Atlantic walrus signal latitudinal differences in the long-term decline of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna in the Canadian Arctic
Climate change is altering the biogeochemical and physical characteristics of the Arctic marine environment, which impacts sea ice algal and phytoplankton bloom dynamics and the vertical transport of these carbon sources to benthic communities. Little is known about whether the contribution of sea i...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 2024-09-15T18:02:12+00:00 Atlantic walrus signal latitudinal differences in the long-term decline of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna in the Canadian Arctic Yurkowski, David J. Brown, Thomas A. Blanchfield, Paul J. Ferguson, Steven H. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network Nunavut Implementation Fund W. Garfield Weston Foundation Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 en eng The Royal Society http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 287, issue 1940, page 20202126 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2020 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 2024-08-19T04:24:52Z Climate change is altering the biogeochemical and physical characteristics of the Arctic marine environment, which impacts sea ice algal and phytoplankton bloom dynamics and the vertical transport of these carbon sources to benthic communities. Little is known about whether the contribution of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna and nitrogen cycling has changed over multiple decades in concert with receding sea ice. We combined compound-specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids with highly branched isoprenoid diatom lipid biomarkers using archived (1982–2016) tissue of benthivorous Atlantic walrus to examine temporal trends of sea ice-derived carbon, nitrogen isotope baseline and trophic position of Atlantic walrus at high- and mid-latitudes in the Canadian Arctic. Associated with an 18% sea ice decline in the mid-Arctic, sea ice-derived carbon contribution to Atlantic walrus decreased by 75% suggesting a strong decoupling of sea ice-benthic habitats. By contrast, a nearly exclusive amount of sea ice-derived carbon was maintained in high-Arctic Atlantic walrus (98% in 1996 and 89% in 2006) despite a similar percentage in sea ice reduction. Nitrogen isotope baseline or the trophic position of Atlantic walrus did not change over time at either location. These findings indicate latitudinal differences in the restructuring of carbon energy sources used by Atlantic walrus and their benthic prey, and in turn a change in Arctic marine ecosystem functioning between sea ice–pelagic–benthic habitats. Article in Journal/Newspaper Climate change Phytoplankton Sea ice walrus* The Royal Society Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287 1940 20202126 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Climate change is altering the biogeochemical and physical characteristics of the Arctic marine environment, which impacts sea ice algal and phytoplankton bloom dynamics and the vertical transport of these carbon sources to benthic communities. Little is known about whether the contribution of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna and nitrogen cycling has changed over multiple decades in concert with receding sea ice. We combined compound-specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids with highly branched isoprenoid diatom lipid biomarkers using archived (1982–2016) tissue of benthivorous Atlantic walrus to examine temporal trends of sea ice-derived carbon, nitrogen isotope baseline and trophic position of Atlantic walrus at high- and mid-latitudes in the Canadian Arctic. Associated with an 18% sea ice decline in the mid-Arctic, sea ice-derived carbon contribution to Atlantic walrus decreased by 75% suggesting a strong decoupling of sea ice-benthic habitats. By contrast, a nearly exclusive amount of sea ice-derived carbon was maintained in high-Arctic Atlantic walrus (98% in 1996 and 89% in 2006) despite a similar percentage in sea ice reduction. Nitrogen isotope baseline or the trophic position of Atlantic walrus did not change over time at either location. These findings indicate latitudinal differences in the restructuring of carbon energy sources used by Atlantic walrus and their benthic prey, and in turn a change in Arctic marine ecosystem functioning between sea ice–pelagic–benthic habitats. |
author2 |
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network Nunavut Implementation Fund W. Garfield Weston Foundation Fisheries and Oceans Canada |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Yurkowski, David J. Brown, Thomas A. Blanchfield, Paul J. Ferguson, Steven H. |
spellingShingle |
Yurkowski, David J. Brown, Thomas A. Blanchfield, Paul J. Ferguson, Steven H. Atlantic walrus signal latitudinal differences in the long-term decline of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna in the Canadian Arctic |
author_facet |
Yurkowski, David J. Brown, Thomas A. Blanchfield, Paul J. Ferguson, Steven H. |
author_sort |
Yurkowski, David J. |
title |
Atlantic walrus signal latitudinal differences in the long-term decline of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna in the Canadian Arctic |
title_short |
Atlantic walrus signal latitudinal differences in the long-term decline of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna in the Canadian Arctic |
title_full |
Atlantic walrus signal latitudinal differences in the long-term decline of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna in the Canadian Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Atlantic walrus signal latitudinal differences in the long-term decline of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna in the Canadian Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Atlantic walrus signal latitudinal differences in the long-term decline of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna in the Canadian Arctic |
title_sort |
atlantic walrus signal latitudinal differences in the long-term decline of sea ice-derived carbon to benthic fauna in the canadian arctic |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 |
genre |
Climate change Phytoplankton Sea ice walrus* |
genre_facet |
Climate change Phytoplankton Sea ice walrus* |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 287, issue 1940, page 20202126 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2126 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
287 |
container_issue |
1940 |
container_start_page |
20202126 |
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1810439630052392960 |