Using Changing Bird Migration Patterns to Connect Indigenous Hawaiian and Alaskan Communities
Project Overview
Climate change is altering the timing of natural seasonal events (phenology). This is manifesting in many ways including altering patterns of bird migration between Molokaʻi and southcentral Alaska. Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project will combine Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and conventional science to track these phenological shifts, create accessible online databases, and lead community science programs to help local students and residents better understand localized climate change and how it drives shifts in bird migration patterns and habitats in Alaska and Hawaiʻi.
Project Summary
The seasonal timing of recurrent annual events, such as bird migration and plant fruit production, is called phenology. Climate change is increasingly shifting phenological cycles around the world, significantly impacting migratory coastal bird populations and Indigenous communities in Molokaʻi and southcentral Alaska. Because climate change impacts are often highly localized, tracking phenology is a useful way to understand and plan effective adaptation strategies.
A main goal of this project is to highlight Indigenous approaches for observing phenological changes and to enhance climate change knowledge for the benefit of community members, their regions, and the broader scientific community. The project team will gather and combine phenological data and methods from conventional science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) from southcentral Alaskan Tribes and Native Hawaiians. They will describe Indigenous methods for tracking coastal bird migration and associated habitats in both Molokaʻi and southcentral Alaska, while also creating or improving databases that track phenological changes in migratory birds and their habitats.
The project team will build partnerships in southcentral Alaska, identify phenological data sources, and coordinate with the Molokaʻi Wetland Partnership in Hawaiʻi. The team will also establish a community science program in both locations for students and community members to observe the arrival, departure, and habitat use of migrating coastal birds. Overall, the project team will share new phenological knowledge within and between communities to strengthen cultural ties among humans, coastal birds, and their habitats.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 667c6810d34e828a20a699ce)
Project Overview
Climate change is altering the timing of natural seasonal events (phenology). This is manifesting in many ways including altering patterns of bird migration between Molokaʻi and southcentral Alaska. Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project will combine Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and conventional science to track these phenological shifts, create accessible online databases, and lead community science programs to help local students and residents better understand localized climate change and how it drives shifts in bird migration patterns and habitats in Alaska and Hawaiʻi.
Project Summary
The seasonal timing of recurrent annual events, such as bird migration and plant fruit production, is called phenology. Climate change is increasingly shifting phenological cycles around the world, significantly impacting migratory coastal bird populations and Indigenous communities in Molokaʻi and southcentral Alaska. Because climate change impacts are often highly localized, tracking phenology is a useful way to understand and plan effective adaptation strategies.
A main goal of this project is to highlight Indigenous approaches for observing phenological changes and to enhance climate change knowledge for the benefit of community members, their regions, and the broader scientific community. The project team will gather and combine phenological data and methods from conventional science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) from southcentral Alaskan Tribes and Native Hawaiians. They will describe Indigenous methods for tracking coastal bird migration and associated habitats in both Molokaʻi and southcentral Alaska, while also creating or improving databases that track phenological changes in migratory birds and their habitats.
The project team will build partnerships in southcentral Alaska, identify phenological data sources, and coordinate with the Molokaʻi Wetland Partnership in Hawaiʻi. The team will also establish a community science program in both locations for students and community members to observe the arrival, departure, and habitat use of migrating coastal birds. Overall, the project team will share new phenological knowledge within and between communities to strengthen cultural ties among humans, coastal birds, and their habitats.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 667c6810d34e828a20a699ce)