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Tidal Echoes
Tidal Echoes is a literary and art journal that showcases the art and writing of Southeast Alaskans.
Recent Submissions
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Assessing Alaska's top-4 primary and ranked choice voting electoral reform: More moderate winners, more moderate policyIn recent years, ranked choice voting (RCV) has emerged as a leading electoral reform, often in combination with moves to open up primaries in order to increase voter choice and select more widely-supported representatives. Both nonpartisan primaries and RCV general elections have attracted advocacy from those seeking solutions to democratic malaise and polarization, and been introduced in different forms in several states. Despite this, only one legislature across the country has ever been elected under this model: the 2022 Alaskan State legislature, which combined a Top-4 nonpartisan primary with an RCV election. We assess the impact of this reform via ‘before and after’ case studies of individual electoral (re)matches, a survey of candidate ideological and policy positions, and examination of legislative coalitions. This research design allows us to isolate the impact of Top 4/RCV compared to the former model of closed party primaries and plurality general elections. We show that Alaska’s new electoral system provided more choice for voters and appears to have driven changes in both electoral outcomes and public policy. Despite more extremists standing for election post-reform, winning candidates were more likely to be centrists willing to work across the aisle and espouse moderate policy positions than prior to the reform.
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On a roll? or Is it a slide? Alaska's budgeting process in 2024As in 2023, Alaska’s politics seem to be benefitting from a more moderate and collegial policymaking environment and possibly even more sensible budgetary policy. In part, this seems due to Alaska’s adoption of a new election system which in 2022 generated a more moderate set of legislative coalitions than the previous several election cycles. These moderate coalitions may be short-lived, however, as an effort to repeal the new election system is underway. And even with our relatively moderate State House and State Senate coalitions, headwinds and controversies remain, especially issues around public education funding.
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Impact of multiple climate stressors on early life stages of North Pacific kelp speciesThis study examines the effects on bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) and ribbon kelp (Alaria marginata) of combinations of three climate-related stressors relevant to high-latitude kelp forests: temperature, salinity, and sediment load. Fertile specimens of both species were collected from Juneau, Alaska. Spores produced were cultivated over 40 days in four ecologically relevant stressor treatments: control (all stressor levels normal; CTRL), increased glacial melt (normal temperature, low salinity, high sediment load; GLAC), increased runoff (high temperature, low salinity, normal sediment load; MELT) and climate change (high temperature, low salinity, high sediment load; CLIM). Gametophyte density in both species was reduced in treatments involving high sediment load. Gametophyte density in bull kelp was also reduced in the increased runoff treatment, while ribbon kelp appeared resilient. Gametophytes of A. marginata grew equally in the increased glacial melt treatment as in the control and exhibited some growth in the increased runoff treatment. Conversely, gametophytes of N. luetkeana exhibited low growth in all treatments other than the control. A large number of gametophytes of both species were unidentifiable as either male or female in high-temperature treatments. This likely had impacts on reproduction, as neither species was able to produce eggs or sporophytes in these treatments. The results presented here show that both N. luetkeana (a subtidal canopy-former) and A. marginata (an intertidal subcanopy species) are sensitive to combinations of thermal, hyposaline, and sediment stress. This may have an impact on the development of gametophytes and successful reproduction in these species and may therefore have implications for the ongoing persistence of wild kelp populations in future ocean conditions.
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Ocean acidification decreases molting but not survival of Antarctic amphipods Djerboa furcipes, Gondogeneia antarctica, and Prostebbingia gracilisOcean acidification refers to a decrease in the pH of the world’s oceans from the oceanic uptake of human-derived atmospheric CO2. Low pH is known to decrease the calcification and survival of many calcifying invertebrates. Shallow, hard bottom communities along the Western Antarctic Peninsula often have incredibly large numbers of invertebrate mesograzers that shelter on and are mutualists with the dominant brown macroalgae. The common amphipod species Djerboa furcipes, Gondogeneia antarctica, and Prostebbingia gracilis were collected from the immediate vicinity of Palmer Station, Antarctica (64°46′S, 64°03′W) in January–February 2023 and maintained under three different pH treatments simulating ambient conditions (approximately pH 8.0), near-future conditions for 2100 (pH 7.7), and distant future conditions (pH 7.3) for 8 weeks. Molt number and mortality were monitored throughout the course of the experiment. After the 8 week exposure, amphipods were analyzed for their biochemical compositions including the Mg/Ca ratio of their exoskeletons. There was no significant difference in biochemical composition or survival among the pH treatments for any of the amphipod species. All three species, however, had significantly fewer total numbers of molts in the pH 7.3 treatment than in the ambient treatment. These results suggest that amphipods may be able to maintain their survival in decreased pH by reallocating energy into compensatory behaviors, such as acid–base regulation, and away from energy expensive processes like molting.
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Antarctic macroalgal-associated amphipod assemblages exhibit long-term resistance to ocean acidificationThe pH of the world’s oceans has decreased since the Industrial Revolution due to the oceanic uptake of increased atmospheric CO2 in a process called ocean acidification. Low pH has been linked to negative impacts on the calcification, growth, and survival of calcifying invertebrates. Along the Western Antarctic Peninsula, dominant brown macroalgae often shelter large numbers of diverse invertebrate mesograzers, many of which are calcified. Mesograzer assemblages in this region are often composed of large numbers of amphipods which have key roles in Antarctic macroalgal communities. Understanding the impacts of acidification on amphipods is vital for understanding how these communities will be impacted by climate change. To assess how long-term acidification may influence the survival of different members in these assemblages, mesograzers, particularly amphipods, associated with the brown alga Desmarestia menziesii were collected from the immediate vicinity of Palmer Station, Antarctica (S64◦460, W64◦030) in January 2020 and maintained under three different pH treatments simulating ambient conditions (approximately pH 8.1), near-future conditions for 2100 (pH 7.7), and distant future conditions (pH 7.3) for 52 days then enumerated. Total assemblage number and the relative proportion of each species in the assemblage were found to be similar across the pH treatments. These results suggest that amphipod assemblages associated with D. menziesii may be resistant to long-term exposure to decreased pH.
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Seasonality and hydroclimatic variability shape the functional and taxonomic diversity of nearshore fish communities in glacierized estuaries of AlaskaNearshore fish communities in glacierized estuaries contend with environmental changes brought on by seasons and a shifting climate, which include alterations in freshwater runoff and environmental conditions shaped by the interplay of warming temperatures and receding glaciers. Spatial and temporal changes in environmental parameters can directly impact fish behavior and community structure, thereby affecting the dynamics of the entire ecosystem. Taxonomic diversity is commonly used to measure changes in communities, and while it offers important insights into community structure, considering the functional roles of organisms is necessary for understanding community dynamics through expressed traits and trophic interactions. Here, we evaluate the influence of environmental drivers on both taxonomic and functional diversity of fish communities at multiple sites in two glacially-influenced, high-latitude regions in the Gulf of Alaska (GoA): oceanic-influenced Kachemak Bay and the more typical estuarine Lynn Canal. Sites were analyzed monthly (April–September) for three years (2019, 2021, 2022) to address two questions: (1) Do taxonomic and functional diversity of nearshore fish communities show similar patterns of interannual and regional variation in glacially-influenced GoA estuaries? and (2) Do similar seasonal (i.e., monthly) and environmental (i.e., temperature, salinity, turbidity, freshwater discharge) drivers shape taxonomic and functional fish communities within these regions? Taxonomic and functional diversity were both significantly different between the two glacially-influenced GoA regions in all years. Environmental drivers of these patterns differed, but were weak across regional comparisons. Regional taxonomic composition was correlated to temperature, salinity, and turbidity while regional functional composition was not related to any environmental variables. Within regions, seasonality played a much stronger role in structuring Lynn Canal taxonomic and functional composition compared to Kachemak Bay where a stronger interannual signature was present. Taxonomic composition in Kachemak Bay was correlated with similar environmental variables to the regional comparison while Lynn Canal taxonomic composition was correlated to salinity and discharge. Both regions exhibited weak or non-existent relationships of functional composition to environmental drivers. In the more freshwater-influenced Lynn Canal, strong taxonomic and functional coupling across months indicates that seasonality structures communities, while in the more oceanic Kachemak Bay, weak seasonal differences and strong interannual differences indicate a system more influenced by oceanographic processes, as opposed to local changes.
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Glacier runoff impacts the stoichiometry of riverine nutrient export from coastal Alaskan catchmentsUnderstanding the impacts of glacier change on riverine ecosystems is limited by a lack of multi-year studies in glacierized mountain catchments quantifying the magnitude and stoichiometry of riverine biogeochemical yields. Here we evaluate riverine concentration-discharge relationships using the power function between daily runoff and element yields and stoichiometry across 10 catchments of varying glacial coverage within two climatically distinct regions in the Gulf of Alaska. Our multi-year study showed that biogeochemical stoichiometry and concentration-discharge relationships for dissolved carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus varied significantly with catchment glacier coverage across both regions. This stoichiometric variability could drive regional differences in proglacial riverine food webs given that high trophic levels in low productivity rivers are generally driven by bottom-up controls. The coherence of our findings across the Gulf of Alaska suggests that observed patterns in concentration-discharge relationships are likely globally generalizable to catchments in which discharge is dominated by glacier ice and/or snowmelt.
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Using eDNA to supplement population genetic analyses for cryptic marine species: Identifying population boundaries for Alaska harbour porpoisesIsolation by distance and biogeographical boundaries define patterns of population genetic structure for harbour porpoise along the Pacific coast from California to British Columbia. Until recently, inadequate sample sizes in many regions constrained efforts to characterise population genetic structure throughout the coastal waters of Alaska. Here, tissue samples from beachcast strandings and fisheries bycatch were supplemented with targeted environmental DNA (eDNA) samples in key regions of Alaska coastal and inland waters. Using a geographically explicit, hierarchical approach, we examined the genetic structure of Alaska harbour porpoises, using both mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data and multilocus SNP genotypes. Despite a lack of evidence of genetic differentiation from nuclear SNP loci, patterns of relatedness and genetic differentiation from mtDNA suggest natal philopatry at multiple geographic scales, with limited gene flow among sites possibly mediated by male dispersal. A priori clustering of sampled areas at an intermediate scale (eastern and western Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and Southeast Alaska) best explained the genetic variance (12.37%) among regions. In addition, mtDNA differentiation between the Gulf of Alaska and eastern Bering Sea, and among regions within the Gulf of Alaska, indicated significant genetic structuring of harbour porpoise populations in Southeast Alaska. The targeted collection of eDNA samples from strata within Southeast Alaska was key for elevating the statistical power of our mtDNA dataset, and findings indicate limited dispersal between neighbouring strata within coastal and inland waters. These results provide evidence supporting a population boundary within the currently recognised Southeast Alaska Stock. Together, these findings will prove useful for ongoing management efforts to reduce fisheries conflict and conserve genetic diversity in this iconic coastal species.
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Development of scalable coastal and offshore kelp farming for marine biomass productionThe US DOE/ARPA-E MARINER program funded a 4-year project to determine an optimal way to grow kelps in large, nearshore and offshore arrays for the eventual purpose of biofuel production with the goal of keeping the cost below $80 USD per dry metric ton of kelp. This project specifically looked at how Saccharina latissima can be grown in the Gulf of Alaska to reach that goal. There were three major aspects of the research: (1) optimize nursery production and seeding lines for outplanting; (2) design an economical, modular outplanting structure; and (3) develop methods to efficiently harvest the product. Farm designs were based on catenary structures and the use of spreader bars with variable spacing of grow-lines and line types. The spacing of the grow-lines makes a difference in the yield. Grow-line spacing of ≥1.5 m showed about a 50% increase in production (kg m−1). There was no statistical difference in the growth of Saccharina latissima whether in the middle or the outside of the array, but the line type and perhaps line thickness can make a difference in yield. Sagging caused by the weight of the mature fronds resulted in lower growth at depth. Various harvesting approaches for mature kelps were tested by collaborating farmers. One promising innovation is the use of large bags with mesh for temporarily holding the freshly harvested fronds in seawater. Although the weight of the fronds on the grow-lines causes the lines to sink, the bags packed with the harvested fronds float, allowing for temporary storage before loading to a vessel heading to port and processing. Another advance in harvesting is a specially built harvest vessel, the Harvest Buddy, allowing a more mechanized and faster way to harvest. A techno-economic assessment (TEA) using our data has pointed to solutions to reach the goal of $80 USD per dry metric ton of kelp.
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Impacts of ocean acidification on the palatability of two Antarctic macroalgae and the consumption of a grazerIncreases in atmospheric CO2 have led to more CO2 entering the world’s oceans, decreasing the pH in a process called ’ocean acidification’. Low pH has been linked to impacts on macroalgal growth and stress, which can alter palatability to herbivores. Two common and ecologically important macroalgal species from the western Antarctic Peninsula, the unpalatable Desmarestia menziesii and the palatable Palmaria decipiens, were maintained under three pH treatments: ambient (pH 8.1), near future (7.7) and distant future (7.3) for 52 days and 18 days, respectively. Discs of P. decipiens or artificial foods containing extracts of D. menziesii from each treatment were presented to the amphipod Gondogeneia antarctica in feeding choice experiments. Additionally, G. antarctica exposed to the different treatments for 55 days were used in a feeding assay with untreated P. decipiens. For D. menziesii, extracts from the ambient treatment were eaten significantly more by weight than the other treatments. Similarly, P. decipiens discs from the ambient and pH 7.7 treatments were eaten more than those from the pH 7.3 treatment. There was no significant difference in the consumption by treated G. antarctica. These results suggest that ocean acidification may decrease the palatability of these macroalgae to consumers but not alter consumption by G. antarctica.
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Indigenous engagement with the Alexander Archipelago Wolf: Cultural context and traditional ecological knowledgeThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska conducted a Species Status Assessment in response to a petition to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf under the Endangered Species Act. This federal undertaking could not be adequately prepared without including the voices of the Indigenous People who have a deep connection with the subspecies. The Indigenous knowledge presented in this report is the cultural and intellectual property of those who have shared it. The purpose of the report is to communicate the knowledge shared with us to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help inform the Species Status Assessment and future tribal consultations, wildlife research, and management. Due to a constrained regulatory timeline, we employed rapid appraisal research to expeditiously develop a preliminary understanding of Indigenous People’s ecological knowledge of wolves. We applied the social scientific methods of qualitative ethnography and inductive coding from grounded theory for text analysis. We conducted archival research and literature reviews on the cultural significance of wolves in Tlingit society and social organization to supplement in-depth conversations with traditional knowledge holders who are local wolf experts. The study was informed by two tribal consultations.
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American Museum of Natural History Educator's Guide: Northwest Coast HallWelcome to the Northwest Coast Hall. Reopened in 2022, it is the result of an intensive five-year collaboration between the Museum and ten advisors from the Indigenous cultural groups featured in the hall. This revitalized hall celebrates Indigenous worldview, artistry, cultural persistence, and the distinct practices and histories of the individual Nations along the Northwest Coast.
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Indigenous use and conservation of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) at Yakutat, Alaska since the sixteenth centurySustainable Indigenous resource use reflects balance between animal populations and levels of human consumption, influenced by natural cycles of faunal abundance, community size and subsistence needs, procurement technologies, and the requirements of trade or commodity production. Sustainability is “epiphenomenal” when animal populations are preserved, and community needs met, without deliberate measures to prevent overharvesting. Alternatively, Indigenous conservation—cultural practices that moderate use of a resource to prevent its depletion—may play a determinative role. In this study from the Tlingit community of Yakutat, Alaska in the Northwest Coast cultural region, we interweave Indigenous and scientific perspectives to trace the use and conservation of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from before Western contact through the Russian and American colonial periods to the present. Harbor seals, which concentrate in large numbers at a summer ice floe rookery near Hubbard Glacier, are the community's most important subsistence food and a key to its culture and history. The Smithsonian Institution and Yakutat Tlingit Tribe undertook collaborative research in historical ecology and archaeology in 2011–2014 including oral interviews with elders and subsistence providers, excavations at sealing sites, archaeofaunal analysis, historical and archival research, and consideration of climate cycles and biological regime shifts that influence the harbor seal population in the Gulf of Alaska. We compare technologies and hunting practices before and after Western contact, estimate harvest levels in different periods, and evaluate the effectiveness of traditional conservation practices that included hunting quotas enforced by clan leaders and the seasonal delay of hunting with firearms to prevent abandonment of the rookery by the seal herd.
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Optimizing seaweed biomass production ‑ A two kelp solutionInterest in farming kelps has grown beyond using kelp for food, feed or biofuels. There is considerable interest in generating biomass from seaweed for use in bioplastics and other products that would substitute for petroleum-derived products. For these uses to be viable, large amounts of biomass are needed. Very large kelp farms can be expensive to build and maintain, leading to the need to optimize the biomass per unit area. Although close spacing of growlines can lead to poor growth, a viable approach may be to grow two species of kelps together: one that hangs down and one that is buoyant, growing up. This system would increase the spacing in three dimensions. In Alaska, Saccharina latissima is commonly grown hanging down from longlines. One of the buoyant Alaskan kelps is Nereocystis luetkeana. Because there are commercial uses for wild-harvested Nereocystis in Alaska, we undertook a preliminary trial in Kodiak, Alaska, that grew both Saccharina and Nereocystis in the same longline array. Closely spaced lines were seeded the first week of February 2023 and set at 3 m below the surface. The arrays were harvested in late June 2023. Total yields were greatest on the combined arrays, followed by the Nereocystis only and Saccharina only arrays. Despite having 45% fewer grow-lines, the total yield of the Nereocystis on the combined arrays was statistically similar to the Nereocystis only arrays. These results may have significance for large scale macroalgal production.
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Reshaping research paradigms: Insights from a large-scale project based in Nunatsiavut, Labrador, CanadaArctic Institute of North America, 2024-09Across Inuit Nunangat (the Inuit homelands of Canada) researchers have been called to engage ethically and meaningfully with community members to develop projects that support local goals. This article focuses on understanding such engagement in the context of Nunatsiavut, an Inuit-governed territory in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. In 2022 we conducted 27 interviews with researchers (both southern- and community-based), Inuit government representatives, and NGO representatives associated with the transdisciplinary SakKijânginnaKullugit Nunatsiavut Sivunitsangit (Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures [SNF]) Project. SakKijânginnaKullugit Nunatsiavut Sivunitsangit began in 2020 and was designed, in part, to facilitate the co-production of knowledge between researchers and community members about climatic changes in Nunatsiavut. Through interviews, we explored what ethical and meaningful community engagement means in the context of a large-scale transdisciplinary project. Drawing on an analysis of interview data, we examine how project members and partners engage with Inuit community members, and how members of the project team who are Inuit have experienced these engagements. Based on participant responses, we identified elements needed for, and barriers to, ethical and meaningful engagement. We also heard about possible solutions. University researchers described institutional constraints to long-term engagement, while members of the Nunatsiavut Government staff and Inuit research coordinators emphasized that extractive (one-sided) forms of engagement can negatively impact communities. Interviewees described how a) restructuring academic and funding institutions, b) broadening engagement methods, and c) scaling down within a project can minimize the likelihood of negative effects and lead to more ethical and meaningful community engagement.
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A quasi-one-dimensional ice mélange flow model based on continuum descriptions of granular materialsField and remote sensing studies suggest that ice mélange influences glacier–fjord systems by exerting stresses on glacier termini and releasing large amounts of freshwater into fjords. The broader impacts of ice mélange over long timescales are unknown, in part due to a lack of suitable ice mélange flow models. Previous efforts have included modifying existing viscous ice shelf models, despite the fact that ice mélange is fundamentally a granular material, and running computationally expensive discrete element simulations. Here, we draw on laboratory studies of granular materials, which exhibit viscous flow when stresses greatly exceed the yield point, plug flow when the stresses approach the yield point, and exhibit stress transfer via force chains. By implementing the nonlocal granular fluidity rheology into a depth- and width-integrated stress balance equation, we produce a numerical model of ice mélange flow that is consistent with our understanding of well-packed granular materials and that is suitable for long-timescale simulations. For parallel-sided fjords, the model exhibits two possible steady-state solutions. When there is no calving of icebergs or melting of previously calved icebergs, the ice mélange is pushed down-fjord by the advancing glacier terminus, the velocity is constant along the length of the fjord, and the thickness profile is exponential. When calving and melting are included and treated as constants, the ice mélange evolves into another steady state in which its location is fixed relative to the fjord walls, the thickness profile is relatively steep, and the flow is extensional. For the latter case, the model predicts that the steady-state ice mélange buttressing force depends on the surface and basal melt rates through an inverse power-law relationship, decays roughly exponentially with both fjord width and gradient in fjord width, and increases with the iceberg calving flux. The buttressing force appears to increase with calving flux (i.e., glacier thickness) more rapidly than the force required to prevent the capsizing of full-glacier-thickness icebergs, suggesting that glaciers with high calving fluxes may be more strongly influenced by ice mélange than those with small fluxes.
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Influences on the Hematopoietic Stem Cell NicheHematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) are supported by the bone marrow microenvironment to maintain normal production of blood cells. The niche may be considered an “ecosystem” that support the function of HSCs and other supportive cells. Alterations in the bone marrow niche are commonly observed in hematologic malignancies. Here, we review recent insights into the location and the molecular and cellular components of the bone marrow niche. Moreover, we discuss how the niche interacts with HSCs to drive the pathogenesis of hematopoietic malignancies. Overall, a better understanding of the influences on the HSC niche may drive therapeutic development targeting defective and aberrant hematopoiesis.
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Therapeutic Potential of Ceramide in Cancer TreatmentCeramides are a family of wax-like lipids that fall under the broader category of sphingolipids. A ceramide is composed of a sphingosine side chain coupled to a fatty acid via an amide linkage. Distinct from complex sphingolipids, the head of ceramide is a simple alcohol rather than a phosphate, phosphocholine, sugar, or more. The fatty acid chains of ceramide can also vary in chain length and degree of saturation. The degree of saturation may determine the biological activity of the ceramide species. Ceramides are highly abundant within the cell membrane of eukaryotic cells and are appreciated for their structural roles in these cells. Moreover, ceramides are well known for their biological activity including as regulators of apoptosis, senescence, the cell cycle, and differentiation. This review discusses pathways of ceramide, roles of ceramide in various diseases, targeting ceramide metabolism in the treatment of cancer, as well as ceramide-delivering nanotechnologies.
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Obesity Promotes the Ceramide-Mediated NADPH Oxidase in Acute Myeloid LeukemiaAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a type of blood cancer of the myeloid cell lineage. Obesity is characterized by an increase in body weight that results in excessive fat accumulation. Obesity has been associated with an increased incidence of many cancers, including blood cancers. This study evaluated the role obesity in AML progression in a novel transgenic mouse model developed by crossing Flt3ITD mice with Lepob/ob mice. Leukemia burden was augmented in obese AML mice. In addition, it was determined that obesity upregulated the ceramide-mediated and ceramide-1-phosphate-mediated NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2). Notably, increased oxidative pathways has been attributed to disease progression in AML. Taken together, this study demonstrates a direct link between obesity and the progression of AML in part by augmenting the ceramide mediated NOX2.
