{"id":534,"date":"2017-09-07T16:25:19","date_gmt":"2017-09-07T21:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/zooarchlab\/?page_id=534"},"modified":"2022-01-25T10:37:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T15:37:44","slug":"chirikof-island-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/zooarchlab\/research\/chirikof-island-project\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chirikof Island Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Project Overview<\/h3>\n

What does it mean to establish a \u201cbaseline\u201d for landscape restoration? To answer this question, a team of researchers visited threatened Chirikof Island, Alaska in 2013 to collect midden samples for faunal identification, ancient DNA analysis, and stable isotope analysis. Using the fauna in these samples, our team \u2013 from BU, the University of Alaska, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Alutiiq Museum \u2013 is working with the US Fish & Wildlife Service to understand how this landscape has been affected by changing climate, human hunting, and invasive species introductions over the long-term, and what these forces mean for contemporary landscape management. Our study focuses on the effects of invasive mammal introductions on ancient and contemporary bird populations. Thus far, our <\/span>research demonstrates the antiquity of archaeological <\/span>ground squirrels<\/a>, which are genetically identical to contemporary squirrel populations, and also suggests that bird populations were more diverse <\/a><\/span>prehistorically<\/span>.<\/p>\n

This project has been featured by the Aleutian Islands Working Group<\/a>, the USF&WS<\/a>, the Alutiiq Museum<\/a>, EurekAlert!<\/a>, SCBI Conservation News<\/a>, BU Research<\/a>, the Kodiak Daily Mirror, and\u00a0KMXT Alaska<\/a>, and is\u00a0funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society. For more information on this project, contact Professor Catherine West<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Research Collaborators<\/h3>\n

Catherine F. West<\/a>, Boston University
\nCourtney A. Hofman<\/a>, University of Oklahoma
\nSamantha Dunning, University of Alaska
\nSteve Ebbert, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
\nJohn Martin, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
\nPatrick G. Saltonstall<\/a>, Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository
\nJack Withrow, University of Alaska Museum
\nSabrina Shirazi, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
\nJesus E. Maldonado<\/a>, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute<\/p>\n

Related\u00a0Publications<\/h3>\n

West, Catherine F., Samantha M. Dunning, Steve Ebbert, Courtney A. Hofman, Patrick G. Saltonstall, and Jack Withrow. 2017. \u201cArchaeology and Invasive Species Management: The Chirikof Island Project.\u201d The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology<\/em> 12 (1): 133\u201337. doi:10.1080\/15564894.2016.1172383<\/a>.<\/p>\n

West, Catherine, Courtney A. Hofman, Steve Ebbert, John Martin, Sabrina Shirazi, Samantha Dunning, and Jesus E. Maldonado. 2017. \u201cIntegrating Archaeology and Ancient DNA Analysis to Address Invasive Species Colonization in the Gulf of Alaska.\u201d Conservation Biology<\/em> 31 (5): 1163\u201372. doi:10.1111\/cobi.12865<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Media\u00a0Gallery<\/h3>\n

\"Chirikof\"<\/p>\n

\"Chirikof_Squirrel_2\"<\/p>\n

\"arch-science_340px\"<\/p>\n

\"arch-science_340px\"<\/p>\n

\"Faunal#8_2\"<\/p>\n

\"Chirikof_portrait_2\"<\/p>\n

\"Birds_2\"<\/p>\n

\"Faunal#6_2\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n