Documenting Indigenous Knowledge to Identify and Understand the Stressors of Muskoxen (&lt;i&gt;Ovibos moschatu&lt;/i&gt;s) in Nunavut, Canada

Juliette Di Francesco,Lisa-Marie Leclerc,Terry Milton,Craig Gerlach,Andrea Hanke,Susan Kutz,Kugluktuk Angoniatit Association

doi:10.14430/arctic73853

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge provides valuable information on wildlife health and ecology, contributing to a broader understanding of the patterns and phenomena observed. Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), an important species for the subsistence and culture of Inuit communities in the Arctic, are increasingly exposed to diverse stressors linked to rapid climate change and other anthropogenic changes. Identifying and understanding these stressors and their impacts on muskoxen will inform management, health monitoring, and future research. To achieve this understanding, we documented Indigenous knowledge through seven semi-structured small group interviews, each involving two to three purposely chosen muskox harvesters in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, Canada to (1) establish the characteristics of healthy muskoxen, (2) determine the factors considered to impact muskoxen, and (3) understand, from an Indigenous knowledge perspective, the results from a study on the sex, seasonal, and annual patterns of glucocorticoids (described as “stress hormones” for the purposes of the interviews) in muskox hair. Key outcomes include (1) a more holistic understanding of muskox health and what it encompasses, (2) recognition and exploration of a rich One Health perspective expressed by participants around factors influencing muskoxen in a changing world and highlighting the multiple socioecological connections, and (3) a broader comprehension of the glucocorticoid (stress) patterns measured in muskox hair, the various factors that influence them, and their interrelations. This study represents a meaningful advancement in the process of actively involving communities at all steps of the research and highlights the important contributions Indigenous knowledge can offer to the complex field of wildlife endocrinology research.

Highlights

Conservationists and ecologists are increasingly focused on understanding physiological stress responses in wildlife, including their causes and consequences and how they may be affected by various ecological changes and environmental challenges (Bonier et al, 2009; Busch and Hayward, 2009; Dantzer et al, 2014; Koren et al, 2019)
The holistic One Health perspective expressed by the traditional Inuit knowledge (TIK) holders allowed for a broader and deeper comprehension of the stressors affecting muskoxen, their complex interconnections, and how these contribute to the sex, seasonal, and annual patterns observed in muskox stress levels
This study illustrated the importance of bringing together Scientific knowledge (SK) and Indigenous knowledge (IK), and how the Inuit perspective reflected a One Health approach in all sections of the interviews

Summary

Introduction

Conservationists and ecologists are increasingly focused on understanding physiological stress responses in wildlife, including their causes and consequences and how they may be affected by various ecological changes and environmental challenges (Bonier et al, 2009; Busch and Hayward, 2009; Dantzer et al, 2014; Koren et al, 2019). The conventional approach has been to measure glucocorticoids, as these hormones are important mediators of the physiological stress response (Romero and Butler, 2007), and to examine associations with potential stressors such as anthropogenic disturbance and habitat alterations (Mastromonaco et al, 2014; Fourie et al, 2015; Ewacha et al, 2017). Local knowledge is defined as “a local body of knowledge, not associated with aboriginal ethnicity, but characterized by both historical and contemporary knowledge acquired through extensive observation of the environment and its species” (Tomaselli et al, 2018b:338), and encompasses but is not limited to IK. Indigenous and local knowledge are constantly evolving from the experience and observations of their holders and provide information about historical conditions and local processes at a detailed scale (Gadgil et al, 1993; Usher, 2000)

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Discussion

Conclusion