by Kristen Minogue

“Not everybody in Alaska is a fisherman. But all of us live on salmon land….If you look at a map of the Kenai Peninsula, it just looks like a cardiovascular system. Salmon are like the heartbeat.”

These words, spoken by a young Alaska fisherwoman named Hannah Heimbuch, open a short documentary the Smithsonian created called The Heartbeat. Featured in the D.C. Environmental Film Festival this March, it tells the story of Alaska’s Kenai Lowlands—one of the few places on Earth where salmon are still sustainable.

SERC ecologist Dennis Whigham, also in the film, has studied Alaska’s landscapes for over 15 years, including its headwater streams that support juvenile salmon. A wetland ecologist, he looks at the entire ecosystem to uncover what salmon need, and which “hotspots” are most important to protect. It’s part of a larger collaboration with scientists from Alaska’s Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Baylor University and the University of South Florida.

Much of the team’s work focuses on two nutrients young salmon depend on: nitrogen and carbon. While many ecosystems like Chesapeake Bay suffer from excessive nitrogen pollution, here in Alaska, natural sources of nitrogen are critical. In streams where both carbon and nitrogen abound, young salmon can thrive.

“These are places you don’t want to screw up,” Whigham said.

Read more on SERC's Shorelines blog