Habitat Use by Urban Muskoxen in Nome, Alaska

部落学院和大学方案的一个目标是提高为全国土著学生服务的特定高等教育机构的科学、技术、工程和数学教学和研究能力。扩大这些机构的研究能力，扩大了学生在STEM领域追求具有挑战性和回报的职业的机会，为可能与当地相关的领域提供了研究，并鼓励教师社区超越传统课堂寻求智力和专业成长。阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯分校西北校区的这个项目与这一目标直接相关，并将促进对当地社区重要物种的了解。该项目的重点是使用阿拉斯加诺姆周围城市地区的麝牛（Ovibos moschatus）种群的栖息地使用。该种群是重要的食物和纤维资源，具有生态旅游和文化意义。该地点提供了一个独特的机会，研究城市地区附近的自由放养麝牛，并调查采矿复垦的意外结果。该项目假设，有一个干扰之间的差异，麝牛饲料品种，开垦地区附近的城市网站和未受干扰的农村网站和春季植物群出现在城市网站。该项目的目的是绘制复垦矿区的演替剖面图、从归一化植被指数和直接实地测量得出的物候记录、饲料物种的营养和矿物剖面图以及麝牛地点和生境的地理信息系统地图。对阿拉斯加原住民个人和社区的好处包括减轻与城市麝牛相关的人类-野生动物冲突所需的信息，这些信息可能会产生建议，例如在哪里建立围栏或修改植被以防止麝牛进入关键区域，以及对矿山尾矿复垦程序的建议。该项目还旨在为阿拉斯加原住民学生提供学习研究技术和科学交流技能的机会。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's Indigenous students. Expanding the research capacity at these institutions expands the opportunities for students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be locally relevant, and encourages a faculty community to look beyond the traditional classroom for intellectual and professional growth. This project at the University of Alaska Fairbanks–Northwest Campus aligns directly with that goal and will advance knowledge about a species of importance to local communities.The project focuses on the habitat use of a population of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) using urban areas around Nome, Alaska. This population is an important food and fiber resource and valued for ecotourism and cultural significance. The location offers a unique opportunity to study free-ranging muskoxen near an urban area and investigate unexpected outcomes of mining reclamation. The project hypothesizes that there is a difference in muskoxen forage species between disturbed, reclaimed areas near urban sites and undisturbed rural sites and that spring flora emergence occurs earlier in urban sites. The project aims to develop successional profiles for reclaimed mining areas, phenological records from normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and direct field measures, nutritional and mineral profiles of forage species, and GIS maps of muskox locations and habitats. Benefits for Native Alaskan individuals and communities include information needed to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts associated with urban muskoxen that could result in recommendations, such as where to erect fences or modify vegetation to prevent muskox movement into critical areas and suggestions for mine tailing reclamation procedures. The project also aims to provide opportunities for Native Alaskan students to learn research techniques and skills in scientific communication.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.