ABSTRACT. Can local observations and indigenous knowledge be used to provide information that complements research on climate change? Using participatory research methodology and semi-directed interviews, we explored local and traditional knowledge about changes in sea ice in the area of Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories. In this small Inuvialuit community, we interviewed all of the 16 community members and elders considered to be local experts on sea ice to ask about their observations. We organized their comments under the headings multiyear ice, first-year ice, fractures and pressure ridges, breakup and freezeup seasons, and other climate-related variables that influence sea ice (such as changes in winter, spring and summer temperatures, wind, rain, and thunderstorms). Observations were remarkably consistent in providing evidence of local change in such variables as multiyear ice distribution, first-year ice thickness, and ice breakup dates. The changes observed in the 1990s were said to be without precedent and outside the normal range of variation. In assessing the relevance of Inuvialuit knowledge to scientific research on climate change, we note some of the areas in which sharing of information between the two systems of knowledge may be mutually beneficial. These include the analysis of options for adapting to climate change and the generation of research questions and hypotheses for future studies.Key words: Western Arctic, climate change, Inuvialuit, traditional ecological knowledge, sea ice RÉSUMÉ. Est-ce que les observations locales et le savoir des Autochtones peuvent aider à fournir de l'information complétant la recherche sur le changement climatique? En faisant appel à une méthodologie de recherche participative et des entrevues semidirigées, on a examiné le savoir local et traditionnel concernant les changements de la banquise dans la région de Sachs Harbour (Territoires du Nord-Ouest). Dans cette petite communauté inuvialuite, on a interviewé les 16 membres et aînés de la communauté considérés comme des experts locaux de la banquise pour les interroger sur leurs observations. On a organisé leurs commentaires sous les rubriques suivantes: glace pluriannuelle, glace de l'année, crêtes de fractures et de pression, saisons de débâcle et d'engel, ainsi que d'autres variables reliées au climat qui influencent la banquise (comme les changements dans les températures hivernale, printanière et estivale, le vent, la pluie et les orages). Il y avait une concordance frappante dans les observations quant aux preuves de changements à l'échelle locale dans des variables comme la distribution de la glace pluriannuelle, l'épaisseur de la glace de l'année et les dates de la débâcle. Les changements observés au cours des années 1990 étaient, selon les Autochtones, sans précédent et ils dépassaient la gamme normale des variations. En évaluant la pertinence du savoir des Inuvialuits pour la recherche scientifique sur le changement climatique, on souligne certains des domaines dans lesquels le partage de l'inform...

Sixty narwhals (Monodon monoceros) were sampled in the vicinity of Pond Inlet, N.W.T., during the summer of 1978 and 1979. Concentrations of Pb, Cu, Cd, Hg, Se, As, and Zn were measured in liver, kidney, muscle, and blubber. All elements except As were lowest in concentration in the blubber and highest in kidney and liver; Cd and Zn were generally higher in kidney than in liver, while the converse was true for Pb, Cu, and Hg. Cadmium levels in liver and kidney had high interanimal variability but were generally higher than would be expected based on existing marine mammal Cd content data. Certain metals were correlated with animal size and sex. Mercury in kidney, muscle, and blubber and Cd in muscle appear to accumulate during growth. A number of interelement associations with extremely high probabilities were found: among them, that between Hg and Se and Cd and Zn in liver and kidney tissues. The latter association is thought to be related to the presence of metallothionein. The data presented are discussed in terms of what little is known of the biology of the narwhal and represent a baseline for a resource organism which is harvested in an area already subject to mining activity, the level of which is due to increase in the future.

ABSTRACT. The Baffin Island Oil Spill (BIOS) Project was carried out in nearshore shallow waters at Cape Hatt, northern Baffin Island. Observations and limited data on phytoplankton, zooplankton, fishes, birds and mammals at Cape Hatt and more detailed information on microheterotrophs indicate that the BIOS site is typical of the majority of eastern and central High Arctic coastal areas. Detailed baseline information on nearshore macrobenthos (infauna, epibenthos and macroalgae) is, in general, similar to that previously reported for other eastern and central arctic locations; comparisons were hindered by a scarcity of detailed studies elsewhere, differences in sampling methods and complexity in infaunal community structure.Infaunal density (means from 1 1 19 to 3981 individuals.m-' in different study bays and sampling periods) was dominated by polychaetes, especially Pholoe minuta, whereas infaunal biomass (59-2267 g.m-*) was dominated by bivalves, primarily Mya truncutu. Epibenthic crustaceans (207-2527 individuals.m-') were dominated by ostracods, amphipods (notably Guernea sp.) and cumaceans (Lamprops fuscutu). The sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebuchiensis (up to 10 individuals.m-') and the seastar Leptusteriaspolaris (up to 2 individuals.m-') were the large and conspicuous echinoderms on study transects. Macroalgal biomass was from 178 to 1112 g.m-* (not including a Laminaria zone); communities at 3 m depth were dominated by loose-lying understory algae, particularly Stictyosiphon tortilis, Pilayella littoralis andDicryosiphon foeniculuceus. The deeper transects (7 m) supported a considerably higher infaunal biomass and density of epibenthos than did 3 m transects in both sampling periods, whereas depth differences in macroalgal biomass varied from September 1980 to August 1981.An evaluation of the sampling design and procedures used in this study (including efficiency of the diver-operated airlift sampler; the area, location and number of replicate samples collected; and bias, efficiency and consistency in laboratory analysis) indicated that representative samples of the nearshore macrobenthic communities were obtained. The study design and analysis of variance procedures used to analyze the data provided a rigorous framework within which oil effects were evaluated.

Arsenic concentrations were measured in aquatic invertebrates, macrophytes, sediments, and water of lakes in the vicinity of Yellowknife (N.W.T.), Canada. In arsenic-contaminated lakes the arsenic concentration ranged from 0.70 to 5.5 ppm in water, 6 to 3,500 ppm in bottom sediments, 150 to 3,700 ppm in macrophytes, 700 to 2,400 ppm in zooplankton, and less than 1 to 1,300 ppm in other invertebrates. The arsenic concentration in invertebrates varied with sampling time, place, and taxon. Arsenic concentration factors were calculated, and found to decrease with increasing concentration of arsenic in ecosystem components of the lake. No evidence was found for biomagnification of arsenic through ascending trophic levels. In high-arsenic lakes herbivores had the highest arsenic concentrations, and omnivores the lowest. Pelecypoda, Ephemeroptera, Amphipoda, and Hirudinea were conspicuously absent from high-arsenic lakes. These particular organisms may be more susceptible to the effects of arsenic than others.

A simple method is described for determining the O: N ratio of small marine invertebrates. Oxygen consumption is followed using an oxygen electrode and the water sample is subsequently analysed for a-amino nitrogen using a ninhydrin method. It is possible to distinguish between ammo-nitrogen and ammonia-nitrogen in the water sample by removing the ammonia under alkaline conditions. Results with the palaemonid prawn Palaemonetes varians (Leach) indicate that ammonia is the main nitrogenous excretory product and that the O:N ratio is 6-1 in winter. The ratio increases to 34-2 during early summer, indicating a shift from protein catabolism to utilization of carbohydrate, fat, or both of these energy sources.