Arctic marine ecosystems face increasing climate stress

Abstract

Arctic warming is occurring at a much faster rate than in other parts of the globe, with potentially devastating consequences for the diverse array of species within ecologically and biologically sensitive areas in the Arctic marine region. However, climate change research in this region is sparse compared to other biomes, hindering conservation efforts. In this article, we review and synthesize the available literature to understand the observed and potential impacts of climate change on different species and ecosystems in the Arctic marine region. We reviewed 253 articles reporting changes in species and ecosystems in the Arctic marine region in response to climate change (225 studies documenting observed impacts and 28 reporting predicted impacts). The review revealed that most research effort has been concentrated in only a subset of Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) (5/18 LMEs), with the majority of Arctic LMEs being poorly studied. The majority of the reviewed papers focused on marine mammals (19%) followed by microalgae (17%). A number of studies documented variability in planktonic communities (microalgae, macroalgae, zooplankton), resulting in alteration in ecosystem structure and function. Reproductive failure, decline in populations, and changes in diet composition, behavior and breeding biology were reported for sea birds and mammals. Further, shifts in spatial distribution of fishes were observed by several studies. This review provides persuasive evidence that multiple climate change indices in the Arctic region are changing, with impacts on almost all components of marine biotic ecosystems (from plankton to top predators). We identify a number of gaps (such as limited inventory of biota, robustness of data supporting climate change indices on an Arctic Ocean scale, and climate suitability assessment for all species) in climate change research in Arctic marine ecosystems where future studies can help to quantify the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems and advance understanding for their adaptive management.

Horizon scanning of potential threats to high‐Arctic biodiversity, human health and the economy from marine invasive alien species: A Svalbard case study

“…In addition, the difficulty in reliably identifying certain organisms to species level without the use of molecular tools (e.g. the Mytilus complex), the lack of information on microscopic IAS, such as parasites, fungi and microalgae and the lack of knowledge on marine biota, particularly in the Arctic (Deb & Bailey, 2023), significantly hampers monitoring and surveillance programmes (Hughes et al., 2020). Recent advances in environmental DNA metabarcoding techniques are now enabling the early detection of some marine IAS in the Arctic (van den Heuvel‐Greve et al., 2021; Ware et al., 2016), although ground‐truthing and repeated sampling is still required to determine whether these species will survive, become established and subsequently cause any impact.…”

Spatiotemporal dynamics of subarctic intertidal macrobenthos: going their own ways

“…Understanding the processes and mechanisms driving the changes in communities is necessary for assessing the present state and predicting the future of particular ecosystems. This is especially important at present, when many ecosystems are globally undergoing rapid alterations due to ongoing climate changes and increasing anthropogenic pressure (Knights et al ., 2017; Deb and Bailey, 2023).…”

Foraging habits of Northwest Atlantic hooded seals over the past 30 years: Future habitat suitability under global warming

“…The onset of intense warming has led to changes in sea ice extent and thickness as well as changes in sea ice phenology (ice formation and melting dates) (Kovacs et al., 2011; Laidre et al., 2015) and a deepening of the thermocline (Pachauri et al., 2014). This rapid environmental change has induced changes in ecosystem functioning by affecting marine life from phytoplankton to top predators (Deb & Bailey, 2023; Fossheim et al., 2015; Frainer et al., 2017; Kortsch et al., 2015; Pecuchet et al., 2020). Projected future climate conditions are expected to have cascading effects on Arctic marine habitats and food web structure, which could lead to regional extirpation or even complete extinction of already threatened species (Molnár et al., 2020; Stige et al., 2019).…”