Using Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, Tradtional Knowledge, To Guide The Development Of Hypothses On Narwhal Tusk Function

利用因纽特人 Qaujimajatuqangit（传统知识）指导独角鲸象牙功能假说的发展

• 批准号: 0756708
• 负责人: Martin Nweeia
• 金额: $ 22.52万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-01 至 2013-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0756708&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Using; Inuit; Qaujimajatuqangit; Tradtional; Knowledge

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The narwhal remains one of the least understood marine mammals on the planet, and its extraordinary tooth, a mystery. Mythical legends of the unicorn are only surpassed by the reality of an elusive whale that has challenged scientific minds for the past 500 years. Dr. Martin Nweeia combines an interdisciplinary team of scientists and Inuit elders and hunters to better understand the anatomy, behavior, and neurophysiology of nature's most perplexing tooth. The left canine of the male narwhal defies many principals and properties of tooth expression, from its architecture to its unique spiraled form. Why this tusk has become the exception to many of the evolutionary rules of teeth has been the subject of Dr. Nweeia's ten-year investigation.Results from this study will uncover the knowledge recorded in the interviews of 55 hunters and elders from over 12 communities in the High Arctic regions of Northeastern Baffin Island and Northwestern Greenland. These interviews will be translated and then integrated with scientific findings to bring a more complete understanding of the narwhal. By analyzing aspects of narwhal migration, distribution, behavior, anatomy, diet, and affects of global warming trends that are described in this collection of interviews, a more complete picture of this whale and its extraordinary tusk will be uncovered. Dr. Nweeia's research keeps children of all ages curious. Three television documentaries, 15 radio programs, and hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, and Internet sites demonstrate the public appetite for knowledge about the narwhal, its tusk, and this ongoing study. Findings from this work will be published in a book that includes the findings of the Traditional Knowledge and the ongoing scientific studies. Original art and graphic plates describing narwhal anatomy, physiology, migration, and behavior will also be completed and incorporated in to the book, as well as Museum exhibits.

该奖项根据 2009 年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法 111-5）提供资金。独角鲸仍然是地球上最不为人所知的海洋哺乳动物之一，它非凡的牙齿也是一个谜。独角兽的神话传说只能被现实中难以捉摸的鲸鱼所超越，在过去的 500 年里，鲸鱼一直挑战着科学思维。 Martin Nweeia 博士将一支由科学家、因纽特长者和猎人组成的跨学科团队结合起来，以更好地了解自然界最令人费解的牙齿的解剖结构、行为和神经生理学。 雄性独角鲸的左尖牙违背了牙齿表达的许多原理和特性，从其结构到其独特的螺旋形状。 为什么这颗象牙会成为许多牙齿进化规则的例外，这是 Nweeia 博士长达十年的研究课题。这项研究的结果将揭开对来自巴芬岛东北部和格陵兰岛西北部高北极地区超过 12 个社区的 55 名猎人和长者的采访中记录的知识。这些采访将被翻译，然后与科学发现相结合，以更全面地了解独角鲸。通过分析这本采访集中描述的独角鲸迁徙、分布、行为、解剖、饮食和全球变暖趋势的影响等方面，我们将更全面地了解这种鲸鱼及其非凡的象牙。 Nweeia 博士的研究让所有年龄段的孩子都保持着好奇心。 三部电视纪录片、15 个广播节目以及数百篇杂志和报纸文章以及互联网网站表明了公众对独角鲸、其象牙以及这项正在进行的研究的了解的兴趣。这项工作的结果将出版在一本书中，其中包括传统知识的发现和正在进行的科学研究。描述独角鲸解剖学、生理学、迁徙和行为的原创艺术和图板也将完成并纳入本书以及博物馆展品中。