Three local scientists merged their studies to provide a look at
how the changing arctic environment can affect species through
hybridization. Their work led to a commentary article published
last month in Nature, an international science journal. The lead
author on the article, titled “The Arctic Melting Pot,” was
Brendan Kelly, who was working at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Mammal Laboratory.
The other authors are David Tallmon of the University of Alaska
Southeast’s biology and marine biology faculty and Andrew
Whiteley of the Department of Environmental Conservation at the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Whiteley worked with
Tallmon on post-graduate studies at UAS when they began efforts
in this study. The research leading to the article took a couple
years to complete. Their article examines how climate changes
can be influential for species to cross-breed, creating hybrids
for offspring. Such hybrids have been evident in arctic bears,
whales, porpoises, se