The decline of Svalbard land-fast sea ice extent as a result of climate change

Urbański, Jacek; Litwicka, Dagmara

doi:10.1016/j.oceano.2022.03.008

Cited by 22 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…This individual carried a unique haplotype that differs by only a single mutation from MTR haplotypes, suggesting female dispersal from the north. MTR and BGR, the closest population sampled in Reintroduction 1, are separated by only 15 km across the mouths of Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden, a span of water which has rarely or never frozen over since the reintroduction (Pavlova et al, 2019 ; Urbański & Litwicka, 2022 ). This lack of sea ice as a movement corridor, in combination with tide‐water glaciers and steep mountains inhibiting alternative dispersal routes, has likely prevented gene flow and contributed to the extreme degree of genetic differentiation between these geographically proximate populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting genomic consequences of anthropogenic reintroduction and natural recolonization in high‐arctic wild reindeer

Burnett,

Bieker,

Le Moullec

et al. 2023

Evolutionary Applications

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Anthropogenic reintroduction can supplement natural recolonization in reestablishing a species' distribution and abundance. However, both reintroductions and recolonizations can give rise to founder effects that reduce genetic diversity and increase inbreeding, potentially causing the accumulation of genetic load and reduced fitness. Most current populations of the endemic high‐arctic Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) originate from recent reintroductions or recolonizations following regional extirpations due to past overharvesting. We investigated and compared the genomic consequences of these two paths to reestablishment using whole‐genome shotgun sequencing of 100 Svalbard reindeer across their range. We found little admixture between reintroduced and natural populations. Two reintroduced populations, each founded by 12 individuals around four decades (i.e. 8 reindeer generations) ago, formed two distinct genetic clusters. Compared to the source population, these populations showed only small decreases in genome‐wide heterozygosity and increases in inbreeding and lengths of runs of homozygosity. In contrast, the two naturally recolonized populations without admixture possessed much lower heterozygosity, higher inbreeding and longer runs of homozygosity, possibly caused by serial population founder effects and/or fewer or more genetically related founders than in the reintroduction events. Naturally recolonized populations can thus be more vulnerable to the accumulation of genetic load than reintroduced populations. This suggests that in some organisms even small‐scale reintroduction programs based on genetically diverse source populations can be more effective than natural recolonization in establishing genetically diverse populations. These findings warrant particular attention in the conservation and management of populations and species threatened by habitat fragmentation and loss.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting genomic consequences of anthropogenic reintroduction and natural recolonization in high‐arctic wild reindeer

Burnett,

Bieker,

Le Moullec

et al. 2023

Evolutionary Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This individual carried a unique haplotype that differs by only a single mutation from MTR haplotypes, suggesting female dispersal from the north. MTR and BGR, the closest population sampled in reintroduction 1, are separated by only 15 km across the mouths of Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden, a span of water which has rarely or never frozen over since the reintroduction (Pavlova et al 2019;Urbański & Litwicka 2022). This lack of sea ice as a movement corridor, in combination with tide-water glaciers and steep mountains inhibiting alternative dispersal routes, has likely prevented gene flow and contributed to the extreme degree of genetic differentiation between these geographically proximate populations.…”

Section: Genetic Structure Within the Svalbard Reindeer Metapopulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting genomic consequences of anthropogenic reintroduction and natural recolonisation in high-arctic wild reindeer

Burnett

Bieker

Moullec

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Anthropogenic reintroduction can supplement natural recolonisation in reestablishing a species’ distribution and abundance. However, both reintroductions and recolonisations can give rise to population bottlenecks that reduce genetic diversity and increase inbreeding, potentially causing accumulation of genetic load and reduced fitness. Most current populations of the endemic high-arctic Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) originate from recent reintroductions or recolonisations following regional extirpations due to past overharvesting. We investigated and compared the genomic consequences of these two paths to reestablishment using whole-genome shotgun sequencing of 100 Svalbard reindeer across their range. We found little admixture between reintroduced and natural populations. Two reintroduced populations, each founded by 12 individuals around four decades (i.e. 8 reindeer generations) ago, formed two distinct genetic clusters. Compared to the source population, these populations showed only small decreases in genome-wide heterozygosity and increases in inbreeding and lengths of runs of homozygosity. In contrast, the two naturally recolonised populations without admixture possessed much lower heterozygosity, higher inbreeding, and longer runs of homozygosity, possibly caused by serial population bottlenecks and/or fewer or more genetically related founders than in the reintroduction events. Naturally recolonised populations can thus be more vulnerable to the accumulation of genetic load than reintroduced populations. This suggests that in some organisms even small-scale reintroduction programs based on genetically diverse source populations can be more effective than natural recolonisation in establishing genetically diverse populations. These findings warrant particular attention in the conservation and management of populations and species threatened by habitat fragmentation and loss.

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“…Within Svalbard fjords, sea-ice has reduced 50% on average from the periods 1973-2000 to 2005-2019, with a further reduction down to ca. 90% in the next 10 to 20 years (Urbański & Litwicka, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of change in Arctic fjord socio-ecological systems: Examples from the European Arctic

Schlegel¹,

Bartsch²,

Bischof³

et al. 2023

Camb. prisms Coast. futures

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Fjord systems are transition zones between land and sea, resulting in complex and dynamic environments. They are of particular interest in the Arctic as they harbour ecosystems inhabited by a rich range of species and provide many societal benefits. The key drivers of change in European Arctic (i.e. Greenland, Svalbard, and Northern Norway) fjord socioecological systems are reviewed here, structured into five categories: cryosphere (sea-ice, glacier mass balance, glacial and riverine discharge), physics (seawater temperature, salinity, light), chemistry (carbonate system, nutrients), biology (primary production, biomass, species richness), and social (governance, tourism, fisheries). The data available for the past and present state of these drivers, as well as future model projections, are analysed in a companion paper. Changes to the two drivers at the base of most interactions within fjords, seawater temperature and glacier mass balance, will have the most significant and profound consequences on the future of European Arctic fjords. This is because even though governance may be effective at mitigating/adapting to local disruptions caused by the changing climate, there is possibly nothing that can be done to halt the melting of glaciers, the warming of fjord waters, and all of the downstream consequences that these two changes will have. This review provides the first transdisciplinary synthesis of the interactions between the drivers of change within Arctic fjord socio-ecological systems. Knowledge of what these drivers of change are, and how they interact with one another, should provide more expedient focus for future research on the needs of adapting to a changing Arctic.

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The decline of Svalbard land-fast sea ice extent as a result of climate change

Cited by 22 publications

References 28 publications

Contrasting genomic consequences of anthropogenic reintroduction and natural recolonization in high‐arctic wild reindeer

Contrasting genomic consequences of anthropogenic reintroduction and natural recolonization in high‐arctic wild reindeer

Contrasting genomic consequences of anthropogenic reintroduction and natural recolonisation in high-arctic wild reindeer

Drivers of change in Arctic fjord socio-ecological systems: Examples from the European Arctic

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