The Arctic
is often seen as a biodiversity-poor region, where animal husbandry is solely
based on herding of reindeer (Rangifer
tarandus). However, in northern Europe and Siberia, also breeding of
special native cattle (Bos taurus)
and horse (Equus caballus) breeds has
a long tradition (for example, Northern Finncattle, Yakutian cattle, Mezen
horse and Yakutian horse).
Arctic domestic animals shaped
by natural and human selection
The Arctic
Ark project studies animals’ adaptation to the Arctic as a complex
human-environmental process. Old traditions of ‘folk selection’, rather than
those implemented by institutions have been shaping Arctic animals’ valuable
traits. Each of the ethnic groups studied in this project (Finns, Sámi, Nenets,
Pomors, Russians, Sakha, Eveny) have myths and legends connected to orally
transmitted narratives of domestication and selection of their animals. This
kind of cultural adaptation assistance is mostly due to symbiotic domesticity,
an intimate human-animal partnership.
As a result
of natural and folk selection, reindeer and Arctic cattle and horse breeds show
metabolic, morphological and reproductive adjustments.
To study the
uniqueness of the animal breeds, we compare them to animal breeds from southern
area with a warm climate, in our case Portuguese native cattle and horse
breeds.
Multidisciplinary approach in
the Arctic Ark project
We
investigate how indigenous and non-indigenous societies raise reindeer, cattle
and horse breeds in Finnish Lapland, Archangelsk and Eveno-Bytantaj in Russia.
The methods come from the disciplines of genetics, ecology and anthropology. In
the animal genomics analyses we focus on animals’ metabolic adaptation and
structural and functional genome variations. We use modern genomic approaches
for the analyses: whole-genome sequencing of animals and gene expression
analyses of host animals and their rumen microbiota.
In the
social-anthropological studies we compare across regions husbanders’ knowledge
of the environment and desired animal characteristics that facilitate a
sustainable Arctic livelihood. The data of these two disciplines shall be
integrated through approaches of ecological anthropology.
The close
association between animals and humans over many centuries in the Arctic allows
us to identify the human and nature footprints in animal adaptations as well as
the importance of different animal species for the resilience of Arctic
cultures and economies.
The study of
these unique Arctic Human-animal relations and genetic resources of the Arctic
domestic animals shall contribute to further conservation of biological and
cultural diversity and sustainable resource governance.
The project
is a consortium work between our colleagues from genetics and biology at the
Finnish natural resources institute (Luke), and the anthropology team of the
Arctic Centre. We thank our reviewers wholeheartedly for their positive
evaluation, and the Finnish Academy for subsequent positive funding decision!
