Ecosystems

A. Land–Ocean Temperature Index annual means, 1880 to 2011. Data (smoothed over ten-year periods) are temperature

anomalies compared to the 1951–1980 mean. Data: NASA/GISS
B. Annual minimum ice extent, 1979–2013, based on satellite monitoring. Data are anomalies compared to the 1981–2010
mean. Data: NSIDC; methodology: Fetterer et al. 2002, updated 2009 [35]
C. Satellite image captured at the 2012 minimum of ice extent. Source: NASA/Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio
D. Sea ice cover over the past 1,450 years. The blue line is based on proxy records (mainly ice cores), while the dotted line
is based on historical ice records and satellite monitoring. Proxy data were calibrated against modern observations. Data
were smoothed statistically over 40-year periods. The record extends to 2008. Source: Kinnard et al. 2011 [13]
E. Distribution of multi-year ice, 2008 compared with 1985–2000 mean. Source: NASA no date [36] 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference it source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Data from Arnason et al. 2006 [32] (seals); Xiong et al. 2009 [33] (toothed whales: beluga and narwhal); Sasaki et al. 2005 [34] (bowhead whale); Hailer et al. 2012 [30] (polar bear); McEvoy et al. 2011 [31] (humans). Drawings from Wikimedia Commons (bowhead whale: F.W. True, drawn in 1884; polar bear: P.S. Foresman)

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Figure 5. Northern Hemisphere sea ice distribution, March and September, 2012 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 6. Some features of the sea ice environment

Joan Eamer

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Figure 7. Arctic marine food web.

Adapted from Darnis et al. 2012 [57]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

57. Darnis, G., Robert, D., Pomerleau, C., Link, H., Archambault, P., Nelson, R.J., Geoffroy, M., Tremblay, J.E., Lovejoy, C., Ferguson, S.H., Hunt, B.P.V., and Fortier, L. 2012. Current state and trends in Canadian Arctic marine ecosystems: II. Heterotrophic food web, pelagic-benthic coupling, and biodiversity. Climatic Change 115(1): 179-205. doi:10.1007/s10584-012-0483-8.

The large Gammarus amphipod grows up to about 6 cm in length.
Photos: Shawn Harper/UAF (left photo); B.Bluhm/UAF/CoML (Apherusa); Raskoff/MPC (Gammarus)

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Ice algae accounts for less than 1% of the annual primary production at this coastal location, but the bloom occurs at least a month before any primary production is available from phytoplankton. Farther offshore, ice algae contribute much more to the total annual production: as much as over 50% [4]. 

Adapted from Mikkelsen et al. 2008 [58]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Photos: M. Fernandez-Mendez (left) and A. Boetius/Alfred Wegener Institute (right); Seija Hällfors/ Finnish Environment Institute SYKE (inset microscopic view of the diatom Melosira arctica)

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7. 

Change in ecosystem structure that may result from reduction of sea ice and related temperature changes: an illustration based on the Chukchi Sea food web 

Adapted from Hopcroft et al. 2008 [95], based on Carroll and Carroll 2003 [98] 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

95. Hopcroft, R., Bluhm, B., and Gradinger, R. (eds). 2008. Arctic Ocean synthesis: Analysis of climate change impacts in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas with strategies for future research. Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Alaska, and North Pacific Research Board, Fairbanks, Alaska.

98. Carroll, M.L., and Carroll, J. 2003. The Arctic seas. In Biogeochemistry of Marine Systems. Edited by Black, K.D., and Shimmield, G.B. CRC Press, Boca Raton, US. pp. 127-156.

The number of species depends partly on what has been studied. Proportions vary somewhat around the Arctic, but diatoms and dinoflagellates are the most diverse groups everywhere. The greatest sampling effort has been in the Laptev Sea, Hudson Bay, and the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. Species shown are among the most commonly recorded.
Data from Poulin et al. 2011 [65]

Photos (taken through light microscopes): clockwise from top right Dr. Gerhard Dieckmann/Alfred Wegener Institute; Gert Hansen/Nordic Microalgae (www.nordicmicroalgae.org); Alexandra/Alfred Wegener Institute; Marine Productivity
Laboratory, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Samples are from the upper ocean during summer. Points on the graphs are averages of data for 23 stations that were distributed across the Canada Basin.

From Li et al. 2009 [127]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

There are about 4,500 known species of multi-cellular benthic invertebrates, with highest diversity in the shelf areas, and about 160 to 210 species of seaweeds (macroalgae).

Based on Josefson et al. 2013 [73] and Bluhm et al. 2011 [63]
Photo: Benthic samples from the Chukchi Sea, 2004–2005 Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic (photo by B. Bluhm/UAF/RUSALCA 2004)

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

The data can be downloaded freely. Users are requested to reference the source.

Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

The lines are “isolines”, meaning they connect areas with the same value of benthic biomass (left column) or ice concentration (right column). They are displayed the same way a topographic map shows elevation contours. For example, the area enclosed by the isoline labeled 500 in the map in the lower left hand corner has a biomass of 500 g/m2 or more. The zones with average long durations of 20% ice cover (right column) are polynyas and marginal ice zones associated with land-fast ice. Statistical analysis reveals that the zones of high biomass are significantly associated with the zones of long duration of ice-edge conditions.

Figure prepared for this report by S. Denisenko, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, based on archived data from 950 stations from scientific expeditions conducted 1932–1935, 1968–1970, 1975–1986 and 1993–1995. Ice concentration data from Schlitzer 2012 [173], calculated as 1960–1990 averages

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Species numbers are approximate.

Drawing is of a polar cod.
Data from Christiansen et al. 2013 [207]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Polar cod feed on amphipods under the ice and rest in sheltered spaces in the ice such as the seawater wedges shown.
Based on Gradinger and Bluhm 2004 [208];

photos: Gradinger and Bluhm / UAF/NOAA/CoML (top), Shawn Harper/ UAF (bottom)

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Based on analyses of data from areas around 46 murre colonies, grouped into regions. Colony sizes are historical maximum estimates of numbers of birds (representing carrying capacity) rather than current population sizes. This approach avoids the confounding factor of overharvest in some areas in recent decades. Sea ice conditions are based on satellite measurements, 1979 to 2004.

¹Rate of change of fraction of open water, units X 10^-3
2Statistical measure of variability of the rate of change: residual from mean, units X 10^-2
Source: Laidre et al. 2008 [242] 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Body weights were estimated for females on their own, and thus likely to be pregnant.

Source: Stirling and Derocher 2012 [269]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

The sea ice measurement used represents sea ice habitat available to the bears mid-May to mid-October.

“0” means no trend. “NA” means not enough data to analyze.
Source: Rode et al. 2012 [279]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Data are June averages for all Northern Hemisphere snow cover. Values are standardized anomalies with respect to the 1988–2007 mean. Solid lines are five-year running means.
From Derksen and Brown 2012 [89], data from NOAA CDR (satellite monitoring)

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

The rate of change is very rapid at some locations. For example, the peak algal bloom occurred in early September in Foxe Basin and in the Kara Sea in the mid-1990s but had shifted to mid-July by 2009, a change of about 50 days.
Source: Kahru et al. 2011 [214]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Source: Derocher et al. 2011 [329]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Figure 38. Pathways of impacts on Arctic humans resulting from changes in sea ice and associated changes in biodiversity

Joan Eamer

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Adapted from Hovelsrud et al. 2011
[196]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

From Ford 2009 [372], based on data from Makavik Cartographic Services

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Note the scale differences between the two panels.

From Wang and Overland 2012 [17]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

As sea ice forms, droplets of water with high salt content form and these join into narrow “brine channels” that riddle the ice.
Based on Krembs and Deming 2011 [100] 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

The most numerous species identified in the core were ice-associated diatoms, but several different algal classes were represented. Microalgae were distributed throughout the core, but abundance and species composition varied with ice depth. The diversity was among the highest ever recorded in Arctic sea ice: 237 species were identified from the core. Depending on the species, the sizes of microalgae can range from a few micrometers to a few hundreds of micrometers.
Data from von Quillfeldt et al. 2003 [72]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Estimates of average annual primary production by size class were based on relationships with pigment types as 

detected by satellite monitoring, 1998 to 

2007.

Data from Uitz et al. 2010 [107]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

The color in this satellite image is created by a massive phytoplankton bloom. The milky blue areas indicate a high abundance of coccolithophores, plankton that are plated with white calcium carbonate. Other colors may be from other plankton types and suspended sediment. The graphs, which are from a study over approximately the same area, show the relationship between the timing of blooms and the timing of sea ice. Diatoms (indicated by chlorophyll concentrations) dominate the earlier bloom that is associated with ice melt. Coccolithophores (indicated by calcite concentrations) dominate late summer bloom. They thrive in stable surface layers of warm, low-salinity, low-nutrient water. Coccolithophore blooms are becoming more frequent in the southern Barents Sea and expanding northward to the high Arctic.
All data shown are based on analysis of satellite imagery. This natural-color image was taken by the Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on the Aqua satellite.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC; graph from Signorini and McClain 2009 [153]; caption based on Signorini and McClain 2009 [153], Carlowicz and Riebeek 2012 [154] 

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

The photographs represent benthic communities in the two fjords before and after abrupt ecosystem changes characterized by a shift from rock-encrusting types of algae to taller filamentous (C) and leaf-like (D) forms of seaweed. Areas within the white lines are covered by these seaweeds. The invertebrate communities changed at the same time. In Kongsfjord, for example, the sea anemones that were common before this regime shift (visible in A) declined rapidly and sea urchins increased.
From Kortsch et al. 2012 [172]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

This chart shows the breakdown by species of identified fish in stomach samples of murres. Polar cod continue to dominate the diets of high Arctic murres, but capelin appear to have replaced polar cod in the low Arctic, where ice has retreated to the greatest extent. Capelin have also appeared in the mid Arctic, where the species was absent in 1985 samples but present in a third of the samples from 2007/08.
From Provencher et al. 2012 [209]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Predation, cannibalism by larger pollock, and starvation in winter increase for first-year pollock in years with earlier sea ice melt (top diagram).
From Hunt et al. 2011 [212]

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

The bars show survey results at the world’s largest ivory gull nesting colony on Domashny Island. Numbers of nesting ivory gulls fluctuate from year to year depending on environmental conditions in the pre-breeding season (mid-May). In the northeastern Kara Sea, where wildlife is limited by the harsh ice conditions, polynyas are important for foraging [255]. More gulls are able to build up enough fat resources for egg-laying when there is more open water in a large nearby polynya prior to nesting. If the area of the polynya remains below a threshold of about 10,000 square kilometers (dashed line) by mid-May, dramatically fewer gulls nest at the colony, as occurred in 1996, 2009 and 2011. 

From Gavrilo 2011 [222] 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Based on Laidre et al. 2008 [266], revisions based on Stirling 1980 [40], Gilchrist and Robertson 2000 [256] for polar bear habitats; Stirling 1980 [40], Laidre and Heide-Jorgensen 2011 [281], Laidre et al. 2004 [302] for narwhal habitats and diet; Loseto et al. 2009 [303] for beluga diet; Lawson and Hobson 2000 [304], Hammill et al. 2005 [305] for harp seal diet 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Adapted from Gill et al. 2011 [429]

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Trading and sharing foods is a powerful adaptive measure to cope with food shortages. The width of the lines reflects the importance of each pathway in this network, which is based on interviews with Igloolik residents in 2008. Adapted from Ford and Beaumier 2011 [387]; inset map from Google Earth

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Image provided by Noetix Research 

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Eamer, J., Donaldson, G.M., Gaston, A.J., Kosobokova, K.N., Lárusson, K.F., Melnikov, I.A., Reist, J.D., Richardson, E., Staples, L., von Quillfeldt, C.H. 2013. Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change. CAFF Assessment Series No. 10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Iceland. ISBN: 978-9935-431-25-7.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Appendix 12.1

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Appendix 12.2

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 3.3. Main ecological relationships linking humans, terrestrial carnivorous mammals and their shared prey, as well as some of the emotions felt by humans towards carnivores.

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 13.1. The inter-relationships among dominant environmental and anthropogenic drivers and their potential eff ects on freshwater ecosystems and related ecological services. Dashed lines represent the potential feedbacks to the biotic community either directly or indirectly (blue arrows) via abiotic controls that occur when ecosystem properties are modifi ed by various stressors. Further feedbacks occur as we modify our activities in response to changes (impoverishment) in ecosystem goods and services (adapted from Hooper et al. 2005).

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Box 13.2 Figure 1. (a) Locations of Siberian lakes analyzed and related permafrost distribution, (b) satellite images depicting the decline of total lake abundance since 1973, (c) associated permanent drainage and revegetation of former lakebeds, (d) net increases in lake abundance and associated surface ponding (from Smith et al. 2005).

ZIP file includes all data

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 13.5. Representative diatom profiles from the circumpolar Arctic showing the character and timing of recent assemblage shifts.

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 13.7. Relationship between (a) particulate mercury concentration and water discharge for the Mackenzie River at Arctic Red River, and (b) changes in particulate and dissolved mercury concentrations and water discharge for the Mackenzie River during the spring freshet 2004. (Source: Leitch et al. 2007 from Stern et al. 2012).

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 14.1. Bathymetric map of the Arctic Ocean showing general circulation and the importance of riverine inflow (adapted from Carmack 2000 and Jakobsson et al. 2004, 2008).

ZIP file includes map and legend

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 14.2. Surface circulation of the Norwegian and Barents Seas. The red arrows represent the warm, saline Atlantic waters; the white the cold, fresher Arctic waters and the yellow the low salinity coastal waters.

Source: Drinkwater 2011.)

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 14.3. Schematics of different water masses in the Arctic Ocean, emphasizing vertical stratifi cation

(source: AMAP 1998).

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 14.7. Total landings of commercial fish species (x 1,000 tons) in seven Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems (source: Sherman & Hempel 2008 and SeaAroundUs Project 2010).

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Table 14.1. Estimated number of taxa within Arctic Seas (modified after Bluhm et al. 2011 and references therein).

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 14.8. Schematics of historical and contemporary pelagic coastal food webs off Svalbard, assuming comparable primary and secondary production. Values are consumption in Kcal per m² per year. Thickness of arrows is relative to consumption values.

(Source: Weslawski et al. 2000.) 

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Box 14.4 Figure 1. a) Mean autumn (August-September) temperature of the West Spitsbergen Current at about 79° N between 100 and 300 m depth. b) Correlation between the NAO Index (3-year mean calculated from September-August) and Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’). The secondary y-axis scale (species diversity) is inverted.

(Source: Beuchel et al. 2006.)

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 14.9. Mean trophic levels in seven sub-Arctic and Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems.

Source: Sherman & Hempel (2008), SeaAroundUs Project (2010).

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Table 18.2. Services identified in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), compared with the six services examined in this chapter (Provisioning and Cultural Services). Note that two MEA categories (supporting services, regulating services) are not addressed in this chapter  (Provisioning and Cultural Services).

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Table 18.3. Trends in the six ecosystem services examined in this chapter (Provisioning and Cultural Services). Note that an increasing trend is not necessary a good thing overall, as increased use of Arctic resources may lead to increased conflicts among user groups, or increasing existence values may be the result of decreased wilderness or wild species creating higher value for what remains.

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Figure 2.2. Beringia and other glacial refugia in the Arctic: distribution of ice cover (white shading) and ice-free areas in the Northern Hemisphere during the last glacial maximum, 18,000 years ago (after Ray & Adams 2001). Beringia is enclosed within the red oval.

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) 2013.

Box 14.2 Figure 1. Circumpolar map of known polynyas. Note that some polynyas no longer exist in the form known from their recent history.

(Source: Barber & Masson 2007.)

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Meltofte, H. (ed.) 2013. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri.

Current and Historical Sampling Coverage by Focal Ecosystem Component (FEC).

Zip file includes 2 shapefiles (lakes and rivers)

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Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan

CAFF Monitoring Series Report No. 7. December 2012

Seasonal snow cover extent (million km²)

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i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.

The relationship between annual primary production and the ice-free period based on measurements from several sites in the Arctic

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i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.

Wild food harvests in Alaska by area, 1990s

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Percentage of households who reported that more than 75% of meat-fish was harvested from the NWT.

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Consumption of harvested meat/fish in Inuit Households.

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i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.

Total lake abundance and inundation area have declined since 1973 including permanent drainage and revegetation of former lakebeds (the arrow and oval show representative areas).

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i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.

Percentage change in surface water area for ponds and lakes, 1951–1972 and 1972–2001 in Old Crow Basin, Canada

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i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.

Time series of freeze-up and break-up dates from northern hemisphere rivers and lakes, 1846–1995. Data were smoothed with a 10-year moving average

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i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.

Permafrost decay rates for frozen peatlands in northen Quebec

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Net increases in lake abundance and area have occurred in continuous permafrost, suggesting an initial but transitory increase in surface ponding

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i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.

A false color Quickbird-2 satellite image of a portion of the Bovanenkovo Gas Field on the Yamal Peninsula in West Siberia. Image acquired 4 July 2004. The construction phase began in the late 1980s. From that period onward there remain visible signs of extensive off-road vehicle traffic across the terrain. Many of those tracks have naturally revegetated and now appear as bright red, indicating dense grass- and sedge-dominated vegetation. The road network was built in the mid-1990s, which has reduced off-road traffic significantly. However, infrastructure blocks segments of migration routes for Nenets and their reindeer herds, and pasture quality can be negatively affected by road dust, petrochemicals, trash left on the tundra, and even feral dogs abandoned by workers.

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i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.

Total live vegetation, bryophytes, and evergreen shrubs increased significantly from 1995–2007.

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i.e. Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010.