Series: Alaska Park Science - Volume 9 Issue 1: Monitoring the "Vital Signs" of Healthy Park Ecosystems

This issue explores the "vital signs" of parks. The National Park Service's Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Network studies broad ecological trends throughout parks, and uses those trends, or vital signs, to gauge the health of a park's ecosystem.

• Article 1: Monitoring Dall Sheep in Alaska's Arctic Parklands

  

  In an area the size of New Jersey, scientists study Dall's sheep. They are one of 28 vital signs monitored by the Arctic Network Inventory and Monitoring Program (ARCN I&M) because of their importance to the public and in assessing the overall health of the regional ecosystem. Read more

• Article 2: Shallow Lakes - Microcosms of Change

  

  Changes in shallow lakes throughout central Alaska illustrate the effects of our rapidly changing climate. Read more