The alien terrestrial invertebrate fauna of the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard: potential implications for the native flora and fauna

Coulson, Stephen J.

doi:10.3402/polar.v34.27364

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Currently, most new species appearing in the Arctic are the result of range expansions, but some appear due to human action (Bennett et al 2015). The establishment of new species in the arctic ecosystems (Killengreen et al 2007; Nielsen and Wall 2013; Alsos et al 2015; Coulson 2015), and thus the formation of new, currently unknown, biotic interactions is a major challenge for our understanding of the arctic ecosystems of tomorrow (Walther et al 2009). Although Zackenberg lies rather isolated on the east coast of Greenland, new species will eventually arrive and will likely enter the interaction webs there.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction webs in arctic ecosystems: Determinants of arctic change?

Schmidt

Hardwick

Gilg

et al. 2017

Ambio

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How species interact modulate their dynamics, their response to environmental change, and ultimately the functioning and stability of entire communities. Work conducted at Zackenberg, Northeast Greenland, has changed our view on how networks of arctic biotic interactions are structured, how they vary in time, and how they are changing with current environmental change: firstly, the high arctic interaction webs are much more complex than previously envisaged, and with a structure mainly dictated by its arthropod component. Secondly, the dynamics of species within these webs reflect changes in environmental conditions. Thirdly, biotic interactions within a trophic level may affect other trophic levels, in some cases ultimately affecting land–atmosphere feedbacks. Finally, differential responses to environmental change may decouple interacting species. These insights form Zackenberg emphasize that the combination of long-term, ecosystem-based monitoring, and targeted research projects offers the most fruitful basis for understanding and predicting the future of arctic ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction webs in arctic ecosystems: Determinants of arctic change?

Schmidt

Hardwick

Gilg

et al. 2017

Ambio

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“…Its imago was recorded in the Amderma settlement at the northern edge of the Yugorsky Peninsula [69.76°N, 61.66°E; 06.viii.2012] (Vlasova et al 2014). Conversely, a single visual observation of N. antiopa on Svalbard (Sømme 1993;Coulson 2015) reflects rather a human-mediated introduction event with imported wood than a natural expansion event, as those in Iceland (Ólafsson and Björnsson 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Individuals of a few migrant butterfly species repeatedly occurred even in extremely cold insular areas in the Arctic Ocean such as Greenland (Scott 1986;Karsholt et al 2015), Svalbard (Lokki et al 1978;Laarsonen 1985;Coulson 2015), Kolguev (Bolotov 2012), Vaygach (Vlasova et al 2014), and Dolgiy (Kullberg et al 2018). To the best of our knowledge, there were no reliable records of migrant butterflies from other Arctic islands and large archipelagoes, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-distance dispersal of migrant butterflies to the Arctic Ocean islands, with a record of Nymphalis xanthomelas at the northern edge of Novaya Zemlya (76.95°N)

Bolotov¹,

Mizin²,

Zheludkova³

et al. 2021

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Although migrant butterflies are rare (or sporadically seen) guests on the Arctic Ocean islands, there is a slowly growing dataset on repeated occurrences of these insects in insular tundra and polar deserts. Altogether six long-distance migrant butterfly species were found to cross wide marine barriers north of the Arctic Circle (66.56°N), i.e. Vanessa atalanta, V. cardui, Nymphalis antiopa, N. xanthomelas, Aporia crataegi, and Pieris napi. Migrant individuals of V. cardui discovered on Svalbard (up to 78.27°N in 1978) reflect the farthest dispersal event of butterflies to the Arctic ever reported. Our record of N. xanthomelas at the northern margin of Novaya Zemlya (76.95°N) represents the northernmost finding of this species globally, reflecting the world’s second farthest record of northern poleward immigration of butterflies. This occurrence coincides with an exceptionally warm summer season, when the third highest July and second highest August air temperature occurred (since global records began in 1880). Furthermore, the immigration into Novaya Zemlya coincides with a population explosion and massive expansion of N. xanthomelas in Siberia in 2019–2020. Our air current reconstructions indicate that this species most likely immigrated into Novaya Zemlya from mainland regions situated south-southeast (Polar Urals, Yugorsky Peninsula, and western Yamal) and east (Taymyr) of the archipelago. Overall, our findings reveal that long-distance dispersal events of butterflies to the Arctic islands are always linked to massive expansions of the corresponding species in mainland areas.

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“…Other than a single record of the dock Rumex longifolius being found in the settlement in 2017 (Bartlett et al 2021), there are no known non-native vascular plant, terrestrial vertebrate, or invertebrate species in the Ny-Ålesund area (Coulson 2015). However, non-native species documented in other settlements in Svalbard could potentially invade habitats on Brøggerhalvøya (Coulson 2015;Sysselmannen på Svalbard 2017). Vascular plants are the most frequent non-native species on Svalbard, with 38 species found in a recent survey (Bartlett et al 2021).…”

Section: Alien and Vagrant Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Five decades of terrestrial and freshwater research at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

Pedersen¹,

Convey²,

Newsham³

et al. 2022

Polar Research

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For more than five decades, research has been conducted at Ny-Ålesund, in Svalbard, Norway, to understand the structure and functioning of High-Arctic ecosystems and the profound impacts on them of environmental change. Terrestrial, freshwater, glacial and marine ecosystems are accessible year-round from Ny-Ålesund, providing unique opportunities for interdisciplinary observational and experimental studies along physical, chemical, hydrological and climatic gradients. Here, we synthesize terrestrial and freshwater research at Ny-Ålesund and review current knowledge of biodiversity patterns, species population dynamics and interactions, ecosystem processes, biogeochemical cycles and anthropogenic impacts. There is now strong evidence of past and ongoing biotic changes caused by climate change, including negative effects on populations of many taxa and impacts of rain-on-snow events across multiple trophic levels. While species-level characteristics and responses are well understood for macro-organisms, major knowledge gaps exist for microbes, invertebrates and ecosystem-level processes. In order to fill current knowledge gaps, we recommend (1) maintaining monitoring efforts, while establishing a long-term ecosystem-based monitoring programme; (2) gaining a mechanistic understanding of environmental change impacts on processes and linkages in food webs; (3) identifying trophic interactions and cascades across ecosystems; and (4) integrating long-term data on microbial, invertebrate and freshwater communities, along with measurements of carbon and nutrient fluxes among soils, atmosphere, freshwaters and the marine environment. The synthesis here shows that the Ny-Ålesund study system has the characteristics needed to fill these gaps in knowledge, thereby enhancing our understanding of High-Arctic ecosystems and their responses to environmental variability and change.

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The alien terrestrial invertebrate fauna of the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard: potential implications for the native flora and fauna

Cited by 13 publications

References 25 publications

Interaction webs in arctic ecosystems: Determinants of arctic change?

Interaction webs in arctic ecosystems: Determinants of arctic change?

Long-distance dispersal of migrant butterflies to the Arctic Ocean islands, with a record of Nymphalis xanthomelas at the northern edge of Novaya Zemlya (76.95°N)

Five decades of terrestrial and freshwater research at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

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