Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 01/01/2008 - 09:00
Forums
Kuril Islands Biocomplexity

How do you and your team feel that this expedition will be significant to future science studies?

Fri, 01/04/2008 - 12:54

Misty Nikula

The scientists working on the Kuril Biocomplexity Project are hoping that by being able to model how humans interact with and are impacted by their environment in small, isolated ecosystems like the Kuril Islands that they could better predict how this may have happened (or will happen) on other Arctic or non-Arctic environments and islands (such as the Aleutians).  If we can get at how the various cultures that have lived here have survived the constant onslaught of volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis and how they managed not to fish or hunt themselves right out of resources, then this information could possibly help us solve other problems (both past and present).  This kind of struggle has been repeated over and over again in many places!It is an extremely ambitious goal and one likely not to be completely answered by a mere three summers of fieldwork, but hopefully we will be able to get SOME answers to the smaller questions that will shed light on the larger one.
Misty