The Southern Ocean is experiencing relentless change. The Antarctic and Southern Ocean community, represented by 75 scientists and policy-makers from 22 countries, recently met to formulate a collective vision on the priorities for Antarctic research for the next two decades and beyond. Here, we assess high-interest research areas related specifically to Southern Ocean life and ecology that, although not all retained as the 80 top priorities among the addressed scientific domains, are of considerable relevance to the biology and ecology of the Southern Ocean. As certain regions of the Southern Ocean ecosystems have witnessed abiotic and biotic changes in the last decades (e.g. warming, changes in sea ice and abundance of marine organisms), such an exercise was urgently needed. We concluded that basic biological information on the taxonomy of numerous organisms is still lacking in areas such as the deep-ocean floor or the under-ice environments. Furthermore, there is a need for knowledge about the response and resilience of Antarctic marine ecosystems to change. The continuation of a long-term commitment and the development and use of innovative technology to adequately monitor the Southern Ocean ecosystems is required. Highlighting the most important Southern Ocean research topics allow the identification of the challenges and future requirements in technological development, and both research and funding strategies for the various stakeholders

/pdf/future-challenges-in-southern-ocean-ecology-research-hrkjj4wg2t.pdf

Future challenges in southern ocean ecology research

Ongoing global changes apply drastic environmental forcing onto Arctic marine ecosystems, particularly through ocean warming, sea-ice shrinkage and enhanced pollution. To test impacts on arctic marine ecological functioning, we used a 12-year integrative study of little auks (Alle alle), the most abundant seabird in the Atlantic Arctic. We monitored the foraging ecology, reproduction, survival and body condition of breeding birds, and we tested linkages between these biological variables and a set of environmental parameters including sea-ice concentration (SIC) and mercury contamination. Little auks showed substantial plasticity in response to SIC, with deeper and longer dives but less time spent underwater and more time flying when SIC decreased. Their diet also contained less lipid-rich ice-associated prey when SIC decreased. Further, in contrast to former studies conducted at the annual scale, little auk fitness proxies were impacted by environmental changes: Adult body condition and chick growth rate were negatively linked to SIC and mercury contamination. However, no trend was found for adult survival despite high inter-annual variability. Our results suggest that potential benefits of milder climatic conditions in East Greenland may be offset by increasing pollution in the Arctic. Overall, our study stresses the importance of long-term studies integrating ecology and ecotoxicology.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01977919/document

Arctic climate change and pollution impact little auk foraging and fitness across a decade

There is an urgent need for a better understanding of animal migratory ecology under the influence of climate change. Most current analyses require long-term monitoring of populations on the move, and shorter-term approaches are needed. Here, we analysed the ecological drivers of seabird migration within the framework of the energyscape concept, which we defined as the variations in the energy requirements of an organism across geographical space as a function of environmental conditions. We compared the winter location of seabirds with their modelled energy requirements and prey fields throughout the North Atlantic. Across six winters, we tracked the migration of 94 little auks (Alle alle), a key sentinel Arctic species, between their East Greenland breeding site and wintering areas off Newfoundland. Winter energyscapes were modelled with Niche Mapper™, a mechanistic tool which takes into account local climate and bird ecophysiology. Subsequently, we used a resource selection function to explain seabird distributions through modelled energyscapes and winter surface distribution of one of their main prey, Calanus finmarchicus. Finally, future energyscapes were calculated according to IPCC climate change scenarios. We found that little auks targeted areas with high prey densities and moderately elevated energyscapes. Predicted energyscapes for 2050 and 2095 showed a decrease in winter energy requirements under the high emission scenario, which may be beneficial if prey availability is maintained. Overall, our study demonstrates the great potential of the energyscape concept for the study of animal spatial ecology, in particular in the context of global change.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.171883

Energyscapes and prey fields shape a North Atlantic seabird wintering hotspot under climate change.

In the Arctic, sea ice loss has already transformed the dominant sources and periodicity of primary production in some areas, raising concerns over climate change impacts on benthic communities. Considered to be excellent indicators of environmental changes, benthic invertebrates play important roles in nutrient cycling, sediment oxygenation and decomposition. However, this biological component of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) is still somewhat poorly studied compared to other Arctic regions. To partly fill this need, this study aims to evaluate benthic community composition and its relationship to significant environmental drivers and to develop spatial predictive explanatory models of these communities to expand coverage between sampled stations across the Kitikmeot Sea region and Parry Channel. Results from previously collected samples suggest that biodiversity is higher in this region compared to the Beaufort and Baffin Seas, two adjacent regions to the West and East, respectively. This finding leads to the main hypothesis that (1) benthic communities are succeeding one another, forming an ecotone (transition area) between the Beaufort Sea and the Baffin Sea. Other hypotheses are that (2) Pacific Ocean water influence through the CAA can explain part of this gradient, and that (3) terrigenous inputs affect the distribution of species. Overall, results tend to confirm hypotheses. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) (with R2 up to 0.80) clearly displayed a succession in community distribution from Queen-Maud Gulf (Southwest) to Lancaster Sound (Northeast). Such models can be useful in identifying potential biodiversity hotspots and as a baseline for marine spatial planning purposes. Further, Pacific origin water (traced with concentrations of nitrate relative to phosphate) and terrigenous inputs (traced with silicate concentrations) were related to species and community distribution. Given that these two inputs/factors are generally increasing in the Canadian Arctic, their influence on benthic communities may also be seen to increase in the upcoming years.

/pdf/description-and-spatial-modelling-of-benthic-communities-ckql03t7.pdf

Description and Spatial Modelling of Benthic Communities Distribution in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

An assessment of three survey methods on common bird species in low Arctic tundra.Comparing line transect distance sampling, repeated point counts and double observer point counts

The Arctic Biodiversity Assessment has received financial support from the following sources: Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, United States of America, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and the Chief Scientist was financed by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency as part of the environmental support programme DANCEA.

Arctic Biodiversity Assesment. Synthesis.

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Arctic Biodiversity Assesment. Synthesis.