| Larson Lake, Alaska provides a record of salmon abundance since the deglaciation of south-centralAlaska followingthe Last Glacial Maximum. The length of this record allows for the study of long term changes in salmon abundance and how theyrelateto the changing climate of the last ~14,000 cal BP. The δ15N record from Larson Lake shows salmon abundance increasing gradually asincreasing temperature and precipitationdrove increases in ocean and lake productivity. Apronounced increase in salmon abundanceoccursfrom 9,300 to 8,300 cal BPafter which salmon abundance reached levels similar to modern. Larson Lake’s long record also allows for investigation to salmon availability into humans as they migrated to the region. Salmon were spawning in significant numbers by ~12,900 cal BP, 1,100 years before the earliest evidence for human habitation in the region around Larson Lake. However,current evidence suggestssalmon were not intensely harvest until the last ~1,000 years despite their availabilityfor thousands of years.Keywords: Oncorhynchus nerka, Sockeye salmon, Stable isotope analysis, Paleoclimate, Pacific Decadal Oscillation,Prehistoric humans |