Observations and Predictions of Arctic Climatic Change
Potential Effects on Marine Mammals
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16865144 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cynthia T Tynan (University of Washington, corresponding author), Douglas P DeMaster |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Publication date | 1997-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | ARCTIC (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0004-0843 • E-ISSN: 1923-1245 |
| Publisher | The Arctic Institute of North America (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.14430/arctic1113 |
| OpenAlex | W2150836444 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 35 |
| References cited | 12 |
Recent analyses have revealed trends over the past 20-30 years of decreasing sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean coincident with warming trends. Such trends may be indicative of the polar amplifications of warming predicted for the next several decades in response to increasing atmospheric CO2. We have summarized these predictions and nonuniform patterns of arctic climate change in order to address their potential effects on marine mammals. Since recent trends in sea ice extent are nonuniform, the direct and indirect effects on marine mammals are expected to vary geographically. Changes in the extent and concentration of sea ice may alter the seasonal distributions, geographic ranges, patterns of migration, nutritional status, reproductive success, and ultimately the abundance and stock structure of some species. Ice-associated seals, which rely on suitable ice substrate for resting, pupping, and molting, may be especially vulnerable to such changes. As recent decreases in ice coverage have been more extensive in the Siberian Arctic (60 E-180 E) than in the Beaufort Sea and western sectors, we speculate that marine mammal populations in the Siberian Arctic may be among the first to experience climate-induced geographic shifts or altered reproductive capacity due to persistent changes in ice extent. Alteration in the extent and productivity of ice-edge systems may affect the density and distribution of important ice-associated prey of marine mammals, such as arctic cod, Boreogadus saida, and sympagic ("with ice") amphipods. Present climate models, however, are insufficient to predict regional ice dynamics, winds, mesoscale features, and mechanisms of nutrient resupply, which must be known to predict productivity and trophic response. Therefore, it is critical that mesoscale process-oriented studies identify the biophysical coupling required to maintain suitable prey availability and ice-associated habitat for marine mammals on regional arctic scales. Only an integrated ecosystems approach can address the complexity of factors determining reproductivity and cascading trophic dynamics in a warmer Arctic. This approach, integrated with monitoring of key indicator species (e.g., bowhead whale, ringed seal, and beluga), should be a high priority
Arctic · Arctic geoengineering · Arctic ice pack · Arctic sea ice decline · Biology · Climate change · Drift ice · Geography · Sea ice · Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics · Cryospheric studies and observations · Ecology · Environmental Science · Geology · Marine animal studies overview · Oceanography
Climate-related displacements of coastal communities in the Arctic
Decadal-scale sea ice changes in the Canadian Arctic and their impacts on humans during the past 4,000 years
A Bering Strait Indigenous Framework for Resource Management
Implications of Climate Change for Northern Canada
The North Atlantic ice-edge corridor
An Emerging Pattern of Declining Growth Rates in Belugas of the Beaufort Sea
Oceanography of the Canadian Shelf of the Beaufort Sea
Natural History and Conservation of the Greenland Whale, or Bowhead, in the Northwest Atlantic
Arctic Seas
Ringed Seals and Sea Ice in Canada’s Western Arctic
Carbon Uptake Rates of Sea Ice Algae and Phytoplankton under Different Light Intensities in a Landfast Sea Ice Zone, Barrow, Alaska
Variability of Cetacean Distribution and Habitat Selection in the Alaskan Arctic, Autumn 1982-91
Seasonal Movements and Diving of Ringed Seals, Pusa hispida , in the Western Canadian Arctic, 1999–2001 and 2010–11
Climate Change and Cultural Survival in the Arctic
Polarized climates
Decadal-scale sea ice changes in the Canadian Arctic and their impacts on humans during the past 4,000 years
Sealing, whaling and caribou revisited
The Toll From Coal
A Framework for Assessing the Vulnerability of Communities in the Canadian Arctic to Risks Associated with Climate Change
The Changing Climate of the Arctic
Palaeoecological Implications of Archaeological Seal Bone Assemblages
Variation in Reproduction and Body Condition of the Ringed Seal ( Phoca hispida ) in Western Prince Albert Sound, NT, Canada, as Assessed Through a Harvest-based Sampling Program
Polar Bear Distribution and Habitat Association Reflect Long-term Changes in Fall Sea Ice Conditions in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea
Trends in the Offshore Distribution and Relative Abundance of Beaufort Sea Belugas, 1982–85 vs 2007–09
Ringed Seal Diet and Body Condition in the Amundsen Gulf region, Eastern Beaufort Sea
Seal Occurrence and Habitat Use during Summer in Petermann Fjord, Northwestern Greenland
Long-term, Harvest-based Monitoring of Ringed Seal Body Condition and Reproduction in Canada’s Western Arctic
The circumpolar impacts of climate change and anthropogenic stressors on Arctic cod ( Boreogadus saida ) and its ecosystem
Linking Climate Trends to Population Dynamics in the Baltic Ringed Seal
The differences in cellulolytic activity of the Arctic soils of Calypsostranda, Spitsbergen
Kiavallakkikput Agviq (Into the Whaling Cycle)
Living in the Narrows
Climate change in the Arctic
People of the Whales
Labrador Inuit Subsistence in the Context of Environmental Change
A Review of the Developmental, Behavioural and Physiological Adaptations of the Ringed Seal, Phoca hispida , to Life in the Arctic Winter
Observations of Foraging Northern Fulmars ( Fulmarus Glacialis ) in the Canadian High Arctic
Marine Mammals Inhabiting the Baffin Bay North Water in Winter
Occurrence of Arctic Cod ( Boreogadus Saida ) Schools and Their Vulnerability to Predation in the Canadian High Arctic
Occurrence, Habitat Use, and Behavior of Seabirds, Marine Mammals, and Arctic Cod at the Pond Inlet Ice Edge
A Distinctive Large Breeding Population of Ringed Seals ( Phoca hispida ) Inhabiting the Baffin Bay Pack Ice
Density Distribution of Fish in the Presence of Whales at the Admiralty Inlet Landfast Ice Edge
Possible Impacts of Climatic Warming on Polar Bears
Energy Flow through the Marine Ecosystem of the Lancaster Sound Region, Arctic Canada
Climate change 1995
Causes of interannual variability in the sea ice cover of the Eastern Bering Sea
Habitat preferences of polar bears in the western Canadian Arctic in late winter and spring
| Citations per year | 1.3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1999 - 2023 (25) |
| Highly cited | No |