Migration is a common life history strategy among Arctic vertebrates, yet some of its aspects remain poorly described for some species. In February-March, post-parturient polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in western Hudson Bay, Canada, migrate from maternity den sites on land to the sea ice with three- to four-month-old cubs. We investigated this migration using data from 10 adult females fitted with satellite-linked global positioning system collars tracked in 2011 – 16. Directed movement towards the coast began on average on 1 March (range: 31 January to 23 March) and took a mean of 7.8 days to reach the coast. Bears traveled 18 to 100 km from their dens to the coast (mean = 63 km) at a mean rate of 6.7 km/d. Movements were highly directed, with an approximate northeast orientation, but did not follow the shortest path to the coast. Observed migration patterns were broadly similar to those previously documented, although mean departure date from dens was about four days earlier and mean movement rate was only 40% of that from the late 1990s. Given the sensitivity of polar bears to climate change, the phenology of denning may be a meaningful parameter for long-term monitoring.

The Dorset Paleo-Inuit occupied the island of Newfoundland for over 800 years (1990 BP to 1180 BP), producing a unique and identifiable archaeological record. Despite this, our current understanding of this sea-mammal hunting population is essentially based on past analysis of architecture, artefacts, and animal remains. While these data show that the Dorset intensively used sites at different locations through the Arctic and Subarctic, very little information is known regarding their impact on their surroundings and the environment. Our research is based on soil samples collected at the site of Phillip’s Garden, which is considered to be one of the most intensely occupied sites within the Dorset culture’s geographic range. Beetles, which are known to be ecological specialists, were used as a proxy in this research in order to document the composition and fluctuation in vegetation, and environmental change through time at the site. The analysis demonstrates that the Dorset communities of Phillip’s Garden harvested trees, and modified the environment and the flora surrounding their settlement more intensively than previously thought.

From 1733 to 1900, Moravian missionaries settled in West Greenland to missionize and teach. These activities resulted in local mission and settlement layouts that followed Moravian principles and at the same time adapted to local landscapes and Inuit traditions and subsistence practices. This article explores spatial data, objects, oral tradition, and written sources from sites at Uummannaq, Akunnaat (Lichtenfels), and Kangillermiut, West Greenland. At these sites, landscape use was transculturated, and the material culture changed among both the European missionaries and the local Inuit. Moravian missionaries traded European commodities for Inuit artefacts, and an Inuit industry evolved through creating souvenirs for the missionaries. At the same time, local Inuit material culture was influenced by the presence of the Moravians, who introduced written language, administrative birth numbers, goats, and new crafts such as European-style basket weaving. The cultural encounters at the three Greenlandic sites resulted in objects and practices that were cultural composites of European and Inuit ideals and traditions.

Increases in the frequency and magnitude of disturbances associated with the thawing of ice-rich permafrost highlight the need to understand long-term vegetation succession in permafrost environments. This study uses field sampling and remote sensing to explore vegetation development and soil conditions following catastrophic lake drainage in Old Crow Flats (OCF). The data presented show that vegetation on drained lake basins in OCF is characterized by two distinct assemblages: tall willow stands and sedge swards. Field sampling indicates that these alternative successional trajectories result from variation in soil moisture following drainage. Increased willow mortality on older drained basins suggests that intraspecific competition drives self-thinning in shrub thickets. This finding, combined with data from paleoecological studies and contemporary vegetation in OCF, suggests that willow stands on drained lake basins are seral communities. These results also indicate that the increase in number of catastrophic drainages that occurred between 1972 and 2010 will alter regional vegetation in ways that affect wildlife habitat, permafrost conditions, and local hydrology.

Little is known about the fate of the crew of the Franklin expedition after they sailed from England in 1845. Scant physical evidence and limited Inuit testimony have fueled speculation that the crew had scurvy, had been poisoned by lead, or had botulism or tuberculosis. The Schwatka expedition (1878 – 80) documented that several Inuit families had observed sailors of the Franklin expedition dragging ship’s boats in Washington Bay on the southwest coast of King William Island, Nunavut, Canada. The Inuit reported that the men appeared thin and the mouths of some of them were hard, dry, and black. Many Franklin scholars believe from this description that the surviving crews were suffering from scurvy and possibly lead poisoning. Using a systematic review of the medical literature to assess the Inuit testimony, we reviewed 1718 citations. With this approach, we identified a new and plausible explanation for the wasting and oral conditions ascribed to some of the survivors. We believe that miliary tuberculosis resulting in adrenal insufficiency (or Addison’s disease) may have resulted in the oral and physical symptoms witnessed by the Inuit. Scurvy and lead exposure may have contributed to the pathogenesis of Addison’s disease, but the hypothesis is not wholly dependent on these conditions. The tuberculosis-Addison’s hypothesis results in a deeper understanding of one of the greatest mysteries of Arctic exploration.