Ancient DNA reveals phenological diversity of Coast Salish herring harvests over multiple centuries
Abstract Phenological diversity in food resources prolongs foraging opportunities for consumers and buffers them against environmental disturbances. Such diversity is particularly important in forage fish such as Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), which are foundational to coastal food webs and fish...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2022-08-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17656-4 |
| _version_ | 1811342703418408960 |
|---|---|
| author | Eleni L. Petrou Robert Kopperl Dana Lepofsky Antonia T. Rodrigues Dongya Yang Madonna L. Moss Camilla F. Speller Lorenz Hauser |
| author_facet | Eleni L. Petrou Robert Kopperl Dana Lepofsky Antonia T. Rodrigues Dongya Yang Madonna L. Moss Camilla F. Speller Lorenz Hauser |
| author_sort | Eleni L. Petrou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Phenological diversity in food resources prolongs foraging opportunities for consumers and buffers them against environmental disturbances. Such diversity is particularly important in forage fish such as Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), which are foundational to coastal food webs and fisheries. While the importance of phenological diversity is well-known from contemporary studies, the extent to which different populations contribute to fisheries over long time scales is mostly unknown. In this study, we investigated the relative contributions of genetically and phenologically distinct herring populations to Indigenous Peoples’ food systems over multiple centuries, using ancient DNA extracted from archaeological herring bones. These bones were excavated from two Coast Salish archaeological sites (Burton Acres Shell Midden and Bay Street Shell Midden) in the Puget Sound region, USA. Using genetic stock identification from seven nuclear DNA markers, we showed that catches at the two sites in central Puget Sound were dominated by January–February and March–April spawners, which are the contemporary spawning groups in the vicinity of the sites. However, May spawners were detected in the older Burton Acres assemblage (dated to 910–685 cal BP), and a mixed stock analysis indicated that catches at this site consisted of multiple populations. These results suggest that Coast Salish ancestors used a portfolio of herring populations and benefited from the ecological resource wave created by different spawning groups of herring. This study of ancient DNA allowed us to glimpse into Indigenous traditional food and management systems, and it enabled us to investigate long-term patterns of biodiversity in an ecologically important forage fish species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:16:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-46babde2e1ab44f490e39acc39859b3b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:16:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-46babde2e1ab44f490e39acc39859b3b2022-12-22T02:33:40ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-08-0112111110.1038/s41598-022-17656-4Ancient DNA reveals phenological diversity of Coast Salish herring harvests over multiple centuriesEleni L. Petrou0Robert Kopperl1Dana Lepofsky2Antonia T. Rodrigues3Dongya Yang4Madonna L. Moss5Camilla F. Speller6Lorenz Hauser7School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of WashingtonWillamette Cultural Resources Associates Ltd.Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser UniversityDepartment of Archaeology, Simon Fraser UniversityDepartment of Archaeology, Simon Fraser UniversityDepartment of Anthropology, University of OregonDepartment of Anthropology, University of British ColumbiaSchool of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of WashingtonAbstract Phenological diversity in food resources prolongs foraging opportunities for consumers and buffers them against environmental disturbances. Such diversity is particularly important in forage fish such as Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), which are foundational to coastal food webs and fisheries. While the importance of phenological diversity is well-known from contemporary studies, the extent to which different populations contribute to fisheries over long time scales is mostly unknown. In this study, we investigated the relative contributions of genetically and phenologically distinct herring populations to Indigenous Peoples’ food systems over multiple centuries, using ancient DNA extracted from archaeological herring bones. These bones were excavated from two Coast Salish archaeological sites (Burton Acres Shell Midden and Bay Street Shell Midden) in the Puget Sound region, USA. Using genetic stock identification from seven nuclear DNA markers, we showed that catches at the two sites in central Puget Sound were dominated by January–February and March–April spawners, which are the contemporary spawning groups in the vicinity of the sites. However, May spawners were detected in the older Burton Acres assemblage (dated to 910–685 cal BP), and a mixed stock analysis indicated that catches at this site consisted of multiple populations. These results suggest that Coast Salish ancestors used a portfolio of herring populations and benefited from the ecological resource wave created by different spawning groups of herring. This study of ancient DNA allowed us to glimpse into Indigenous traditional food and management systems, and it enabled us to investigate long-term patterns of biodiversity in an ecologically important forage fish species.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17656-4 |
| spellingShingle | Eleni L. Petrou Robert Kopperl Dana Lepofsky Antonia T. Rodrigues Dongya Yang Madonna L. Moss Camilla F. Speller Lorenz Hauser Ancient DNA reveals phenological diversity of Coast Salish herring harvests over multiple centuries Scientific Reports |
| title | Ancient DNA reveals phenological diversity of Coast Salish herring harvests over multiple centuries |
| title_full | Ancient DNA reveals phenological diversity of Coast Salish herring harvests over multiple centuries |
| title_fullStr | Ancient DNA reveals phenological diversity of Coast Salish herring harvests over multiple centuries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ancient DNA reveals phenological diversity of Coast Salish herring harvests over multiple centuries |
| title_short | Ancient DNA reveals phenological diversity of Coast Salish herring harvests over multiple centuries |
| title_sort | ancient dna reveals phenological diversity of coast salish herring harvests over multiple centuries |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17656-4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elenilpetrou ancientdnarevealsphenologicaldiversityofcoastsalishherringharvestsovermultiplecenturies AT robertkopperl ancientdnarevealsphenologicaldiversityofcoastsalishherringharvestsovermultiplecenturies AT danalepofsky ancientdnarevealsphenologicaldiversityofcoastsalishherringharvestsovermultiplecenturies AT antoniatrodrigues ancientdnarevealsphenologicaldiversityofcoastsalishherringharvestsovermultiplecenturies AT dongyayang ancientdnarevealsphenologicaldiversityofcoastsalishherringharvestsovermultiplecenturies AT madonnalmoss ancientdnarevealsphenologicaldiversityofcoastsalishherringharvestsovermultiplecenturies AT camillafspeller ancientdnarevealsphenologicaldiversityofcoastsalishherringharvestsovermultiplecenturies AT lorenzhauser ancientdnarevealsphenologicaldiversityofcoastsalishherringharvestsovermultiplecenturies |