relevance of climate change for the arctic marine biological system
TRANSCRIPT
LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Relevance of Climate Change for the Arctic Marine Biological System
Presented by: Dr. Rolf Gradinger
Relevance of Climate Change for the Arctic
Marine Biological System
Dr. Rolf GradingerSchool of Fisheries and Ocean
SciencesUAF
Data and pictures fromShelf Basin Interaction Studies 2002, 2004
NOAA Ocean Exploration 2005Various Barrow fast ice trips
Images by Raskoff, Bluhm, Hopcroft, Gradinger, Iken, Harper and www.
Introduction
Poll Question
What do you consider the top arctic issue related to global warming?A) Loss of Polar Bear HabitatB) Loss of ice coverC) Influence on the arctic food webD) All of the above are equally important
What do you consider the top arctic issue related to global warming?A) Loss of Polar Bear HabitatB) Loss of ice coverC) Influence on the arctic food webD) All of the above are equally important
Personally, how well informed do you feel you are about the different consequences of global warming?
[Place clip art on the continuum below]
Very well informed
Fairly well informed
Not at all informed
Not very well informed
Arctic marine mammals: Ecological Applications 18, 2008
Arctic Realms
Sea ice
Pelagic
Benthic
Nekton
The microscopic life in sea ice
Sea ice realm:Very little biological information
Difficult to sampleCorers, divers, surface melt ponds
The microscopic life inside ice
• For the Arctic:• Bacteria (Archaea,
Proteobacteria etc. ?? species)
• › 200 diatoms• › 200 flagellates • › 30 metazoans • Allochthonous fauna
Sympagohydra tuuli
Diving
Under-ice fauna: at least 5 species
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CriR2B_QbPc
Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida): link to seals and birds
Lets Pause for Two Questions from the
Audience
Life in the water column: the plankton
The Pelagic fauna
Calanus hyperboreusHistorical Planktonic “bias”
Diving, nets and ROV
New records
Imaging Tools
… combined with Box corer, and other mud collecting tools
Benthos
Creepy crawlers
• Diverse infauna• Abundant epifauna
Lets Pause for Two Questions from the
Audience
The Arctic Seas: unique features
Characteristics of the Arctic
• 3 realms with >5000 invertebrate species
• Tight coupling between ice/water/benthos
• Huge gradients• Open system
Coupling ice-water-benthos
• Life cycles/particle flux
Coupling ice-water-benthos
• Life cycles/ particle flux
Zoo-plankton
Benthos
Icealgae
Phyto-plankton
Coupling between realms - examples
Diving ducks
Walrus
Gray whaleBearded seal
Demersal fish
Zoo-plankton
Benthos
Phyto-plankton
Icealgae
Sea birds
Pelagic fish
MinkeBowhead
Characteristics of the Arctic
• 3 realms with >5000 invertebrate species
• Tight coupling between ice/water/benthos
• Huge gradients• Open system
Hoizontal gradients
http://www.whoi.edu/arcticedge/arctic_west02/update/020809_en3.html
Characteristics of the Arctic
• 3 realms with >5000 invertebrate species
• Tight coupling between ice/water/benthos
• Huge gradients• Open system
– Bering Strait/Chukchi Shelf
Bering Strait
http://www.whoi.edu/arcticedge/arctic_west02/update/020809_en3.html
Lets Pause for Two Questions from the
Audience
Implications of Arctic Change
Arctic Change
Loss of summer sea ice
Future predictions: Precipitation, warming
Lets Pause for Two Questions from the
Audience
Observed and suggested biological response to
Arctic Change
Arctic warming: Altered ice regime, increased freshwater
run-off
?
Light
Seeding by ice algae
Sedimentation
Mixing
Ice
Water
Sediment
Benthos
Algal bloom
Pycnocline
Zooplankton
Current/Late ice retreat
Future/Early ice retreat
Pycnocline
Bluhm and Gradinger 2008
Changes in Antarctic food web
Moline et al. 2004 (result from Antarctic LTER)
Changes in Antarctic food web
Moline et al. 2004 (result from Antarctic LTER)
Low freshwater run off
Large algae
Euphausiids
Usable by whales
Strong freshwater run off
Small algae
Salps
Not usable by whales
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
1976 1979 1982 1988 1991 1996 1999 2002Sampling year
Cat
ch p
er u
nit e
ffort
(kg
km-2) Other Fish
SculpinsCodsFlatfishOther invertebratesCoralsSnailsCrabsSea stars
Observed Biological Changes
Increase in epifauna biomass (Norton Sound, Bering Sea) after Hamazaki et al. 2005
Northern range extensionsin Chukchi SeaSirenko et al. 2006
RUSALCA 2004
Decrease in benthic infauna (Bering Sea) Grebmeier et al. 2006
Poll Question
What do you consider the top arctic issue related to global warming?A) Loss of Polar Bear HabitatB) Loss of ice coverC) Influence on the arctic food webD) All of the above are equally important
Outlook• Change from benthic (e.g. walrus,
grey whale) to pelagic ecosystem (e.g. ringed seals)
• Loss of habitat (walrus, ringed seal, polar bear)
• Species extinction• Change in food web structure –
both quality and quantity
Thank you to the sponsors of tonight's Web Seminar:
http://learningcenter.nsta.org
http://www.elluminate.com
National Science Teachers AssociationDr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director
Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs
Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-Learning
LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP
NSTA Web SeminarsPaul Tingler, Director
Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator