The Beringian Coevolution Project: Holistic collections of mammals and associated parasites reveal novel perspectives on changing environments in the north

Authors: COOK, JOSEPH - University Of New Mexico; GALBREATH, KURT - Northern Michigan University; BELL, KAYCE - University Of New Mexico; CAMPBELL, MARIEL - University Of New Mexico; CARRIERE, SUZANNE - Government Of The Northwest Territories; COLELLA, JOCELYN - University Of New Mexico; DAWSON, NATALIE - University Of Montana; DUNNUM, JONATHAN - University Of New Mexico; ECKERLIN, RALPH - Northern Virginia Community College; GERIMAN, STEPHEN - Georgia Southern University; FEDOROV, VADIM - University Of Alaska; HAAS, GENEVIEVE - Northern Michigan University; HAUKISALMI, VOITTO - University Of Helsinki; HENTTONEN, HEIKKI - Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE); HOPE, ANDREW - Kansas State University; JACKSON, DONOVAN - University Of New Mexico; JUNG, THOMAS - Yukon Department Of Environment; KOEHLER, ANSON - University Of Melbourne; KINSELLA, MICHAEL - Helmwest Laboratory; KREJSA, DIANNA - University Of New Mexico; KUTZ, SUSAN - University Of Calgary; LIPHARDT, SCHUYLER - University Of New Mexico; MACDONALD, STEPHEN - University Of New Mexico; MALANEY, JASON - Austin Peay State University; MAKARIKOV, ARSENY - Russian Academy Of Sciences; MARTIN, JON - University Of Alaska; MCLEAN, BRYAN - University Of New Mexico; MULDERS, ROBERT - Government Of The Northwest Territories; BATSAIKHAN, NYAMSUREN - National University Of Mongolia; TALBOT, SANDRA - Us Geological Survey (USGS); TKACH, VASYL - University Of North Dakota; TSVETKOVA, ALBINA - Institute Of Ecology And Evolution; TOMAN, HEATHER - Northern Michigan University; WALTARI, ERIC - Aaron Diamond Aids Research Center; WHITMAN, JACKSON - Collaborator; Hoberg, Eric

Submitted to: Arctic Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/23/2016
Publication Date: 12/23/2016
Citation: Cook, J.A., Galbreath, K.E., Bell, K.C., Campbell, M.L., Carriere, S., Colella, J.P., Dawson, N.G., Dunnum, J.L., Eckerlin, R.P., Geriman, S.E., Fedorov, V., Haas, G.M., Haukisalmi, V., Henttonen, H., Hope, A.G., Jackson, D., Jung, T., Koehler, A., Kinsella, M., Krejsa, D., Kutz, S.J., Liphardt, S., Macdonald, S.O., Malaney, J.L., Makarikov, A., Martin, J., Mclean, B., Mulders, R., Batsaikhan, N., Talbot, S.L., Tkach, V., Tsvetkova, A., Toman, H.M., Waltari, E., Whitman, J., Hoberg, E.P. 2016. The Beringian Coevolution Project: Holistic collections of mammals and associated parasites reveal novel perspectives on changing environments in the north. Arctic Science. doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0042.

Interpretive Summary: Natural history collections are one of the most powerful resources available for documenting the effects of changing environmental conditions on global biodiversity. During the past 15 years and more, the Beringian Coevolution Project (BCP) has contributed fundamental insights into how environmental change, particularly climate perturbations, has shaped faunal assembly, diversification and persistence in the vast region formerly connecting North America and Eurasia. BCP collections of mammals and parasites from across the northern high latitudes are establishing annual baselines and records of biotic diversity at a time when the Arctic is undergoing accelerated environmental change. BCP permanent archives (more than 53,000 mammals and associated parasites) are key to identifying hidden diversity, interpreting past response to climate change, and in anticipating the response of complex biotic communities to ecological perturbation, including impacts on geographic distribution, transmission dynamics, and emergence of pathogens. By using specific examples from carnivores, shrews, lagomorphs, and rodents and their associated parasites, we demonstrate how broad, integrated field collections provide key infrastructure that informs policy decisions regarding human impact and the effect of climate change on natural populations, and ecosystem continuity and integrity at high latitudes. Creating synergy for complex information, these collections provide essential insights to disease ecologists, conservation biologists, and wildlife and ecosystem managers across federal agencies, academia and various NGO's seeking to understand invasion, and the role of climate in determining the history and future of biodiverse systems.

Technical Abstract: The Beringian Coevolution Project (BCP), a field program underway in the Arctic since 1999, has focused on building key scientific infrastructure for integrated specimen-based studies on mammals and their associated parasites. BCP has contributed new insights across temporal and spatial scales into how ancient climate and environmental change have shaped faunas, emphasizing processes of assembly, persistence, and diversification across the vast Beringian region. However, BCP collections also represent baseline records of biotic diversity from across the northern high latitudes at a time of accelerated environmental change. Considering these changes, BCP permanent archives (more than 53,000 mammals and associated parasites) are an unmatched resource for identifying hidden diversity, interpreting past responses to climate oscillations, establishing contemporary conditions, and anticipating outcomes for complex biotic communities in a regime of accelerating ecological perturbation. This record provides a foundation for comparative analyses that can document the effects of environmental change on the geographic distribution, transmission dynamics, and emergence of pathogens. By using specific examples from carnivores, shrews, lagomorphs, rodents and their associated parasites, we demonstrate how broad, integrated field collections provide key infrastructure that informs policy decisions regarding human impact and the effect of climate change on natural populations at high latitudes.