OPP-PRF: Investigating the Effects of Late Holocene Climate Change on Polar Bears

OPP-PRF：调查全新世晚期气候变化对北极熊的影响

• 批准号: 2139044
• 负责人: Lillian Parker
• 金额: $ 29.52万
• 依托单位: University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2139044&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: OPP; PRF; Investigating; Effects; Late

Polar bears evolved to thrive in the harsh Arctic environment. Because they depend on sea ice to travel and to hunt seals, past climatic changes that altered sea ice likely affected population size and distribution. This project investigates the effects of climate change – from approximately 5000 years ago to the present – on polar bears in the Bering Sea region. Polar bear remains have been identified from a 4700-year-old archaeological site on Unalaska Island, Alaska. These remains are approximately 200 miles south of where polar bears have been found in the recent past. By studying these remains, and comparing them to modern-day specimens, this research will advance understanding of the effects of historic climate cooling and present-day climate warming on polar bears. The presence of polar bear remains also has implications for the Native Unangan people. To explore the relationship between Unangan ancestors and polar bears, this project will provide training and mentorship to students and enhance the professional development of an early career Arctic scientist. Results from this study will be shared with the community in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and through conference presentations and peer-reviewed articles.This project tests the hypothesis that late Holocene climate change resulted in demographic, genomic, and epigenomic changes in Bering Sea polar bears. The PI uses a multidisciplinary approach, combining zooarchaeological, paleogenomic and paleoepigenetic data from Neoglacial bear remains excavated from an archaeological site on Unalaska Island. First, morphometric and genomic DNA sequence data will be used to confirm that the remains are from polar bears and to determine the number of individuals represented in the assemblage. Then, genomic and epigenomic data from the Unalaskan bears will be compared to data from modern-day Bering Sea polar bears and brown bears from the Alaska Peninsula to determine 1) if polar bears and brown bears interbred in the Neoglacial Period, and 2) to assess demographic and adaptive responses of polar bear populations to Neoglacial cooling and present-day climate warming.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.

北极熊在Harmh北极环境中发展为繁衍。因为它们依靠海冰旅行和狩猎海豹，所以过去的气候变化改变了海冰可能影响人口规模和分布。该项目调查了气候变化的影响（从大约5000年前到现在）对贝林海地区的北极熊的影响。已经从阿拉斯加Unalaska岛上的4700年历史的考古遗址中鉴定出了北极熊的遗体。这些仍位于最近发现的北极熊以南约200英里处。通过研究这些剩余，并将其与现代标本进行比较，这项研究将提高人们对历史气候冷却和当今气候变暖对北极熊的影响的理解。北极熊仍然存在对本地的Unangan人的影响。为了探索Unangan祖先和北极熊之间的关系，该项目将为学生提供培训和心态，并增强早期职业北极科学家的专业发展。这项研究的结果将与阿拉斯加荷兰港口的社区共享，并通过会议演讲和同行评审的文章。该项目检验了以下假设：晚期全新世气候变化导致人口统计学，基因组和表观基因组变化。 PI采用多学科方法，结合了来自新缝隙熊的动物考古学，古生物和古表格数据，从Unalaska岛上的考古遗址中挖掘出来。首先，形态和基因组DNA序列数据将用于确认剩余来自北极熊，并确定组合中代表的个体数量。 Then, genomic and epigenomic data from the Unalaskan bears will be compared to data from modern-day Bering Sea polar bears and brown bears from the Alaska Peninsula to determine 1) if polar bears and brown bears interbred in the Neoglacial Period, and 2) to assess demographic and adaptive responses of polar bear populations to Neoglacial cooling and present-day climate warming.This award reflects NSF's statutory任务，并通过评估使用基金会的知识分子和更广泛的影响审查标准，被认为是宝贵的支持。