Arctic Marine Mammals and Climate Change: Impacts and Resilience

Moore, Sue E.; Huntington, Henry P.

doi:10.1890/06-0571.1

Cited by 376 publications

(286 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

282

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…These are rapidly diminishing the area of sea: ice contact zone (Marginal Ice Zone [MIZ] in case of sea ice), an important part of the Arctic marine ecosystem. Any reduction in this zone will have detrimental consequences for iceassociated algae, invertebrates, fish and the foraging grounds of pagophilic seabirds and marine mammals (Moore and Huntington 2008;AMAP 2012;Sydeman et al 2012;Post et al 2013;Barber et al 2015). A strong relationship was found between glacial recession and the decline of the Kittlitz's murrelet Brachyramphus brevirostris population in Prince William Sound, Alaska (Kuletz et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine birds and mammals foraging in the rapidly deglaciating Arctic fjord - numbers, distribution and habitat preferences

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate-induced glacier retreat is considered in the context of its reducing the seaice contact zone used by marine birds and mammals as important foraging grounds and may cause declines in their numbers. To test this hypothesis, a survey was conducted in diversified habitats of a rapidly deglaciating Arctic fjord in Svalbard. Of the fifteen seabird and four mammal species found, coastal surface-feeders prevailed over benthic-feeders and pelagic pursuit-divers. Deep tidewater glacier bays were used by the most numerous but least heterogeneous foraging community, in contrast to the shallow lagoons of coastlineterminating glaciers and deglaciated shorelines. After the 15 years of glaciers retreat documented in Hornsund, the sea-ice contact zone used by birds and mammals has not declined. On the contrary, the increasing freshwater supply from underwater glacial rivers raising zooplankton up to the surface, thus making it available to seabirds, enhances the attractiveness of tidewater glacier bays. Along with the stage of retreat, the importance of glacier bays as feeding grounds changes. Foraging conditions deteriorate when the glacier terminus reaches the coastline and the glacier bay becomes shallower. However, glacier retreat enlarges the area of littoral habitats accessible to benthophages. Glacier-related habitats situated close to colony are used as alternative/emergency feeding grounds by seabirds that normally forage outside the fjord. This is especially important during the chick-rearing period and also during bad weather conditions in the open sea. Our study demonstrates that, so far, the abundance and species diversity of seabirds foraging in the rapidly deglaciating Hornsund are both high, suggesting that they benefit from the current intensive glacier melt. However, with further climate change an apparent biodiversity paradox may occur. Here, overall biodiversity will increase but local diversity of pagophilic species will decline. Such nonlinear responses complicate the prediction of future polar ecosystem dynamics.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine birds and mammals foraging in the rapidly deglaciating Arctic fjord - numbers, distribution and habitat preferences

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The subsistence harvests of all Arctic coastal communities include ice-associated marine mammals such as ringed and bearded seals, walrus, belugas, and bowhead whales (Moore and Huntington, 2008). The availability and accessibility of each of these species, in terms of both the population size and proximity to hunting grounds, will be impacted by changes in the timing and persistence (number) of freeze-up and breakup events.…”

Section: Changes In Timing Of Freeze-up and Break-up And Number Of Famentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of a lengthening open water season on Alaskan coastal communities: deriving locally relevant indices from large-scale datasets and community observations

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Using thresholds of physical climate variables developed from community observations, together with two large-scale datasets, we have produced local indices directly relevant to the impacts of a reduced sea ice cover on Alaska coastal communities. The indices include the number of "false freeze-ups" defined by transient exceedances of ice concentration prior to a corresponding exceedance that persists, "false break-ups", timing of freeze-up and break-up, length of the open water duration, number of days when the winds preclude hunting via boat (wind speed threshold exceedances), the number of wind events conducive to geomorphological work or damage to infrastructure from ocean waves, and the number of these wind events with onand along-shore components promoting water setup along the coastline. We demonstrate how community observations can inform use of large-scale datasets to derive these locally relevant indices.

show abstract

“…Many species of polar seabirds and marine mammals require sea-ice habitat for foraging, resting, and raising young (e.g., Moore and Huntington, 2008;Kovacs et al, 2011;Santora, 2014;Laidre et al, 2015;Delord et al, 2016). Ice floes provide refuge for seabirds and seals from their predators, such as killer whales and leopard seals (e.g., Visser et al, 2008;Durban, 2010, 2012).…”

Section: Impacts Of Advection On Sea-ice Habitat For Seabirds and Marmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the area of ice available to them declines, they will be forced to use alternative habitats or decline. In contrast, other species of marine mammals may be able to move into higher latitude regions as ice melts and the conditions change (e.g., Moore and Huntington, 2008;Siniff et al, 2008;Costa et al, 2010).…”

Section: Effects Of Advective Changes On Seabirds and Marine Mammalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

Hunt

Drinkwater

Arrigo

et al. 2016

Progress in Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tWe compare and contrast the ecological impacts of atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns on polar and sub-polar marine ecosystems. Circulation patterns differ strikingly between the north and south. Meridional circulation in the north provides connections between the sub-Arctic and Arctic despite the presence of encircling continental landmasses, whereas annular circulation patterns in the south tend to isolate Antarctic surface waters from those in the north. These differences influence fundamental aspects of the polar ecosystems from the amount, thickness and duration of sea ice, to the types of organisms, and the ecology of zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Meridional flows in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans transport heat, nutrients, and plankton northward into the Chukchi Sea, the Barents Sea, and the seas off the west coast of Greenland. In the North Atlantic, the advected heat warms the waters of the southern Barents Sea and, with advected nutrients and plankton, supports immense biomasses of fish, seabirds and marine mammals. On the Pacific side of the Arctic, cold waters flowing northward across the northern Bering and Chukchi seas during winter and spring limit the ability of boreal fish species to take advantage of high seasonal production there. Southward flow of cold Arctic waters into sub-Arctic regions of the North Atlantic occurs mainly through Fram Strait with less through the Barents Sea and the Canadian Archipelago. In the Pacific, the transport of Arctic waters and plankton southward through Bering Strait is minimal.In the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and its associated fronts are barriers to the southward dispersal of plankton and pelagic fishes from sub-Antarctic waters, with the consequent evolution of Antarctic zooplankton and fish species largely occurring in isolation from those to the north. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current also disperses biota throughout the Southern Ocean, and as a result, the biota tends to be similar within a given broad latitudinal band. South of the Southern Boundary of the ACC, there is a large-scale divergence that brings nutrient-rich water to the surface. This divergence, along with more localized upwelling regions and deep vertical convection in winter, generates elevated nutrient levels throughout the Antarctic at the end of austral winter. However, such elevated nutrient levels do not support elevated phytoplankton productivity through the entire Southern Ocean, as iron concentrations are rapidly removed to limiting levels by spring blooms in deep waters. However, coastal http://dx

show abstract

Arctic Marine Mammals and Climate Change: Impacts and Resilience

Cited by 376 publications

References 57 publications

Marine birds and mammals foraging in the rapidly deglaciating Arctic fjord - numbers, distribution and habitat preferences

Marine birds and mammals foraging in the rapidly deglaciating Arctic fjord - numbers, distribution and habitat preferences

Impacts of a lengthening open water season on Alaskan coastal communities: deriving locally relevant indices from large-scale datasets and community observations

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About