ARCTIC Change: An ACC Environment Fund Supported Expedition to Resolute and Iqaluit, Nunavut

Inuit Nunangat is a unique cultural, political and geographic zone that encompasses Nunavut and the northern most regions of Canada. This is one of the world’s harshest environments, and in this region, climate change is accelerating at four-times that of more southern regions.[1] The arctic ecosystem shares many traits with high alpine environments. Plants growing in high latitudes and high altitudes have adapted to survive extreme cold, drought, short growing seasons, high UV exposure and winds, and generally low soil nutrient availability. This has led to unique adaptations. For example, willow trees in the high arctic grow only a few centimetres in height and spread along the rocky tundra due to the short growing season and high wind. Plants in alpine and arctic environments are facing similar challenges in the face of changing climates associated with unexpected climatic events and increased warming, making them a valuable subset of global diversity for study. Understanding how these unique plants respond to these new challenges will inform plant conservation priorities in both environments.

Figure 1. Lauren Erland collecting samples near 5 Mile Lake outside of Resolute, NU. — **Figure 1.** Lauren Erland collecting samples near 5 Mile Lake outside of Resolute, NU.

There have been relatively few studies of the plants of the Inuit Nunangat, and little is known about how these plants will perceive and respond to changing environments. Some plant species are likely to thrive, while others are likely to become at-risk as they fail to adapt or are crowded out by the expanding ranges of more southern species. It is estimated that twenty percent of the world’s plant diversity is threatened, with climate change a significant factor.[2] Conservation of biodiversity is essential not only to the inhabitants of the surrounding areas where it may play roles in culture, social identity, and/or spiritual practices, but also provides services for the greater population by maintaining human health and well-being via plant-derived products (including foods and medicines) and participation in nature-based activities.

In the summer of 2019, the Alpine Club of Canada Environment Grant supported our expedition to Iqaluit and Resolute, Nunavut, with the goals of: (1) establishing relationships with local Inuit; (2) collecting seeds, tissues, and vouchers of Canadian arctic plants; (3) depositing these collections into Canadian and International seed banks; and (4) establishing species that do not produce viable seeds in an in vitro living germplasm bank. We collected eighty-three Herbarium vouchers (pressed specimens), seventy-four seed samples, and sixty-five live collections, representing >forty species (some examples of collections are given in Figure 1).

“Nothing about us, without us”

It has long been the practice of southern scientists to travel north, gather knowledge and specimens, and return little to the northern communities they visit. The National Inuit Strategy on Research was released in 2018 with the overall aim of changing this southern (colonialist)-centric approach to research to an Inuit-centric approach through five key priority areas: (1) advance Inuit governance in research; (2) enhance the ethical conduct of research; (3) elign funding with Inuit research priorities; (4) ensure Inuit access, ownership, and control over data and information; (5) and build capacity.[3] The first and most important objective of our work was to establish relationships to understand Inuit priorities and how the Inuit people are experiencing changing climates.

Resolute Bay, Qausuittuq ᖃᐅᓱᐃᑦᑐᖅ

Resolute is in the Qikiqtaaluk (Baffin) region of Nunavut. Qausuittuq, meaning the “place with no dawn,” experiences twenty-four-hour night from mid-November to February, and inversely twenty-four-hour light from mid-May to mid-August, and is a high arctic desert with historical summer highs of two-to-four degrees Celsius (Figure 2). The majority of plants here grow only centimeters in height. Key observations included local knowledge of abnormal patterns of plant growth associated with climate disruptions. There was an unusual summer season in 2018, and flowering of some plants was delayed or did not occur at all. Other plant species did not produce any seeds. Some of the plants are growing taller than they used to, and others are more abundant.

One particularly interesting observation was the identification of a disturbance in the permafrost, an almost perfectly round circle (two-and-a-half metres in diameter) with a surface temperature of eighteen degrees at the centre, ten degrees warmer than the surrounding ground. Botanical composition around this spot was significantly altered, with more grasses and fewer native plant species growing at the centre of the disturbance. Detailed studies of this and related sites, in collaboration with Inuit observations and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, will provide important data to predict which alpine and arctic plants communities are vulnerable and which are resilient.

Iqaluit

Iqaluit, meaning “place of many fish,” is the territorial capital of Nunavut and also in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, at the southern end of Baffin Island. The vegetation (diversity and abundance) is relatively abundant compared to Resolute. The climate here is more moderated and experiences twenty-four-hour light for only about one month of the year with the growing season extending further into the fall. Many species that grow in southern regions of Canada could also be found, for example Vaccinium species, such as mountain cranberry, bearberry, and blueberries.

Local knowledge suggests significant changes in plant physiology are associated with the increasing instability, unpredictability, and warming of weather in Iqaluit, leading to significant cultural and commercial impacts for local residents and governance bodies (Figure 3). For example, due to warming, willows are growing five-to-ten centimetres taller, which has implications for not just the botanical landscape, but also wildlife and human interactions.

Figure 3. Inconsistency in the timing of seed twisting in mountain avens (Dryas integrifolia; malikkaat, isuqtannguat, isurramuat). Twisting traditionally signaled the coming of fall; however, it is happening inconsistently throughout the year. Thes… — Figure 3. Inconsistency in the timing of seed twisting in mountain avens (Dryas integrifolia; malikkaat, isuqtannguat, isurramuat). Twisting traditionally signaled the coming of fall; however, it is happening inconsistently throughout the year. These photos were taken within days of each other in the Iqaluit area and show untwisted seed (left), twisted seed (bottom right), and a single plant with flower, twisted, and untwisted seed (top right).

We appreciate the kindness and generosity of our Inuit guides sharing their knowledge of this unique ecosystem. We are now working to process our collections, and to establish our living plant collections in the lab. These collections will enable fundamental scientific research to help understand the mechanisms which determine climate change resiliency in diverse plant species, but particularly arctic and alpine plants. We hope the results of these studies will enable conservation efforts in both arctic and alpine ecosystems.

Dr. Lauren Erland is an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Murch’s Lab at the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, BC. She is interested in the signaling mechanisms that enable plant perception of and responses to environmental cues.

Dr. Susan Murch is a Professor in the Chemistry Department at the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, BC. Her research investigates the chemicals produced by plants and how plant chemicals affect human health.

References

[1] Canada’s Changing Climate Report. 1–444. (Government of Canada, Ottawa, 2019)

[2] Foden, W. B., et al. Identifying the World’s Most Climate Change Vulnerable Species: A Systematic Trait-Based Assessment of all Birds, Amphibians and Corals. PLoS ONE 8, e65427–13 (2013).

[3] National Inuit Strategy on Research. 1–48. (Inuit Tapiirit Kanatami, Ottawa, 2018