conservation genetics, landscape genetics, phylogeography, and population ecology.

My research focuses on understanding response of wildlife to environmental or human impacts such as climate change, pollution, harvest, or management actions. Current projects include large mammals, marine mammals, seabirds, shorebirds, and shellfish. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m also interested in the development of adaptive resource management as a way to make better management and conservation decisions.

Life Scientists

Institute of Arctic Biology

Steffi Ickert-Bond Assistant Professor Associated Faculty, Institute of Arctic Biology, 2006 Ph.D. Arizona State University, 2003

Jeremy B. Jones Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2000 Ph.D. Arizona State University, 1994

Knut Kielland Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2001 Ph.D. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1990

My research focuses on phylogenetic relationships, biogeography, and gene evolution in three diverse groups of vascular plants: arctic members of the herbaceous legume Oxytropis (locoweed), the Asian-North American disjunct family Altingiaceae (sweet gum), and the arid gymnosperm genus Ephedra (Mormon tea). Ickert-Bond is a UA Museum of the North faculty member.

My research focuses on carbon and nitrogen cycling in streams, rivers, and soils (especially in the context of landwater interactions) and watershedscale carbon cycling and climate change. Current projects focus on how streams are linked to their catchments and how permafrost influences inputs into streams; and the impacts of thermokarsts on Arctic and boreal forest ecosystems.

My studies of the boreal forest of Interior Alaska include biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling, hydrology, plant ecophysiology, community ecology, and wildlife biology. As an investigator on the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research project, I have focused on ecosystem consequences of plantanimal interactions and population dynamics of snowshoe hares.

Alexander â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sashaâ&#x20AC;? Kitaysky Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2003 Ph.D. University of California, Irving, 1996

Gary P. Kofinas Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2002 Ph.D. University of British Columbia, 1998

Mary Beth Leigh Assistant Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2006 Ph.D. University of Oklahoma

Two fundamental questions drive my research: How does climate change affect trophic interactions of marine top predators in the sub-Arctic regions? Can we predict population responses to climate variability and change based on current phenotypic and age structure of populations? My lab focuses on behavior, stress physiology, endocrinology, and foraging ecology of seabirds.

My research focuses on rural Alaskan communities and the resilience and adaptation of social-ecological systems of which they are part. Much of my work is interdisciplinary. Human responses to climate change and industrial development, and how human responses affect ecosystems and policy are of particular interest. Kofinas is co-director of the Resilience and Adaptation Program.

My research focuses on the microbial degradation of aromatic compounds. Bacteria and fungi have evolved pathways for degrading plant-produced aromatics. Microbes also use related pathways to degrade man-made aromatic pollutants. Plants that release aromatic compounds may actually accelerate degradation of soil pollutants by stimulating natural microbial communities.

Life Scientists

The Science of Life in Alaska

Mark S. Lindberg Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2001 Ph.D. University of Alaska Fairbanks,1996

Ellen D. Lopez Assistant Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2009 Ph.D. University of North Carolina, 2002

Joseph F. Margraf Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 1999 Ph.D. Texas A&M, 1978

I am a wildlife population ecologist most interested in estimating population parameters such as survival, movement, and abundance, and understanding how these parameters respond to a range of factors including harvest, climate, predation, habitat, and development activities. My research has focused on waterfowl and I’m interested in vertebrate population ecology across a range of taxa.

I am interested in developing strong and mutually beneficial collaborative research partnerships with Alaska Native organizations and communities. The focus of my research is to identify and begin to address the factors that impact cancer prevention, early detection, control, and survivorship among Alaska Native individuals, their families, and their communities. Lopez is part of IAB’s Center for Alaska Native Health Research.

My research is primarily with freshwater and anadromous fishes. Most research focuses on population and community ecology, particularly trophic interactions and ecological energetics. I’ve expanded my research to include evaluation of freshwater fish habitat at multiple scales from site specific to watershed. Margraf is the leader of the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

Kevin M. McCracken Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2001 Ph.D. Louisiana State University, 1999

A. David McGuire Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 1998 Ph.D. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1989

Gerald “Jerry” Mohatt Professor of Psychology Institute of Arctic Biology, 2003 Ed.D. Harvard University, 1978

My research is focused on understanding the genetics of adaptation to highaltitude hypoxia in the majorhemoglobin of Andean ducks. Other projects include examining the influence of selection on non-coding DNA sequences, as well as a variety of population genetics studies of holarctic dabbling ducks and sea ducks.

My research focuses on understanding how responses of high-latitude terrestrial ecosystems to environmental variability and change (e.g., responses of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane and of vegetation structure) may influence the global climate system. McGuire is assistant leader of the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

Jerry’s research originated out of earlier work to generate a theory of what protects Alaska Natives from alcohol abuse and suicide in order to translate it into prevention research. Throughout his professional life the variable of most interest was culture. Jerry was the founding director of the Center for Alaska Native Health Research in 2003 and led the center until his death in February 2010.

Life Scientists

Institute of Arctic Biology

Christa P. Mulder Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2001 Ph.D. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1996

Diane M. O’Brien Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2004 Ph.D. Princeton University, 1998

Kristin M. O’Brien Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2004 Ph.D. University of Maine, 1999

I am a plant ecologist who works at the intersection of population, community, and ecosystem ecology. Most of my research concerns direct and indirect effects of animals on plants including herbivory, physical effects of animals on plants, and interactions between climate change and herbivore impacts on plants. Current research includes effects of seabirds on island vegetation in New Zealand.

My work seeks to understand how naturally occurring variations in stable isotope ratios can be used as markers for nutritional and physiological processes. I work with humans, arctic ground squirrels, seabirds, microbes, and insects. Current research involves developing a set of diet pattern biomarkers for the Yup’ik Eskimo study population of the Center for Alaska Native Health Research.

My research interests lie in understanding how cells sense and respond to changes in the environment, with an emphasis on mitochondrion’s role. I have long-standing interest in understanding how organisms maintain function at cold temperatures and in the unique physiological traits that have evolved in fishes living in the chronically cold Southern Ocean.

Todd O’Hara Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2003 D.V.M. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1992 Ph.D. Virginia Commonwealth University, 1988

Link Olson Associate Professor, Associated Faculty, Institute of Arctic Biology, 2003 Ph.D. University of Chicago, 1999

Matthew S. Olson Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2001 Ph.D. Duke University, 1997

My research interests and those of my laboratory group focus on environmental and wildlife toxicology of marine and terrestrial mammals. This includes assessment of fish and wildlife as sources of nutrients and contaminants for humans in Alaska. O’Hara is part of IAB’s Center for Alaska Native Health Research.

My research and that of my students and postdocs focuses on biogeography, molecular and morphological systematics, phylogeography, geographic variation, and mammalian natural history. I combine lab, field, and specimenbased museum research to understand patterns and mechanisms of mammalian diversification. Olson is a UA Museum of the North faculty member.

My research concerns the genetics of adaptation. My work on plant adaptation to latitude relates to how plants prepare for winter by detecting changes in photoperiod as fall approaches and whether plants evolve in situ or if genotypes migrate. I also work on the evolution of plant breeding systems investigating factors that allow unisexual individuals to coexist with hermaphrodites.

Life Scientists

The Science of Life in Alaska

Abby Powell Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2000 Ph.D. University of Minnesota, 1992

Roger W. Ruess Professor Institute of Arctic Biology,1989 Ph.D. University of North Dakota, 1980

Jonathan A. Runstadler Assistant Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2004 Ph.D. University of California, Davis, 2003 D.V.M. University of California, Davis, 1999

I am an avian ecologist, with a focus on species of conservation and/or management concern. My interests include habitat associations, migration, and breeding biology as related to bird conservation. Recent studies included life history of eiders that breed in Alaska, and habitat use of shorebirds on Alaska’s northern coasts. Powell is assistant leader of the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

I am an ecosystem ecologist interested in how plant growth traits and associated responses to disturbances and climate variability influence biogeochemical cycling in boreal forests. My current research is the physiological ecology of alder-Frankia-mycorrhizae interactions and how these dynamics translate into landscape-level linkages between nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemistry.

My lab seeks to understand genetic factors that affect susceptibility or resistance to infectious disease, specific or general, and the repercussions for potential epidemics, persistence, and evolution of those infectious agents. My current work focuses on the influenza virus in birds and the natural environment which includes virus ecology, interspecies transmission, and susceptibility.

Marvin K. Schulte Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2004 Ph.D. University of Minnesota, 1992

Derek Sikes Assistant Professor Associated Faculty, Institute of Arctic Biology, 2006 Ph.D. University of Connecticut, 2003

Monica Skewes Assistant Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2009 Ph.D. University of Texas at El Paso, 2006

My research is focused on understanding the fundamental structure and function of ligand gated ion channels with the goal of developing novel therapeutic drugs. I seek to identify drugs able to modulate the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, which has been implicated in several neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, autism and schizophrenia. Schulte is part of IAB’s Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program.

I’m a systematic entomologist specializing in beetles. I work in both subdisciplines of systematics: alpha-taxonomy and phylogenetics. I employ morphological and molecular data for both descriptive purposes and to test hypotheses of relationships. I seek to answer questions such as: How many species are in a taxon? How are they related to each other? Where do they occur? Sikes is a UA Museum of the North faculty member.

My research interests include health psychology and behavioral medicine; prevention and treatment of addictive behaviors (tobacco and alcohol dependence in particular); cross-cultural health promotion; minority health disparities; health literacy; and crosscultural psychological measurement. Skewes is part of IAB’s Center for Alaska Native Health Research.

Life Scientists

Institute of Arctic Biology

Naoki Takebayashi Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2003 Ph.D. Indiana University, 2000

Barbara Taylor Assistant Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2004 Ph.D. University of British Columbia, 1998

Lee Taylor Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2002 Ph.D. University of Florida, 1990

I’m interested in evolutionary biology and my current focus is on molecular evolution and population genetics, specifically, characterizing the diversification pattern of selfincompatibility locus at the molecular level in poppy. This unique system offers an amazing opportunity to understand how natural selection shapes genetic variation, which is also relevant for human health.

My research interests include neuronal mechanisms of breathing and sensitivity to carbon dioxide, especially elements that are affected by known risk factors of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Using our uniquely developed amphibian model of impairment, we quantify the functional and phenotypic diversity of CO2 chemosensors across toxin-induced impairment and recovery. Taylor is part of IAB’s Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program.

My lab seeks to understand past (phylogeographic) and present (ecological) factors that influence the distribution and abundance of fungal species in soils across boreal and arctic landscapes. We are interested in how fungi affect ecosystems through saprotrophic activities and through symbiotic associations with plants. We are also examining how fungi adapt to cold.

Diane Wagner Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2002 Ph.D. Princeton University, 1994

Donald Walker Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 1999 Ph.D. University of Colorado, Boulder, 1981

Kevin Winker Professor Research Scientist, Institute of Arctic Biology, 1997 Ph.D. University of Minnesota, 1991

I am an ecologist interested in interactions between insects and plants with particular interest in indirect, positive effects of insect behavior on plant fitness and the many ways plants manipulate insect behavior to obtain these benefits. My current focus is on the function of extrafloral nectaries, small sugar-secreting glands visited by predacious arthropods such as ants, wasps, and mites.

My research include examining the cumulative effects of climate change, resource development, and reindeer herding on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia. We’re completing the Arctic Geobotanical Atlas, continuing the Greening of the Arctic project, and developing arctic transects through Alaska, Canada and Russia to monitor sea ice, land cover, and land use. Walker is director of the Alaska Geobotany Center.

I am interested in the patterns and processes of avian evolution at population, subspecies, and species levels, particularly in relation to seasonal migration. I use specimen-based, genetic, and ecological comparative approaches in a combination of field, collection, and laboratory studies. I have strong interests in collections-based approaches to ecological questions. Winker is a UA Museum of the North faculty member.

Life Scientists

The Science of Life in Alaska

Mark Wipfli Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2004 Ph.D. Michigan State University, 1992

Eugenie Euskirchen Research Assistant Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2009 Ph.D. Michigan Technological University, 2003

Stacy Rasmus Research Assistant Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2009 Ph.D. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2005

My primary research interests include the ecological processes that govern freshwater and riparian productivity, spatial subsidies in freshwater foodwebs, biodiversity and community interactions, trophic interactions, salmonid feeding ecology and carrying capacity, and the restoration and management of freshwater and riparian ecosystems. Wipfli is assistant leader of the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

My current research focuses on terrestrial ecology in high-latitude regions. I am interested in understanding how changes in climate influence the structure and function of arctic, boreal, and temperate ecosystems. I am also interested in understanding how these changes in the structure and function of the ecosystems may then feedback to influence the climate system.

I research the widening gap in mental health disparities among aboriginal peoples, including indigenous suicide and suicide prevention; Native North American substance use and abuse; systems of care and tribal mental health service delivery and Native youth cultures. My emphasis is on Northern Athabascans, Yup’ik Inuit in Alaska and Coast Salish of the Pacific Northwest. Rasmus is part of the Center for Alaska Native Health Research.

Diana Wolf Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2003 Ph.D. Indiana University, 2000

Yilong Ma Research Associate Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2004 Ph.D. Wuhan University, China, 1982

Mary Sexton UAF President’s Professor Institute of Arctic Biology, 2007 Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University, 1970

I am interested in the genetic basis of evolutionary change, especially as it relates to reproduction in plants. Using Alaska poppies, my group is studying the evolution of genes that determine which individuals can mate with each other. These genes show remarkable diversity. We hope to understand the evolutionary forces shaping this diversity.

My research interests include finding the mechanisms and differences of neuroprotection against hypoxia in the brains of hibernating and non-hibernating animal species with the goals of developing therapeutic drugs or methods for the treatment of stroke, brain trauma, and brain tissue oxygen insufficient diseases. Yilong Ma is a member of IAB’s Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program.

Sexton was a co-leader of the IAB Center for Alaska Native Health Research’s epidemiology program. She served as a consultant to CANHR investigators from 2000 to 2010. Her research has focused on smoking, a leading risk factor for both cancer and cardiovascular disease among Alaskans. She is the former chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Maryland.

Laurence Irving - Per Scholander Memorial Lecture Series

To provide lasting recognition of the scientific contributions of Laurence Irving, IAB’s founding director, and his colleague Per Scholander, the IrvingScholander Memorial Fund supports the visit of an outstanding life scientist to the University of Alaska Fairbanks each year. The visitor presents a formal lecture and meets with faculty and students for informal discussions. The lectures and discussions are a fitting memorial to Drs. Irving and Scholander, who provided their colleagues with many stimulating ideas and seminal contributions to biological knowledge. The series began in 1981 and is jointly sponsored by the Institute of Arctic Biology and Institute of Marine Science. It is supported by private donations to an endowment within the University of Alaska Foundation.

Past Lecturers 2009. Gerhard Walter Heldmaier. Philipps-Universitat Marburg, Germany. Mammalian torpor: Turning down the fire of life. 2008. Terrie M. Williams. University of California, Santa Cruz. Animal Olympians: How dolphins, whales and a couple of surfer dudes helped Michael Phelps earn eight Olympic gold medals. 2007. William R. Dawson. University of Michigan. Constraints and capacities in the potential responses of animals to climate change. 2006. James H. Brown. University of New Mexico. Microbes to monsters: Body size sets the scale of life.

2009 Irving-Scholander Memorial Lecturer Gerhard Walter Heldmaier, PhilippsUniversitat Marburg, Germany.

2005. N. Michele Holbrook. Harvard University. Masters of microfluidics: Transporting water to the tops of trees. 2004. Ian Hume. University of Sydney, Australia. Conserving Australian marsupials from knowledge of their energy and water requirements. 2003. George Somero. Stanford University and Hopkins Marine Station. A physiologist’s perspective on global warming. 2001. Eberhard Gwinner. Max Planck Center for Ornithology, Germany. A clock for all seasons: Cirannual rhythms in tropical and migratory birds. 2000. Malcolm Gordon. University of California, Los Angeles. Crawling out of the swamp: What we can learn about the origins of tetrapods from living amphibious fishes. 1999. Terence Dawson. University of New South Wales, Australia. Insulate or perish: Large mammals in hotter climates.

1998. Gerald Kooyman. Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Challenges in conservation: Emperor penguins, sea turtles, and whale sharks. 1996. Barbara Block. Stanford University and Hopkins Marine Station. The fire inside: How and why animals stay warm. 1995. Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen. University of Florida. The dawn of comparative and environmental physiology. 1994. Paul R. Ehrlich. Stanford University. Population and environment: Where we stand now. 1992. Ken Storey. Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Life below 0°C: Nature’s frozen vertebrates. 1991. Jared Diamond. University of California, Los Angeles. Metabolic ceilings in Arctic cyclists, nursing mothers, and other super athletes. 1990. Serge Daan. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands. Metabolic rates in birds and mammals: An evolutionist’s view. 1989. Arnoldus S. Blix. University of Tromsø, Norway. General survival strategies of mammals and birds at 80°N latitude in Spitzbergen. 1988. Peter Hochachka. University of British Columbia, Canada. The bionic seal of Antarctica – an update of the Irving-Scholander paradigm of diving in marine mammals. 1987. H. Craig Heller. Stanford University. Mammalian hibernation: Turning down the thermostat. 1985. Harold T. Hammel. Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Homeostasis: The role of positive feedback. 1984. Theodore H. Bullock. University of California, San Diego. Comparative neuroscience promises quiet revolution in our understanding of the brain. 1983. Maxwell J. Dunbar. McGill University, Quebec, Canada. Northern marine ecosystems: Evolutional aspects. 1982. Hermann Rahn. State University of New York, Buffalo. Life span and metabolism in birds and mammals. 1981. Knut Schmidt-Nielsen. Duke University. Physiology and the challenge of the environment.

Life Sciences Seminar Series Each week during the academic year IAB hosts an hourlong life sciences seminar at which faculty, visiting scholars, distinguished guests, government scientists, authors, students, and life science professionals present their current research and findings. Presentations include a brief question and answer session. The weekly seminars have been a regular event at IAB since its inception and continue the tradition of sharing science discoveries, advancements, new and proposed research, lifetime achievements, and special projects with colleagues, visitors, students, and the greater Fairbanks community. The seminars are free and open to the campus community and the public.

A social with the speaker follows the seminar in the Institute of Arctic Biology’s gathering room in the Irving I Building. The seminar series is coordinated by two volunteer IAB faculty members each year. Individuals interested in presenting their research as part of this series are encouraged to send an e-mail to UAF-IAB-instituteofarcticbiology@alaska.edu and include “Life Sciences Seminar Series” in the subject line or contact Marie Gilbert at 907-474-7412 to be put in contact with a seminar coordinator. Current Life Sciences Seminar Series schedules are available online at www.iab.uaf.edu/events/life_sciences_sem.php. Archive posters of previous seminars are also online.

Special Events

Laurence Irving Per Scholander Memorial Lecture Series

Special Events

Institute of Arctic Biology

SkiMass

Every December about the time when the sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s path is its lowest in our northern skies, brave and creative souls band together in costumed teams of three to race against time, each other, and themselves in an annual celebration of silliness called SkiMass.

Large Animal Research Station Open House The Robert G. White Large Animal Research Stationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s semi-annual open house, held each December, is a free public event where visitors can meet scientists, muskoxen, caribou, and reindeer during a self-guided walking and talking tour.

Special Events

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a chance for the local community to get a behindthe-scenes look at the research station and the animals while taking a break with family and friends during the holiday. LARS also hosts a semi-annual spring open house, just before the tourist season, featuring the new reindeer, caribou, and muskoxen calves, and hands-on, interactive science demonstrations.

Life Science Faculty, Staff, and Students Research Faculty Armbruster, W. Scott Euskirchen, Eugenie Fedorov, Vadim Happ, George Milner, Alexander Rasmus, Stacy Sexton, Mary

Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Professors

Oswood, Mark W. Professor Emeritus Aquatic Ecology Reynolds, James B. Professor Emeritus Sedinger, James S. Former Interim Director Professor Emeritus Wildlife Ecology

Burke, Wylie Fowler, Bruce Henry, David Hopper, Kim Knowler, William Kristal, Alan Schoenberg, Nancy Thompson, Beti Trickett, Edison Wareham, Nick

Shields, Gerald F. Professor Emeritus

Emeritus Faculty Bowyer, R. Terry Professor Emeritus Wildlife Ecology

White, Robert G. Director Emeritus Professor Emeritus Zoophysiology and Nutrition

Bryant, John Professor Emeritus Plant Biology

Williamson, Frank Former Director Professor Emeritus

Dean, Frederick C. Professor Emeritus Wildlife Management

Affiliate Faculty

Dieterich, Robert Professor Emeritus Guthrie, R. Dale Professor Emeritus Klein, David R. Professor Emeritus Wildlife Management MacLean, Steve F. Professor Emeritus Morrison, Peter Former Director Professor Emeritus Murphy, Edward C. Professor Emeritus Zoology Murray, David F. Professor Emeritus

Smith, Ronald L. Professor Emeritus Swartz, L. Gerard Professor Emeritus West, George Former Director Professor Emeritus

Braddock, Joan Forshaug Cameron, Raymond Hollingsworth, Teresa Kind, Denise Laursen, Gary Pyare, Sanjay

Post-Doctoral Fellows Bent, Elizabeth Brinkman, Todd Fok, Carlotta Goropashnaya, Anna Hayes, Daniel He, Ruo Johnson, Cody Johnson, Kristofer Kade, Anja Levsen, Nicholas Lieske, Camilla Moore, Jennifer Perez-Barrales, Rocio

Institute of Arctic Biology Schmidt, Jennifer Vayndorf, Elena Yuan, Fengming

Research Scientists Resident Allen, James Allman, Elizabeth Arundale, Wendy Beckmen, Kimberlee Cable, Jessica Castillo, Marina Chapin, Melissa Clausen, Thomas Doran, Kate Gerlach, S. Craig Groves, Pamela Kildaw, Dean Lardon, Cecile Larsen, Amy Lindstrom, Jon Ma, Yilong Maier, Julie Mann, Daniel Matheus, Paul Morton, John Murphy, Stephen Philip, Kenelm Rasley, Brian Ray, Peter Rhodes, John Rowell, Janice Elise Sharbaugh, Susan Sousa, Marsha Todd, Christopher Toien, Oivind Trainor, Sarah Williams, Cynthia L. Wurtz, Tricia York, Alison Zacheis, Amy

Research Scientists Non-resident Ben-David, Merav Bleich, Vernon Blundell, Gail Burdsall, Harold

Dudley, Joseph P. Duman, Jack Gillingham, Mike Gonzalez, John Gulledge, Jay Harden, Jennifer Jilly, Bernd Johnstone, Jill Kasischke, Eric Kennedy, Lorna Kuss, Hans Patrick Mack, Michelle Parker, Katherine Person, Brian Pierce, Becky Roby, Daniel Sanzone, Diane Schuur, Ted Seppelt, Rodney Shaver, Gaius Staples, James Stewart, Kelley Tallmon, David Taylor, Eric Turetsky, Merritt Van Ballenberghe, Victor Vanlanthan, Corrine Weckerly, Floyd Werner, Richard

Research and Administrative Staff Abels, Mike Addison, Jennifer Baecker, Darcy Baker, Deseree Bakken, Shelby Baltensperger, Andrew Barbour, Edith Barger, Alicia Belval, Laura Bias, Salena Biebuyck, Brett Billings, Jolie Black, Jynene Blaine, Lindsey Brownson, Yanci Cable, Bill Campbell, Diana

Life Science Faculty, Staff, and Students

Staff continued Catranis, Catharine Chapin, Carolyn Charles, Katherine Clein, Joy Colson, Kevin Corbett, Sharon Cushing, Alina Dearinger, Dawn Debevec, Edward Diesinger, Chad Dondanville, Michelle Downing, Jason Dubois, Deen Ebbesson, Gunnar Enochs, Karen Ethridge, Faye Fitzgerald, Deanna Foltz, Heather Franich, Joseph Fulweber, Randy Gilbert, Marie Griffith, Margo Guthrie, Owen Hall, Conni Hartbauer, Don Hauer, Bill Haupert, Christie Hoekman, Steven Hollingsworth, Jamie Hopkins, Scarlett Houghton, Scott Houston, Shawn Irons, John Jack, Jason Kaufmann, Cristiane Kitaiskaia, Evgenia Kohl, Franziska Lindgren, Michael Logsdon, Julie Maier, Hilmar McFarland, Heather McGilvary, Lisa Moehle, Alyssa Moore, Jeanette Neumeyer, Holly Niles, Kristine Olson, Karl Orr, Eliza

Parzick, Julia Pearse, Kathleen Peter-Raboff, Anna Peterman, Jennifer Piser, Carol Preshaw, Sandra Raynolds, Martha Reynoldson, Peter Richards, Marjorie Russell, Maria Scott, Glenn Seekatz, Kelly Solski, Shelby Stewart, Nathan Stuckey, Jason Tilton, Genelle Topp, Carrie Van Muelken, Mary Vick, Leif Wages, Rose Walker, Thom Warrick, Jami Weiser, Ellen Wright, Mark Wright, Wendy York, Alison

Graduate Students Abbott, Ben Albert, Matt Anderson, Michael Backensto, Stacia Bailey, Justin Bali, Archana Balser, Andrew Barger, Christopher Beecher, Jessica Benson, Emily Bentzen, Rebecca Booms, Travis Bray, Maria Breen, Amy Lynn Bronen, Robin Brosius, Laura Brundage, Cord Bryan, Anna Bulgarella, Mariana Burgess, Robert

Institute of Arctic Biology Butler, Allison Calhoun, Kendra Campbell, Kyle Campbell, Matthew Carroll, Cameron Carlson, Jeremy Catterson, Nathaniel Chowdhury, Sophie Christie, Katie Churchill, Amber Churchwell, Roy Coltrane, Jessica Combs, Velva Cooper, Ryan Corcoran, Andrea Coutsoubos, Nathaniel Dainowski, Bonita Davenport, Dael Decker, Samantha DeGroot, Kristin Dennis, Russell DeWilde, La Ona Dillon, Danielle (Mondloch) Druckenmiller, Matthew Durrett, Melody Esse, David Feierabend, Dashiell Fleshman, Brandi Foley, Kevin Fritz, Stacey Furin, Christoff Gaglioti, Benjamin V. Gamble, Brook Gates, Heather Gilbert, Sophie Gildehaus, Lori Glass, Daniel J. Godduhn, Anna Grantham, Alex Gustine, David Gutierrez, Laura Haight, John-Erich Hazlett, Sue Hare-Sanford, Rebekah Healy, Joanne Heflinger, Paul

Hegel, Troy Heitz, Brian Hendrich, Christie Herrick, Keiko Herriott, Ian Herron, Johanna Hewitt, Rebecca Hildebrandt, Kyndall Hill, Brooke Hoffman, Megan Holcomb, Darce Hopkins, Sarah Humphries, Elizabeth Humphries, Grant Huson, Heather Iceman, Kimberly Jinka, Tulasi Ram Jochum, Kim Joly, Kyle Jones, Chas Kammer, Aaron Kerhoulas, Nicholas John Kimball, Jim Kirk, Cassandra Knott, Katrina Kovach, Ryan Kraft, Benjamin Lanier, Hayley Lee, Trixie Leewis, Mary-Cathrine Lehner, Neil Lewis, Tania Lewis, Tyler Lichvar, Robert Loring, Philip Loshbaugh, Susan Mager, Karen H-R. Maher, Kimberley Maier, Janne Markley, Elizabeth Green McConnell, Nicole McFarlin, Kelly McKellar, Jamie Menka, Nazune Metzgar, Jordan Meyers, Zachary

Life Science Students Moses, Sara Mullet, Timothy Nash, Sarah H. Nelson, Aleya Neuswanger, Jason Newman, Jonny O’Donnell, Jonathan Olsson, Ann Padilla, Elisabeth Padula, Veronica Pandya, Anshul Perry, Megan Perschbacher, Jeff Price, Andrea Richey, Christian Richter, Melanie Rinehart, Amanda Rinella, Daniel Rizzolo, Daniel Roach, Jennifer Robertson, Amanda Rohrs-Richey, Jennifer Roon, David Sexson, Matthew Sformo, Todd Shenoy, Aditi Slater, Heather Slowik, Jozef A. Smart, Kurt Smith, Lisa South, Lisa Steen, Valerie

Stolarski, Jason Stone, James Stone, Kelsie Swanson, Michaela Tape, Ken Tauzer, Lila Taylor, Audrey Thresher, Claudia Timling, Ina Traustason, Tumi Triebenbach, Alison Tuori, Lauren Valliere, Jason Van Hemert, Caroline Vargas Kretsinger, Delia Walker, Johann Ward, Leia Warner, James Watson, Adam Weigner, Heidi Weiser, Emily Welch, Joseph Wild, Teri Willacker, Jr, James Wilson, Ann Wilson, Robert Withrow, Jack Woldstad, Theresa Worker, Suzanne Young, Betsy Young, Rebecca

Publications 2008 Addison, B. A., Benowitz-Fredericks, Z. M., Hipfner, J. M., & Kitaysky, A. S. (2008). Are yolk androgens adjusted to environmental conditions? A test in two seabirds that lay single-egg clutches. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 158, 5–9. Addison, B. A., Kitaysky, A. S., & Hipfner, J. M. (2008). Sex allocation in a monomorphic seabird with a single-egg clutch: test of the environment, mate quality, and female condition hypotheses. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 63, 135–141. Balshi, M. S., McGuire, A. D., Duffy, P., Flannigan, M., Walsh, J., & Melillo, J. (2008). Assessing the response of area burned to changing climate in western boreal North America using a Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) approach. Global Change Biology, 15, 578–600.

Institute of Arctic Biology

Barboza, P. S., & Parker, K. L. (2008). Allocating protein to reproduction in arctic reindeer and caribou. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 81(6), 835–55. Benowitz-Fredericks, Z. M., Shultz, M. T., & Kitaysky, A. S. (2008). Stress hormones suggest opposite trends of food availability for planktivorous and piscivorous seabirds in 2 years. Deep-Sea Research II, 55, 1868–1876. Bentzen, R. L., Powell, A. N., & Suydam, R. S. (2008). Factors Influencing Nesting Success of King Eider’s on Northern Alaska’s Coastal Plain. Journal of Wildlife Management, 72(8), 1781–1789. Bentzen, R. L., Powell, A. N., & Suydam, R. S. (2008). Strategies for Nest-Site Selection by King Eiders. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 73(6), 932–938. Bentzen, R. L., Powell, A. N., Williams, T. D., & Kitaysky, A. S. (2008). Characterizing the nutritional strategy of incubating king eiders Somateria spectabilis in northern Alaska. Journal of Avian Biology, 39, 683–690. Bentzen, T. W., Follmann, E. H., Amstrup, S. C., Tork, G. S., Wooller, M. J., Muir, D. C. G., et al. (2008). Dietary Biomagnification of Organochlorine Contaminants in Alaskan Polar Bears. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 86, 177–191. Bersamin, A., Luick, B. R., King, L. B., Stern, J. S., & ZudendergCherr, S. (2008). Westernizing diets influence fat intake, red blood cell fatty acid composition, and health in remote Alaskan Native communities in the Center for Alaska Native Health Study. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 108, 266–273. Bersamin, A., Luick, B. R., Ruppert, E., Stern, J. S., & ZidenbergCherr, S. (2008). Diet quality among Yup’ik Eskimos living in rural communities is low: The Center for Alaska Native Health Research pilot study. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 106, 1055–1063. Borner, A. P., Kielland, K., & Walker, M. D. (2008). Effects of Simulated Climate Change on Plant Phenology and Nitrogen Mineralization in Alaskan Arctic Tundra. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 40(1), 27–38. Bret-Harte, M. S., Mack, M. C., Goldsmith, G. R., Sloan, D. B., DeMarco, J., Shaver, G. R., et al. (2008). Plant functional types do not predict biomass responses to removal and fertilization in Alaskan tussock tundra. Journal of Ecology, 96, 713–726. Burek, K. A., Gulland, F., MD, & O’Hara, T. M. (2008). Effects of climate change on arctic marine mammal health. Ecological Applications, 18(2), S126–S134. Butler, L. G., & Kielland, K. (2008). Blackwell Publishing Ltd Acceleration of vegetation turnover and element cycling by mammalian herbivory in riparian ecosystems. Journal of Ecology, 96, 136–144.

Publications 2008

Cadbury, S. L., Hannah, D. M., Milner, A. M., Pearson, C. P., & Brown, L. E. (2008). Stream Temperature Dynamics Within a New Zealand Glacierized River Basin. River Research and Applications, 24, 68–89. Cairns, D. K., Gaston, A. J., & Huettmann, F. (2008). Endothermy, ectothermy and the global structure of marine vertebrate communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 356, 239–250. Calef, M. P., McGuire, A. D., & Chapin III, F. S. (2008). Human Influences on Wildfire in Alaska from 1988 through 2005: An Analysis of the Spatial Patterns of Human Impacts. Earth Interactions, 12, 1–17. Cebrian, M. R., Kielland, K., & Finstad, G. (2008). Forage Quality and Reindeer Productivity: Multiplier Effects Amplified by Climate Change. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 40(1), 48–54. Chapin III, F. S., Randerson, J. T., McGuire, A. D., Foley, J. A., & Field, C. B. (2008). Changing feedbacks in the climate-biosphere system. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 6(6), 313–320. Chapin III, F. S., Trainor, S. F., Huntington, O., Lovecraft, A. L., Zavaleta, E., Natcher, D. C., et al. (2008). Increasing wildlife in Alaska’s boreal forest: Pathways to potential solutions of a wicked problem. BioScience, 58(6), 531–540. Christian, S. L., Ross, A. P., Zhao, H. W., Kristenson, H. J., Zhan, X., Rasley, B. T., et al. (2008). Arctic ground squirrel (Spermophilus parryii) hippocampal neurons tolerate prolonged oxygen glucose deprivation and maintain baseline ERK1/2 and JNK activation despite drastic ATP loss. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 28(7), 1307–1319. Clilverd, H. M., Jones, J. B., & Kielland, K. (2008). Nitrogen retention in the hyporheic zone of a glacial river in interior Alaska. Biogeochemistry, 88, 31–46. Craig, E., & Huettmann, F. (2008). Using “Blackbox” algorithms such as TreeNet and random forests for data-mining and for finding meaningful patterns, relationships, and outliers: An overview, an Example using golden eagle satellite data and an outlook for a promising future. In Intelligent Data Analysis (pp. 65–84). Douglas III, H. D., Kitaysky, A. S., & Kitaiskaia, E. V. (2008). Seasonal covariation in progesterone and odorant emissions among breeding crested auklets (Aethia cristatella). Hormones and Behavior, 54, 325–329. Dugan, V. G., Chen, R., Spiro, D. J., Sengamalay, N., Zaborsky, J., Ghedin, E., et al. (2008). The Evolutionary Genetics and Emergence of Avian Influenza Viruses in Wild Birds. PLoS Pathogens, 4(5), 1–9.

Institute of Arctic Biology Fedorov, V. B., Goropashnaya, A. V., Boeskorov, G. G., & Cook, J. A. (2008). Comparative phylogeography and demographic history of the wood lemming (Myopus schisticolor): implications for late Quaternary history of the taiga species in Eurasia. Molecular Ecology, 17(2), 598–610. Fellman, J. B., D’Amore, D. V., Hood, E., & Boone, R. D. (2008). Fluorescence characteristics and biodegradability of dissolved organic matter in forest and wetland soils from coastal temperate watersheds in southeast Alaska. Bigeochemistry, 88, 169–184. Fellman, J. B., Hood, E., Edwards, R. T., & D’Amore, D. V. (2008). Return of Salmon-Derived Nutrients from the Riparian Zone to the Stream during a Storm in Southeastern Alaska. Ecosystems, 11, 537–544. Frank, C. L., Karpovich, S., & Barnes, B. M. (2008). Dietary fatty acid composition and the hibernation patterns in free-ranging arctic ground squirrels. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 81(4), 486–495. Geml, J., Laursen, G. A., & Taylor, D. L. (2008). Molecular diversity assessment of arctic and boreal Agaricus taxa. Mycologia, 100(4), 577–589. Geml, J., Tulloss, R. E., Laursen, G. A., Sazanova, N. A., & Taylor, D. L. (2008). Evidence for strong inter- and intracontinental phylogeographic structure in Amanita muscaria, a wind-dispersed ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 48, 694–701. Gonzalez, G., Gould, A. T., Hudak, A. T., & Hollingsworth, T. N. (2008). Decay of Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) Wood in Moist and Dry Boreal, Temperate, and Tropical Forest Fragments. Ambio, 37(7-8), 588–597. Gould, W. A., Gonzalez, G., Hudak, A. T., Hollingsworth, T. N., & Hollingsworth, J. (2008). Forest Structure and Downed Woody Debris in Boreal, Temperate, and Tropical Forest Fragments. Ambio, 37(7), 577–587. Gustine D.D., & Parker K.L. (2008). Variation in the seasonal selection of resources by woodland caribou in northern British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 86, 812–825. Guzzetti, B. M., Talbot, S. L., Tessler, D. F., Gill, V. A., & Murphy, E. C. (2008). Secrets in the eyes of Black Oystercatchers: A new sexing technique. Journal of Field Ornithology, 79(2), 215–223. Hanley, M. E., Lamont, B. B., & Armbruster, W. S. (2008). Pollination and plant defence traits co-vary in Western Australian Hakeas. New Phytologist, 182(1), 251–260. Hartman, K. J., & Margraf, F. J. (2008). Common relationships among proximate composition components in fishes. Journal of

Publications 2008 Fish Biology, 73(10), 2352–2360. Hodges, M. R., Tattersall, G. J., Harris, M. B., McEvoy, S. E., Richerson, D. N., Deneris, E. S., et al. (2008). Defects in Breathing and Thermoregulation in Mice with Near-Complete Absence of Central Serotonin Neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(10), 2495–2505. Hollingsworth, T. N., Schuur, E. A. G., Chapin III, F. S., & Walker, M. D. (2008). Plant Community Composition as a Predictor of Regional Soil Carbon Storage in Alaskan Boreal Black Spruce Ecosystems. Ecosystems, 11, 629–642.

Institute of Arctic Biology

Lowther, P. E., & Sharbaugh, S. (2008). Arctic warbler (Phylloscopus borealis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).. Ma, Y., & Wu, S. (2008). Simultaneous measurement of brain tissue oxygen partial pressure, temperature, and global oxygen consumption during hibernation, arousal, and euthermy in nonsedated and non-anesthetized Arctic ground squirrels. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 174, 237–244. McGuire, A. D., Walsh, J. E., Kimball, J. S., Clein, J. S., Euskirchen, S. E., Drobot, S., et al. (2008). The Western Arctic Linkage Experiment (WALE): Overview and synthesis. Earth Interactions, 12(7), 1–13.

Hongyan G., Buchapudi, K. R., Smyth, A., Schulte, M. K., & Ji, H. - F. (2008). An Improved Surface Modification Approach for Micromechanical Biosensors. Lanmuir, 24(2), 345–349.

Mellon, C. D., Wipfli, M. S., & Li, J. L. (2008). Effects of forest fire on headwater stream macroinvertebrate communities in eastern Washington, U.S.A. Freshwater Biology, 53, 2331–2343.

Jurcevic, S., Vlastelica, M., Allen, J., & Dahl, S. (2008). Gender differences in war-realted disappearance in Croatia (1991-1995). Psychiatria Danubina, 20(1), 53–62.

Metcalf, V., & Robards, M. (2008). Sustaining a healthy humanwalrus relationship in a dynamic environment: Challenges for comanagement. Ecological Applications, 18(2), S148–S156.

Kane, E. S., Betts, E. F., Burgin, A. J., Clilverd, H. M., Crenshaw, C. L., Fellman, J. B., et al. (2008). Precipitation control over inorganic nitrogen import export budgets across watersheds: a synthesis of long-term ecological research. Ecohydrology, 1, 105–117.

Milner, A. M., Robertson Anne L., Mohaghan, K. A., Veal, A. J., & Flory, E. A. (2008). Colonization and development of an Alaskan stream community over 28 years. Frontiers in Ecology, 6(8), 413– 419.

Kaufman, M. R., Gradinger, R. R., Bluhm, B. A., & O’Brien, D. M. (2008). Using stable isotopes to assess carbon and nitrogen turnover in the Arctic sympagic amphipod Onisimus litoralis. Oecologia, 158, 11–22.

Monaghan, K. A., & Milner, A. M. (2008). Salmon carcasses as a marine-derived resource for benthic macroinvertebrates in a developing postglacial stream, Alaska. Canadian Journal of Aquatic Science, 65(7), 1342–1351.

Kimbirauskas, R. K., Merritt, R. W., Wipfli, M. S., & Hennon, P. (2008). Headwater macroinvertebrate community response to riparian red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) in southeast Alaska. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 84(3), 220–237.

Morris, A. B., Ickert-Bond, S. T., Brunson, B., Soltis, D. E., & Soltis, P. S. (2008). Phylogeographical structure and temporal complexity in American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua; Altingiaceae). Molecular Ecology, 17, 3889–3900.

Knapp, A. K., Briggs, J. M., Collins, S. C., Archers, S. R., Bret-Harte, M. S., Ewers, B. E., et al. (2008). Shrub Enchroachment in North American Grasslands: Shifts in Growth Form Dominance Rapidly Alters Control of Ecosystem Carbon Inputs. Global Change Biology, 14, 615–623.

Mulder, C. P. H., Grant-Hoffman, M. N., Towns, D. R., Bellingham, P. J., Wardle, D. A., Durrett, M. S., et al. (2008). Direct and indirect effects of rats: does rat eradication restore ecosystem functioning of New Zealand seabird islands? Biological Invasions, online edition.

Lake, B. C., Schmutz, J. A., Lindberg, M. S., Ely, C. R., Eldridge, W. D., & Borerman, F. J. (2008). Body mass of prefledging Emperor Geese Chen canagica : large-scale effects of interspecific densities and food availability. Ibis, 150, 527–540.

Mulder, C. P. H., Roy, B. A., & Gusewell, S. (2008). Herbivores and pathogens on Alnus viridis subsp. fruticosa in Interior Alaska: effects of leaf, tree, and neighbour characteristics on damage levels. Botany, 86(4), 408–421.

Ledger, M. E., Harris, R. M. L., Armitage, P. D., & Milner, A. M. (2008). Disturbance frequency inXuences patch dynamics in stream benthic algal communities. Oecologia, 155, 809–819.

Munn, A. J., & Barboza, P. S. (2008). Could a big gut be too costly for muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) in their first winter? Zoology, 111(5), 350–362.

Lisuzzo, N., J., Kielland, K., & Jones, J. B. (2008). Hydrologic controls on nitrogen availability in a high-latitude, semi-arid floodplain. Ecoscience, 15(3), 366–376.

Myers-Smith, I. H., Harden, J. W., Wilmking, M., Fuller, C. C., McGuire, A. D., & Chapin III, F. S. (2008). Wetland succession in a permafrost collapse: interactions between fire and thermokarst. Biogeosciences, .

Publications

Institute of Arctic Biology

Nielsen, S. E., Stenhouse, G. B., Beyer, H. L., Huettmann, F., & Boyce, M. S. (2008). Can natural disturbance-based forestry rescue a declining population of grizzly bears? Biological Conservation, 141, 2193–2207.

Raynolds, M. K., Comiso, J. C., Walker, D. A., & Verbyla, D. (2008). Relationship between satellite-derived land surface temperatures, arctic vegetation types, and NDVI. Remote Sensing of Environment, 112(4), 1884–1894.

O’Brien, D. M., Min, K. J., Larsen, T., & Tatar, M. (2008). Use of Stable Isotopes to Examine How Dietary Restriction Extends Drosophila Lifespan. Current Biology, 18(4), R155–R156.

Raynolds, M. K., Walker, D. A., Munger, C. A., Vonlanthen, C. M., & Kade, A. N. (2008). A map analysis of patterned-ground along a North American Arctic Transect. Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences, 113.

O’Hara, T. M., Hanns, C., Woshner, V. M., Zeh, J., Bratton, G., & Taylor, R. (2008). Essential and non-essential elements in the bowhead whale: epidermis-based predictions of blubber, kidney, liver and muscle tissue concentrations. J. Cetacean Res. Manage., 10(2), 107–117. Olson, L. E., Sargis, E. J., Stanley, W. T., Hildebrandt, K., B.P., & Davenport, T. R. B. (2008). Additional molecular evidence strongly supports the distinction between the recently described African primate Rungwecebus kipunji (Cercopithecidae, Papionini) and Lophocebus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 48, 789– 794. Oppel, S., & Powell, A. N. (2008). Assigning king eiders to wintering regions in the Bering Sea using stable isotopes of feathers and claws. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 373, 149– 156. Oppel, S., Powell, A. N., & Dickson, D. L. (2008). Timing and Distance of King Eider Migration and Winter Movements. The Condor, 110(2), 296–305. Oppel, S., Powell, A. N., & O’Brien, D. (2008). Using Eggshell Membrane as a Non-invasive Tool to Investigate the Source of Nutrients in Avian Eggs. Journal of Ornithology, , 1–7. Pamperin, N. J., Follmann, E. H., & Person, B. T. (2008). Sea-ice use by Arctic Foxes in Northern Alaska. Polar Biology, 31, 1421–1426. Pearce, J. M., Blums, P., & Lindberg, M. S. (2008). Site Fidelity Is an Inconsistent Determinant of Population Structure in the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucull atus): Evidence from Genetic, Mark-Recapture, and Comparative Data. The Auk, 125(3), 711–72522. Peters, J. L., Zhuravlev, Yuri N., Fefelov, Igor, Humphries, Elizabeth M., Omland, Kevin E. (2008). Multilocus phylogeography of a holarctic duck: colonization of north america from eurasia by gadwall (Anas strepera). Evolution, 62(6), 1469–1483. Ping, C. - L., Michaelson, G. J., Jorgenson, M. T., Kimble, J. M., Epstein, H., Romanovsky, V. E., et al. (2008). High stocks of soil organic carbon in the North American Arctic region. Nature GeoScience, Advance Online Publication.

Rohrs-Richey, J. K., & Mulder, C. P. H. (2008). Effects of local changes in active layer and soil climate on seasonal foliar nitrogen concentrations of three boreal forest shrubs. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 37(2), 383–394. Safine, D. E., & Lindberg, M. S. (2008). Nest habitat selection of white-winged scoters on Yukon Flats, Alaska. The Wilson, 120(3), 582–593. Saleem, M., Brim, H., Hussain, S., Arshad, M., Leigh, M. B., & Zia-UlHassan. (2008). Perspective on microbial cell surface display in bioremediation. Biotechnology Advances, 26, 151–161. Schmidt, J. H., Lindberg, M. S., Johnson, D. S., Conant, B., & King, J. (2008). Evidence of Alaskan Trumpeter Swan Population Growth Using Bayesian Hierarchical Models. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 73(5), 720–727. Schuur, E. A. G., Bockheim, J., Canadell, J. G., Euskirchen, E., Field, C. B., Goryachkin, S. V., et al. (2008). Vulnerability of permafrost carbon to climate chnage: Implications for the global carbon cycle. BioScience, 58(8), 701–714. Sedinger, J. S., Chelgren, N. D., Ward, D. H., & Lindberg, M. S. (2008). Fidelity and breeding probability related to population density and individual quality in black brent geese Branta bernicla nigricans. Journal of Animal Ecology, 77, 702–712. Seppelt, R. D., Laursen, G. A., & Lichvar, R. (2008). A guide to Alaskan black spruce wetland bryophytes. Shultz, M. T., & Kitaysky, A. S. (2008). Spatial and temporal dynamics of corticosterone and corticosterone binding globulin are driven by environmental heterogeneity. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 155(3), 717–728. Su, B., Wang, X., Drew, K. L., Perry, G., Smith, M. A., & Zhu, X. (2008). Physiological regulation of tau phosphorylation during hibernation. Journal of Neurochemistry, 105, 2098–2108. Takahashi, A., Matsumoto, K., Hunt Jr. George L., Shultz, M. T., Kitaysky, A. S., Sato, K., et al. (2008). Thick-billed murres use different diving behaviors in mixed and stratified waters. DeepSea Research II, 55, 1837–1845.

Publications 2008 Taylor, B. E., Croll, A. E., Drucker, M. L., & Wilson, A. (2008). Developmental exposure to ethanol or nicotine inhibits the hypercapnic ventilatory response in tadpoles. Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology, 160(1), 83–90. Taylor, D. L., & McCormick, M. K. (2008). Internal transcribed spacer primers and sequences for improved characterization of basidiomycetous orchid mycorrhizas. New Phytologist, 117, 1020–1033. Taylor, D. L., Booth, M. G., McFarland, J. W., Herriott, I. C., Lennon, N. J., Nusbaum, C., et al. (2008). Increasing ecological inference from high throughput. Molecular Ecology Resources, 8, 742–752. Topp, C. M., & Winker, K. (2008). Genetic Patterns of Differentiation among Five Landbird SpSpecies from the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. The Auk, 125(2), 461–472. Tranchida Lombardo, V., Hopkins, S. E., Selosse, M. - A., Cozzolino, S., & Taylor, L. (2008). Isolation and characterization of new polymorphic microsatellite loci in the mixotrophic orchid Limodorum abortivum L. Swartz (Orchidaceae). Molecular Ecology Resources, 8, 1117–1120. Turetsky, M. R., Treat, C. C., Waldrop, M. P., Waddington, J. M., Harden, J. W., & McGuire, A. D. (2008). Short-term response of methane fluxes and methanogen activity to water table and soil warming manipulations in an Alaskan peatland. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113(G00A10). Urschel, M. R., & O’Brien, K. M. (2008). High mitochondrial densities in the hearts of Antarctic icefishes are maintained by an increase in mitochondrial size rather than mitochondrial biogenesis. Journal of Experimental Biology, 211, 2638–2646. Vogel, J. G., Bond-Lamberty, B. P., Schuur, E. A. G., Gower, S. T., Mack, M. C., O’Connell, K. E. B., et al. (2008). Carbon allocation in boreal black spruce forests across regions varying in soil temperature and precipitation. Global Change Biology, 14, 1503–1516. Wagner, D., DeFoliart, L., Doak, P., & Schneiderheinze, J. (2008). Impact of epidermal leaf mining by the aspen leaf miner (Phyllocnistis populiella) on the growth, physiology, and leaf longevity of quaking aspen. Oceologia, 157, 259–267. Walker, D. A., Epstein, H. E., & Welker, J. M. (2008). Introduction to special section on biocomplexity of arctic tundra. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, 1–5. Wang, R., Soll, L., Dugan, V., Runstadler, J. A., Happ, G. M., Slemons, R. D., et al. (2008). Examining the hemagglutinin subtype diversity among wild duck-origin influenza A viruses using ethanol-fixed cloacal swabs and a novel RT-PCR method. Virology, 375, 182–189.

Institute of Arctic Biology

Wang, Y., Francis, D. R., O’Brien, D. M., & Wooller, M. J. (2008). A protocol for preparing subfossil chironomid head capsules (Diptera: Chironomidae) for stable isotope analysis in paleoclimate reconstruction and considerations of contamination sources. Journal of Paleolimnology, 40, 771–784. Wen, J., Berggren, S. T., Lee, C. H., Ickert-Bond, S., Yi, T. S., Yoo, K. O., et al. (2008). Phylogenetic inferences in Prunus (Rosaceae) using chloroplast ndhF and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences. Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 46(3), 322–332. White, D., Autier, V., Yoshikawa, K., Jones, J., & Seelen, S. (2008). Using DOC to better understand local hydrology in a subArctic watershed. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 51(1), 68–75. Williams, C. T., Kitaysky, A. S., & Buck, C. L. (2008). Food restricted Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) nestlings increase vocal activity during handling without modulating total or free corticosterone. Journal of Ornithology, 149, 277–283. Williams, C. T., Kitaysky, A. S., Kettle, A. B., & Buck, C. L. (2008). Corticosterone levels of tufted puffins vary with breeding stage, body condition index, and reproductive performance. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 158(1), 29–35. Winterbourn, M. J., Cadbury, S., Ilg, C., & Milner, A. M. (2008). Mayfly production in a New Zealand glacial stream and the potential effect of climate change. Hydrobiologia, 603, 211–219. Wisz, M. S., Hijimans, R. J., Peterson, A. T., Graham, C. H., Guisan, A., NCEAS Predicting Species Distributions Working Group, et al. (2008). Effects of sample size on the performance of species distribution models. Diversity and Distributions, 14, 763–773. Wood, S. A., Beringer, J., Hutley, L. B., McGuire, A. D., Van Dijk, A., & Kilinc, M. (2008). Impacts of fire on forest age and runoff in mountain ash forests. Functional Plant Biology, 35(6), 483–492. Woshner, V., Knott, K., Wells, R., Willetto, C., Swor, R., & O’Hara, T. (2008). Mercury and Selenium in Blood and Epidermis of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) for Sarasota Bay, FL: Interaction and Relevance to Life History and Hematologic Parameters. EcoHealth, , 1–11. Yan, J., Barnes, B. M., Kohl, F., & Marr, T. (2008). Modulation of gene expression in hibernating arctic ground squirrels. Physiological Genomics, 32, 170–181.

A searchable database of scholarly publications by Institute of Arctic Biology scientists is available online: www.iab.uaf.edu

Institute of Arctic Biology

Honors, Awards, and Events

Honors & Awards & Events

National Academy of Sciences F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III, professor of ecology, a national and international leader in ecology and a pioneer in the field of terrestrial ecosystem ecology, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2004, one of the highest honors bestowed upon a U.S. scientist. Chapin is the first NAS member from the University of Alaska system and the first from Alaska.

National Research Council Panel F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III, professor of ecology, was appointed as a member of the NRC Panel: Ecological Impacts of Climate Change.

Sustainability Science Award

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) honored F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III, professor of ecology; Gary P. Kofinas, associate professor of resource policy and management; Martin Robards, IAB Resilience and Adaptation Program graduate student; and co-authors with ESA’s 2008 Sustainability Science Award for scholarly work that makes the greatest contribution to the emerging science of ecosystem and regional sustainability through the integration of ecological and social sciences for their paper, “Policy strategies to address sustainability of Alaskan boreal forests in response to directionally changing climate,” (2005, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103:16637-16643).

Nobel Peace Prize A. David McGuire, as a contributing author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. McGuire is a professor of landscape ecology and assistant leader of the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

Climate Change Citations and Papers F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III, professor of ecology, ranked first in the world for the number of times his scholarly papers on climate change were cited. Chapin and A. David McGuire, professor of landscape ecology, are ranked second and 11th respectively in the number of scholarly papers published on climate change. The University of Alaska system was ranked as 11th in total number of citations of climate change papers authored by UA scientists. Data from Thomson Reuters, Sciencewatch: 1999June 30, 2009.

Center for Molecular and Genetic Studies of Hibernation Brian Barnes, IAB director and professor of zoophysiology; Kelly Drew, IAB associate director and professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Vadim Fedorov, research associate (academic); and Øivind Tøien, research scientist received $1.4M from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop animal hibernation models to lead to new drugs and treatments for stroke, heart attack, and trauma.

Center for Alaska Native Health Research $1M Biomedical Grant The National Institutes of Health awarded the IAB Center for Alaska Native Health Research $1.1M to identify and catalog biomedical research in Alaska as part of a national database of research resources being compiled by a nine-institution consortium. The award is part of a $15M NIH grant.

Graduate Fellowships

IAB funded multiple graduate research fellowships in 2009: $50K for five Ecology and Wildlife awards; $50K for three Human Health awards; and $25K for 12 Director’s awards.

Toolik Field Station Brian Barnes, IAB director and professor of zoophysiology; Syndonia Bret-Harte, associate professor; and Michael Abels, Toolik Field Station Operations Manager received a five-year, $9,625,920 award from the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs for base funding support of IAB’s Toolik Field Station from 20052010.

Mammal Convention Kris Hundertmark, assistant professor of wildlife ecology, and Link Olson, associate professor of systematic biology, co-chaired the 2009 American Society of Mammalogists 89th Annual Meeting at the University of Alaska Fairbanks June 24-28. More than 400 biologists from around the world attended. ASM was last in Fairbanks 20 years earlier.

Funding Life Science Research and Graduate Student Training

Research grants won by IAB faculty fund discovery and scholarship of biological significance to Alaska and the world. These grants create high-quality jobs across Alaska for scientists, technicians, students, and support staff.

Funding

IAB derives funding from state appropriations to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and grants and contracts. Indirect cost recovery (ICR), which is part of grants, is shared with UAF and the University of Alaska Statewide System.

State Appropriations

IAB receives base funding, requested annually by the University of Alaska Board of Regents, from the Alaska State Legislature (shown at right in blue). State appropriations to IAB were $1,576,660 in 2001 and $3,602,530 in 2010, a 44% increase.

Research Expenditures

Faculty compete for federal, state, and private grants, contracts, and awards that fund the costs of conducting research. Funding includes equipment and supplies for laboratory and field research, graduate student stipends and tuition, travel, and faculty summer salaries. Research expenditures (shown at right in dark green) have grown from $6,650,001 in 2001 to $18,213,004 in 2010, a 274% increase.

$30,000,000

$25,000,000

$20,000,000

$15,000,000

$10,000,000

$5,000,000

$2,500,000

IAB Share of Indirect Cost Recovery 2001-2010

FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10

State Appropriation

Research Expenditures

Indirect Cost Recovery

$2,000,000

A portion of each research grant is allocated to overhead, called indirect cost recovery (ICR) (shown above and at left in light green), that pays for university costs associated with providing research infrastructure and administrative support.

$1,500,000

IABâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s share of ICR has grown from $861,777 in fiscal year 2001 to $2,336,604 in fiscal year 2010, up by 274%. These funds are primarily used to support start-up costs of newly recruited faculty and salaries of support staff. Between 2001-2010, IAB, like other research units at UAF, received about 53% of the total ICR generated to the university by the research awards of their faculty.

$1,000,000

$500,000

IAB State Appropriation, Research Expenditures, and Total Indirect Cost Recovery (2001-2010)

FY01

FY02

FY03

FY04

FY05

FY06

FY07

FY08

FY09

FY10

Total ICR

Grant Success

IAB faculty compete nationally for grants with success rates of 36-50% at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and 31-43% at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the period 2007-2010.

National Science Foundation

Grant Success National Science Foundation

40 35

Operation of the IAB Toolik Field Station, which supports national arctic climate change research

Administration of the Bonanza Creek Long-term Ecological Research program, which focuses on boreal forest ecology and sustainability

Administration of the IAB Resilience and Adaptation Program, which trains Ph.D. students in interdisciplinary studies Individual investigator projects include: • Arctic plant and fungal genomics • Arctic ground squirrel and black bear hibernation • Insect cryobiology research • Avian adaptation to high elevations • Climate change effects on arctic ecosystems • Control over breathing in vertebrates

Number of Proposals

National Science Foundation-funded science includes:

38 proposals

42%

30 proposals 27 proposal 50%

36% 52%

15 10

50%

FY06 Awarded

26% 26%

58%

5 0

21 proposals 22 proposals

FY07 Pending

48%

55%

48%

FY08

FY09

FY10

Declined

National Institutes of Health

28 proposals

Grant Success National Institutes of Health

43%

National Institutes of Health-funded science includes:

Number of Proposals

15 proposals 31%

14 proposals 14%

13 proposals 11 proposals

33%

54%

36%

43%

69%

64%

67%

FY06

FY07

FY08

Awarded Pending Declined

43%

FY09

FY10

Infrastructure support for research on: • Health disparities in Alaska Natives • Diabetes and nutrition • Obesity • Suicide • Neuroscience • Infectious disease • Enviromental health • Community-based participatory research Individual investigator projects include: • Brain neurotransmitters • Genetics of obesity in Yup’ik Eskimos • Nutrition in Yup’ik Eskimos • Ethics of communicating results in public health research • Brain protection during hibernation in mammals

Research Expenditures

Research expenditures represent the total grant monies spent by scientists. These funds support local and state businesses, and collaborations between scientists and community groups.

Grant-Funded Research Expenditures by Agency in FY09

Funding Sources US Army

The majority of IAB research funding comes from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF). Significant funding is received from the U.S. Army. The pie chart, right, shows the origin of research grant funds.

UA Foundation USGS USDA Subcontracts ADF&G

NPRB Other

TFS

Indirect Cost Recovery

NASA

Indirect Cost Recovery funds are used to pay salaries of faculty and staff, provide start-up funds for new scientists, provide match funds for select program grants, support animal care, support bioinformatics, pay for limited building renovation and maintenance, and administrative support to scientists (see chart below).

NSF

NIH NPS ADF&G: Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration NIH: National Institutes of Health NPRB: North Pacific Research Board NPS: National Park Service

NSF: National Science Foundation TFS: Toolik Field Station (IAB) UA Foundation: University of Alaska Foundation USDA: United States Dept. of Agriculture USGS: United States Geological Survey

IAB Indirect Cost Recovery Expenditures FY09 $2.26 Million 8%

Faculty and staff support services: Travel, telephone, and office supplies

Building repair and renovation

4% 3%

Graduate student travel and faculty support

14%

26%

Subsidies for Large Animal Research Station, Vet Services, Animal Quarters, and Shop Match and core support for Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) Start-up accounts for new faculty

12% 25%

Salaries for faculty and support staff Graduate student research fellowships

Organizational Chart (2008-09) Director

Brian Barnes

Associate Director Biomedicine/Behavioral Health

Associate Director Ecology/Wildlife

Kelly Drew

Roger Ruess

Management and Budget Team: Brian Barnes, Roger Ruess, Kelly Drew, Joe Margraf, Jen Peterman, Marie Gilbert, Mike Abels, Jami Warrick, Deseree Baker, Conni Hall

Psychology

Chemistry/Biochemistry

Joint Faculty: 2

Joint Faculty: 4

Toolik Field Station Science Director: Brian Barnes Assoc. Science Dir.: Donie Bret-Harte TFS Operations Manager Mike Abels GIS/RS Mgr Jason Stuckey

GIS/RS Analyst Randy Fulweber

Env Data Tech Vacant

Support Tech

Ops Ass’t Logistics Bret Biebuyck Joe Franish Station Mgr Chad Diesinger

Fiscal Tech Rose Wages

Ass’t Mgr Field Ops Assistants Thom Walker EMT/Safety Lead Cook Assistant Cooks Laura Belval Maint Mgr Support Tech Scott Houghton Maint Mgr Support Tech Faye Ethridge

Biology and Wildlife Joint Faculty: 36

AK Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Program Coordinator Admin Assistant Comm Specialist Data Tech Fiscal Officer

Research Professional x3 Research Associate Academic Greenhouse Faculty Supervisor Roger Ruess

Greenhouse Supervisor Mark Wright Greenhouse Student x2

Travel Coordinator Field Res. Coord. Cultural Consultant Yup’ik Translator Programmer Research Nurse Eskimo Collaborator Research Tech (3) ARRA Resource Navig. Pres. Professors x 12

Supervised by faculty members

Research Faculty 3

Spatial Ecology Lab (SEL) David McGuire/Program Director/ACFWRU/Faculty Res. Asst. Prof (Euskirchen) Alaska Geobotany Center (AGC) Donald “Skip” Walker/ Program Director/Faculty IS Ops Technican Research Professional

Resilience and Adaptation Program (RAP) Gary Kofinas/Faculty Program Director Admin Data Technician

DNA Core Lab Faculty Supervisor

Large Animal Research Station Outreach Coordinator

Post Docs 17

Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program (ABNP) Larry Duffy/Faculty Program Director Fiscal Technician (Mary Van Mulken) Fiscal Technician

Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) Bert Boyer/Faculty Acting Director/PI

Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research Program (LTER) Terry Chapin and Roger Ruess/Program Directors/Faculty Site Manager Data Manager Technician Hibernation Genomics Program Brian Barnes/Program Director/ Institute Director/Faculty

UAF SNRAS Faculty 1

Faculty 5

Fiscal Technician x3

Perry Barboza

Lead Animal Tech(s)

McCracken, Lee Taylor, Karsten Hueffer, Michael Harris, Mark Lindberg. Ex officio: Roger Ruess, Kelly Drew, Richard Boone.

Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (AKCFWRU) Joe Margraf/ Unit Leader/Faculty

Animal Facilites Science Director Animal Facilities Supervisor Jason Jack

Director’s Council: Perry Barboza, Donie Bret-Harte, Kevin

Carrie Topp Core Lab Tech

Su Tour Staff x 4

Student Techs Facilities/Safety Jami Warrick BO Student Darcy Baecker

Fiscal Technician Post-Award Maria Russell Fiscal Technician Purchasing Genelle Tilton Fiscal Technician Purchasing Wendy Wright

Fiscal Professional Post-Award Kelly Seekatz Fiscal Technician Post-Award Sharon Corbett Fiscal Technician Post-Award OPEN

Business Manager Jen Peterman HR Coordinator Margo Griffith HR Coordinator Julie Logsdon

Director’s Admin. Assistant Conni Hall Admin Assistant Alyssa Moehle DO Student

Proposal Coordinator Deseree Baker Proposal Coordinator Sandra Preshaw

Info Officer Marie Gilbert

IS Professional Ed Debevec

IO Student

IS Professional Jock Irons

Institute of Arctic Biology

Front cover: Atigun Pass by Marie Gilbert. Page 3: UAF West Ridge by Todd Paris/UAF. Page 4: Oystercatcher courtesy of Abby Powell. Tanana River by Roger W. Ruess. Franziska Kohl releaseing arctic ground squirrel by Øivind Tøien. Emily Benson and Megan Perry benthic sampling by Laura Gutierrez. Mushroom by Marie Gilbert. Salmon drying by James Barker (c). Caribou by Marie Gilbert. Knut Kielland releasing hare courtesy of Knut Kielland. Ine Dorresteijn holding Common Murre courtesy of Alexander “Sasha” Kitaysky. Boreal forest fire courtesy of F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III. Syndonia Bret-Harte radio interview by Marie Gilbert. Leaf miner courtesy of Pat Doak. F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III and group courtesy of Bonanza Creek LTER. Antarctica courtesy of Kristin O’Brien. Page 5: Brian Barnes by Øivind Tøien. Page 6: Laurence Irving courtesy of IAB. Laurence Irving Building by Marie Gilbert. Page 7: F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III courtesy of F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III. Page 9: Leaves by Roger W. Ruess. Salmon drying by James Barker (c). Arctic ground squirrel by Øivind Tøien. Page 10: IAB Greenhouse by Marie Gilbert. Marvin Schulte by Marie Gilbert. Caribou courtesy of IAB. Page 11: Native foods courtesy of Diana Campbell. Siberian Nenets courtesy of Donald “Skip” Walker. Tundra by Marie Gilbert. Page 12: Emily Benson stream sampling courtesy of Mark Wipfli. Avian influenza sampling courtesy of Jonathan Runstadler. Native Alaskan hunters by James Barker (c). Page 13: Yellow-billed loon courtesy of WikiCommons. Soil sample courtesy of Roger W. Ruess. Kristin O’Brien in Antarctica courtesy of Kristin O’Brien. Page 14: Amanita muscaria by Gary Laursen. King Eider courtesy of Abby Powell. Tundra stream courtesy of IAB. Page 15: L-R. LARS by Marie Gilbert. Teri Wild courtesy of Abby Powell. Diane Wagner by Ned Rozell. Alexander “Sasha” Kitaysky and Ann Harding by Sergei Drovetski. Jim Sedinger and Jonathan Runstadler courtesy of Jonathan Runstadler. Karl Olson courtesy of Roger Ruess. Caribou calf by Perry Barboza. Aurora over Toolik Field Station by Richard Flanders. Brian Barnes by Øivind Tøien. Mary Beth Leigh and Rue He by Todd Paris/UAF. Muskoxen by Marie Gilbert. David Gustine and LARS visitor by Marie Gilbert. Karsten Hueffer courtesy of Karsten Hueffer. Page 16: Drying salmon by James Barker (c). Native village by James Barker (c). Page 17: Ann Wilson by James Barker (c). Stacia Backensto by Mark Pavelka/USFWS. Page 18: Toolik Field Station by Christy Haupert. Brooks Range by Marie Gilbert. Ben Abbott by Marie Gilbert. Page 19: F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III and group courtesy of Mary Beth Leigh. Tanana Valley aerial by Roger Ruess. Bonanza Creek LTER graphic courtesy of BNZ-LTER.

Page 20: LARS courtesy of IAB. Muskoxen courtesy of IAB. Perry Barboza and caribou by Marie Gilbert. Caribou by Perry Barboza. Page 21: Jason Jack by Perry Barboza. Calves feeding by Perry Barboza. IAB Greenhouse, poppy, student in greenhouse by Marie Gilbert. Page 22: Gerald “Jerry” Mohatt courtesy of CANHR. Artwork by Robby Mohatt. Page 23: L-R. Donald “Skip” Walker in Siberia courtesy of Donald “Skip” Walker. Winter skiing on Smith Lake by David Klein. Bert Boyer by James Barker (c). Smith’s Longspur courtesy of Abby Powell. F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III and Katey Walter courtesy of F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III. Kristin O’Brien and Julieanne Orczewska by Todd Paris/UAF. Barbara Taylor by Todd Paris/UAF. Muskoxen nose by Perry Barboza. Luisa Jonas and caribou at LARS by Marie Gilbert. Casey Bickford and Adam Miller at the IAB/ Dept. of Biology and Wildlife Greenhouse by Todd Paris/UAF. Chena River by Mark Wipfli. Kevin McCracken courtesy of Kevin McCracken. Pages 24-32 by Todd Paris: Perry S. Barboza, Brian M. Barnes, Bert B. Boyer, Syndonia “Donie” Bret-Harte, F. Stuart “Terry” Chapin III, Erich Follmann, Lawrence Duffy, D. Brad Griffith, Michael Harris, Falk Huettmann, Christine Hunter, Mary Beth Leigh, Ellen D. Lopez, A. David McGuire, Diane M. O’Brien, Link Olson, Monica Skewes, Barbara Taylor . Pages 24-32: Andrea Bersamin courtesy of Andrea Bersamin, Richard Boone courtesy of Richard Boone, Pat Doak courtesy of Pat Doak, Kelly Drew courtesy of Kelly Drew, Thomas Green courtesy of Thomas Green, Karsten Hueffer courtesy of Karsten Hueffer, Kris Hundertmark courtesy of Kris Hundertmark, Steffi Ickert-Bond courtesy of Steffi IckertBond, Jeremy Jones by Marie Gilbert, Knut Kielland by Marie Gilbert, Alexander “Sasha” Kitaysky by Sergei Drovetski, Gary P. Kofinas courtesy of Gary P. Kofinas, Mark S. Lindberg courtesy of Mark S. Lindberg, Joseph F. Margraf courtesy of Joseph F. Margraf, Kevin McCracken courtesy of Kevin McCracken, Gerald “Jerry” Mohatt courtesy of CANHR, Christa P. Mulder courtesy of Christa P. Mulder, Kristin O’Brien courtesy of Kristin O’Brien, Todd O’Hara courtesy of Todd O’Hara, Matthew S. Olson by Marie Gilbert, Abby Powell courtesy of IAB, Roger W. Ruess courtesy of Roger W. Ruess, Jonathan A. Runstader by Todd Paris/UAF. Marvin K. Schulte by Marie Gilbert, Derek Sikes courtesy of Derek Sikes, Naoki Takebayashi courtesy of Naoki Takebayashi, Donald Lee Taylor courtesy of Donald Lee Taylor, Diane Wagner courtesy of Diane Wagner, Donald “Skip” Walker courtesy of Donald “Skip” Walker, Kevin Winker graphic by Kevin Winker, Mark Wipfli courtesy of Mark Wipfli, Eugenie Euskirchen courtesy of Eugenie Euskirchen, Stacy Rasmus courtesy of Stacy Rasmus, Diana Wolf courtesy of Diana Wolf, Yilong Ma courtesy of Yilong Ma, Mary Sexton courtesy of Mary Sexton. Page 33: Gerhard Walter Heldmaier courtesy of Gerhard Walter Heldmaier. Page 34: Ski mass images by Øivind Tøien. LARS Open House images by Marie Gilbert. Page 47: Birch trees by Marie Gilbert. Back cover: Muskoxen by Perry Barboza.

Science of Life

Photo credits

Institute of Arctic Biology 902 Koyukuk Drive, PO Box 757000 Irving I Building, Room 311 University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7000 907.474.7640