CNH2-S: Convergence Research: Bridging Knowledge Systems and Expertise for Understanding the Dynamics of a Contaminated Tribal Landscape System

恢复生态系统健康是全球社区面临的一个具有挑战性的优先事项。该项目将自然科学和社会科学研究人员与部落社区合作伙伴聚集在一起，以更好地了解上半岛（U.P.）的人与环境关系。密歇根州。具体而言，这项工作的重点是在水资源丰富的景观有毒污染和气候相关的变化。该团队正在开发新的工具和方法，以绘制该地区内陆湖泊污染的程度，同时绘制部落捕捞做法，宝贵的资源和整个景观与气候相关的变化。这些地图将说明U.P.水体的汞和多氯联苯污染水平，再加上部落的收获做法和气候观测，将湖泊分为低、中、高风险。这项研究还旨在探索具体的管理和推广决策，以尽量减少污染风险，并支持促进健康和福祉的人与环境的关系。该项目的成果有可能应用于其他受污染和气候变化影响的地区。研究团队优先考虑密歇根理工大学，基维诺湾印第安社区，五大湖印度鱼类和野生动物委员会，基维诺湾奥吉布瓦社区学院以及其他政府和高等教育机构之间的多样化和公平的知识交流，并为代表性不足的学生促进STEM的高等教育和职业机会。 生态系统受损给世界各地的社区带来了深刻的挑战。本研究探讨社会生态动态的部落景观系统（TLS）的影响，人为有毒污染和气候相关的变化。跨学科的科学家和部落社区合作伙伴集中在基韦诺湾印第安社区（KBIC）的家园，11个奥吉布瓦湖上级乐队保留条约权利，并依赖当地资源和景观知识的生存和文化需求。我们的长期目标是更好地了解受损景观中的社会生态相互作用，阐明支撑这些动态相互作用的奥吉布瓦环境伦理，并确定和制定适当的应对措施来解决损害问题。生态系统的组成部分包括区域流域、湖泊和食物网以及人类，重点是污染和与气候有关的变化。社会系统的组成部分包括动态，如知识，专业知识，KBIC和研究团队的实践。研究问题和方法是：1）污染和气候相关的变化如何影响TLS动态？目标是绘制TLS污染、社会关系和影响的时空变化。该团队正在开发统计模型，通过探索湖泊和食物网生物放大的污染物负荷来推断整个TLS的污染，并正在检查现有的KBIC社会调查数据集，以阐明关键的TLS关系和影响。2)伦理考虑如何影响TLS损伤和社区决策的看法？该小组正在分析鱼类与污染物的关系与湖泊特征，评估潜在的放养和捕捞对鱼类种群的影响，并分析各种社区决策方案。正在使用人种学方法来确定社区决策中的道德原则和最佳做法。3)TLS的知识、理论和方法的深度整合是否能捕捉到受损CNH系统的复杂相互作用和动态？为了评估TLS，该团队正在收集系统基线数据，并进行人种学研究，以了解TLS的知识是如何共同创造的。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。

Restoring ecosystem health is a challenging priority for communities worldwide. This project brings natural and social sciences researchers together with tribal community partners to better understand human-environment relationships in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan. Specifically, this work is focused on toxic contamination and climate-related changes across the water-rich landscape. The team is developing new tools and approaches to map the extent of the region’s contamination in inland lakes, and concurrently, to map tribal harvesting practices, valued resources, and climate-related changes across the landscape. These maps will illustrate U.P. water bodies’ levels of mercury and PCB contamination coupled with tribal harvesting practices and climate observations to categorize lakes as low, moderate or high risk. This research also aims to explore specific management and outreach decisions to minimize contamination risk and support human-environment relationships that promote the health and wellbeing of the U.P. environment and its communities. Results from this project have the potential to be applied in other regions burdened with contamination and climate-related changes. The research team prioritizes diverse and equitable knowledge exchange between Michigan Tech, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College, and other government and higher education institutions, and promotes higher education and career opportunities in STEM for underrepresented students. Compromised ecosystems present profound challenges for communities worldwide. This study examines socio-ecological dynamics within a tribal landscape system (TLS) impacted by anthropogenic toxic contamination and climate-related changes. Interdisciplinary scientists and tribal community partners are focused within the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) homeland where 11 Lake Superior Bands of Ojibwa retain treaty rights, and depend on local resources and landscape knowledge for subsistence and cultural needs. Our long-term goals are to better understand socio-ecological interactions within impaired landscapes, elucidate Ojibwa environmental ethics underpinning these dynamic interactions, and identify and develop appropriate responses to address impairments. Ecological system components include area watersheds, lakes and food webs, and humans, with a focus on contamination and climate-related changes. The social system components include dynamics such as knowledge, expertise, and practices of the KBIC, and of the research team. Research questions and approaches are: 1) How do contamination and climate-related changes impact TLS dynamics? The objective is to map spatial and temporal variation of TLS contamination, social relationships, and impacts. The team is developing statistical models to extrapolate contamination across the TLS by exploring contaminant loadings to lakes and food web biomagnification, and, is examining existing KBIC social survey data sets to elucidate key TLS relationships and impacts. 2) How do ethical considerations affect perceptions of TLS impairments and community decision-making? The team is analyzing fish-contaminant relationships with lake characteristics, evaluating potential stocking and harvesting effects on fish populations, and analyzing various community decision-making scenarios. Ethnographic methods are being used to determine ethical principles and best practices in community decision-making. 3) Does deep integration of knowledges, theories, and methods of the TLS capture complex interactions and dynamics of an impaired CNH system? To evaluate the TLS, the team is collecting system baseline data, and conducting ethnographic research to understand how knowledge of the TLS is co-created.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.