OCE-PRF: Quantifying the ecological role of pre-contact aquaculture in Pacific Northwest indigenous societies

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Overview: In this project, the fellow seeks to document the cultural and ecological context of ancient marine resource management systems in Heiltsuk First Nation traditional territory, on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. The fellow will quantify the ecological impacts of creating a clam garden - human-made rock terraces in the intertidal. Research involves monitoring the physical environment (temperature, salinity, nutrients) and growth rates of clams within and out of extant clam gardens. The research project will be concurrently hosted by Simon Fraser University (SFU) with Drs. Anne Salomon and Dana Lepofsky and at the Northwest Indian College (NWIC) with Dave Oreiro (Director of the National Indian Center for Marine Environmental Research and Education at Northwest Indian College). Northwest Indian College will be the primary host organization. These two organizations both provide unique and necessary resources. SFU is home to the Hakai network and has carefully cultivated collaborative efforts between First Nations, archaeologists, and ecologists. NWIC will provide access to new research facilities, dedicated to culturally relevant marine ecology. Intellectual Merit: Ancient clam gardens have been identified from Washington to Alaska, spanning multiple cultures and oceanographic conditions. This research focuses on a geographic region of rich culture and clam garden density, Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada. In this research project, the fellow will assess the ecological impacts of clam gardens to pursue the following research objectives: (1) test the role of clam gardens on growth rates of two species both locally and along a latitudinal gradient, (2) quantify the level of recruitment in and out of clam gardens for the same two species, and (3) quantify how clam gardens alter physical environmental variables. Concurrent with this ecological study, collaborators (Dana Lepofsky (SFU) and Elroy White (Heiltsuk)), will investigate the antiquity and cultural relevance of clam gardens in the traditional Heiltsuk territory. Broader Impacts: This research involves the participation of American Indians in marine science and combines traditional ecological knowledge and Western ways of knowing to broaden participation of American Indian students at a tribal college. Combining traditional ecological knowledge and Western ways of knowing, without placing one over the other, is an effective way to engage American Indian students. The majority of laboratory work will be carried out at the Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, Washington. This will allow American Indian students to be directly involved with all stages of research and form student-driven hypotheses nested within the larger project. Students will have access to the study material and multiple opportunities to travel to field sites to gain hands-on experience working with the PI.This postdoctoral fellowship is supported by the Division of Ocean Sciences and by the International Science and Engineering Section of the Office of International and Integrative Activities.