TIME TRANSECT OF GENOMIC DIVERSITY OF SALMON ON THE KENAI RIVER SYSTEM

This community-engaged project develops community knowledge and genomic data on two cultural keystone species of salmon in the Kenai region of Alaska. Specifically, genomes of Oncorhynchus kisutch (Coho Salmon) and Oncorhynchus nerka (Sockeye Salmon) from the Kenai region will be generated as a foundational resource. A time transect of two salmon species will be conducted, providing a comparative analysis of the demographic and adaptive changes that have occurred in these species before and after the time of European contact. In addition, metagenomic analysis will also be conducted to identify changes in pathogens and microbes associated with salmon through time. The use of Pacific salmon by Dena’ina peoples of the Kenai region will be assembled and mapped, providing Indigenous perspectives. This project will serve as a model of integration of genomic information and community-based knowledge to understand the changes of subsistence fishing of Indigenous peoples through time. Beyond the core impact of the work in anthropology and evolutionary biology, this research will be of broad interest to scholars in diverse fields of the social sciences, life sciences, and humanities.