Geology topics

Research about Nunavut

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Nunavut.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2022

Newly documented behavior of free-ranging Arctic wolf pups

Whereas much is known about the behavior and development of captive young wolf ( Canis lupus ) pups, less detail has been published about some aspects of free-ranging wolf pup behavior. This article synthesizes 42 observations of free-ranging Arctic wolf pups from ages 13 through 52 days made during 10 summers from 1987 through 2006 on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Besides listing key behaviors such as howling and caching, I record unique observations of ages of pup urination without adult stimulation (22, 33, 42, 52 days), knowledge of which is important to studies of wolf domestication, and of a 48-day-old pup that traveled 39 km during a 12 h and 19 min round trip between the den and a prey carcass, including a 26.5 km trek in 5 h. These observations should lead to a deeper and more complete understanding of this critical period of pup growth and development.

Nunavut↗

USGS2019

Unravelling the tectonics of Pearya Terrane, Nunavut: GEM-2 Western Arctic Project, report of activities 2018

GSC scientists were part of an international team of researchers who visited bedrock outcrops on northernmost Ellesmere Island in the summer of 2017. The purpose of the expedition was to document and sample the rocks of Pearya terrane and study the tectonic history of the terrane in order to better reconstruct the past stages of continental drift that formed the Arctic Ocean.

Nunavut↗

USGS2010

Prolonged intensive dominance behavior between gray wolves, Canis lupus

Dominance is one of the most pervasive and important behaviors among wolves in a pack, yet its significance in free-ranging packs has been little studied. Insights into a behavior can often be gained by examining unusual examples of it. In the High Arctic near Eureka, Nunavut, Canada, we videotaped and described an unusually prolonged and intensive behavioral bout between an adult male Gray Wolf ( Canis lupus ) and a male member of his pack, thought to be a maturing son. With tail raised, the adult approached a male pack mate about 50 m from us and pinned and straddled this packmate repeatedly over 6.5 minutes, longer than we had ever seen in over 50 years of studying wolves. We interpreted this behavior as an extreme example of an adult wolf harassing a maturing offspring, perhaps in prelude to the offspring?s dispersal.

Eureka↗

USGS2000

Effects of neck bands on survival of greater snow geese

Neck bands are a widely used marker in goose research. However, few studies have investigated a possible negative effect of this marker on survival. We tested the effect of neck bands on the survival of adult female greater snow geese ( Chen caerulescens atlantica ) by marking birds with either a neck band and a metal leg band or a leg band only on Bylot Island (Nunavut, formerly included in the Northwest Territories, Canada) from 1990 to 1996. Annual survival was estimated using leg-band recoveries in fall and winter and using neck-band sightings in spring and fall. Recapture rates were estimated using summer recaptures. Using recovery data, the selected model yielded a survival similar for the neck-banded and leg-banded only birds ( S = 0.845 ± 0.070 vs. S = 0.811 ± 0.107). The hypothesis of equality of survival between the 2 groups was easily accepted under most constraints imposed on survival or recovery rates. However, failure to account for a different direct recovery rate for neck-banded birds would lead us to incorrectly conclude a possible negative effect of neck bands on survival. Using sighting data, mean annual survival of neck-banded birds was independently estimated at 0.833 ± 0.057, a value very similar to that estimated with band-recovery analysis. Raw recapture rates during summer were significantly lower for neck-banded birds compared to those marked with leg bands only (4.6% vs. 12.1%), but in this analysis, survival, site fidelity, reproductive status, and recapture rates were confounded. We conclude that neck bands did not affect survival of greater snow geese, but could possibly affect other demographic traits such as breeding propensity and emigration.

Nunavut↗

USGS1997

Collection and analysis of traditional ecological knowledge about a population of arctic tundra caribou

Aboriginal peoples want their ecological knowledge used in the management of wildlife populations. To accomplish this, management agencies will need regional summaries of aboriginal knowledge about long-term changes in the distribution and abundance of wildlife populations and ecological factors that influence those changes. Between 1983 and 1994, we developed a method for collecting Inuit knowledge about historical changes in a caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) population on southern Baffin Island from c. 1900 to 1994. Advice from Inuit allowed us to collect and interpret their oral knowledge in culturally appropriate ways. Local Hunters and Trappers Associations (HTAs) and other Inuit identified potential informants to maximize the spatial and temporal scope of the study. In the final interview protocol, each informant (i) established his biographical map and time line, (ii) described changes in caribou distribution and density during his life, and (iii) discussed ecological factors that may have caused changes in caribou populations. Personal and parental observations of caribou distribution and abundance were reliable and precise. Inuit who had hunted caribou during periods of scarcity provided more extensive information than those hunters who had hunted mainly ringed seals ( Phoca hispida ); nevertheless, seal hunters provided information about coastal areas where caribou densities were insufficient for the needs of caribou hunters. The wording of our questions influenced the reliability of informants' answers; leading questions were especially problematic. We used only information that we considered reliable after analyzing the wording of both questions and answers from translated transcripts. This analysis may have excluded some reliable information because informants tended to understate certainty in their recollections. We tried to retain the accuracy and precision inherent in Inuit oral traditions; comparisons of information from several informants and comparisons with published and archival historical reports indicate that we retained these qualities of Inuit knowledge.

Nunavut↗

USGS1992

Suspension freezing of bottom sediment and biota in the Northwest Passage and implications for Arctic Ocean sedimentation

Ice observations and sediment collected in a summer transit through the Northwest Passage provide insights on suspension freezing, the most important sediment entrainment mechanism for the Arctic Ocean. No evidence was seen for entrainment by bottom adfreezing, bluff slumping, river flooding, dragging ice keels, or significant eolian transport from land to sea. Lack of eolian sediment loading in the Northwest Passage, together with that already reported for northern Alaska, eliminates wind as an important source for fine sediment in the pack of the Beaufort Gyre and related parts of the Transpolar Drift. Muddy sediment with pebbles and cobbles, algae with holdfasts, ostracodes with appendages, and well-preserved mollusks and sea urchins were collected from two sites in a 50 km long stretch of turbid ice. These materials indicate that suspension freezing reaching to a water depth of 25–30 m during the previous fall was responsible for entrainment. This mechanism requires rapid ice formation in open, shallow water during a freezing storm, when the ocean becomes supercooled, and frazil and anchor ice attach to and ultimately lift sediment and living organisms to the sea surface. The mechanism, already known to be important in the Beaufort Sea, probably also affects wide, shallow Siberian shelves and leads to cross-shelf transport of shallow-water organisms and dropstones with "glacial striations" toward deep basins. This makes distinguishing glacial–interglacial cycles more difficult.

Nunavut↗