Climate-driven benthic invertebrate activity and biogeochemical functioning across the Barents Sea polar front
Arctic marine ecosystems are undergoing rapid correction in response to multiple expressions of climate change, but the consequences of altered biodiversity for the sequestration, transformation and storage of nutrients are poorly constrained. Here, we determine the bioturbation activity of sediment...
Published in: | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsta.2019.0365 2024-06-02T08:01:07+00:00 Climate-driven benthic invertebrate activity and biogeochemical functioning across the Barents Sea polar front Solan, Martin Ward, Ellie R. Wood, Christina L. Reed, Adam J. Grange, Laura J. Godbold, Jasmin A. Natural Environment Research Council 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0365 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2019.0365 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsta.2019.0365 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/-/media/journals/author/Licence-to-Publish-20062019-final.pdf https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences volume 378, issue 2181, page 20190365 ISSN 1364-503X 1471-2962 journal-article 2020 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0365 2024-05-07T14:16:40Z Arctic marine ecosystems are undergoing rapid correction in response to multiple expressions of climate change, but the consequences of altered biodiversity for the sequestration, transformation and storage of nutrients are poorly constrained. Here, we determine the bioturbation activity of sediment-dwelling invertebrate communities over two consecutive summers that contrasted in sea-ice extent along a transect intersecting the polar front. We find a clear separation in community composition at the polar front that marks a transition in the type and amount of bioturbation activity, and associated nutrient concentrations, sufficient to distinguish a southern high from a northern low. While patterns in community structure reflect proximity to arctic versus boreal conditions, our observations strongly suggest that faunal activity is moderated by seasonal variations in sea ice extent that influence food supply to the benthos. Our observations help visualize how a climate-driven reorganization of the Barents Sea benthic ecosystem may be expressed, and emphasize the rapidity with which an entire region could experience a functional transformation. As strong benthic-pelagic coupling is typical across most parts of the Arctic shelf, the response of these ecosystems to a changing climate will have important ramifications for ecosystem functioning and the trophic structure of the entire food web. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The changing Arctic Ocean: consequences for biological communities, biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning'. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Climate change Sea ice The Royal Society Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 378 2181 20190365 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Arctic marine ecosystems are undergoing rapid correction in response to multiple expressions of climate change, but the consequences of altered biodiversity for the sequestration, transformation and storage of nutrients are poorly constrained. Here, we determine the bioturbation activity of sediment-dwelling invertebrate communities over two consecutive summers that contrasted in sea-ice extent along a transect intersecting the polar front. We find a clear separation in community composition at the polar front that marks a transition in the type and amount of bioturbation activity, and associated nutrient concentrations, sufficient to distinguish a southern high from a northern low. While patterns in community structure reflect proximity to arctic versus boreal conditions, our observations strongly suggest that faunal activity is moderated by seasonal variations in sea ice extent that influence food supply to the benthos. Our observations help visualize how a climate-driven reorganization of the Barents Sea benthic ecosystem may be expressed, and emphasize the rapidity with which an entire region could experience a functional transformation. As strong benthic-pelagic coupling is typical across most parts of the Arctic shelf, the response of these ecosystems to a changing climate will have important ramifications for ecosystem functioning and the trophic structure of the entire food web. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The changing Arctic Ocean: consequences for biological communities, biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning'. |
author2 |
Natural Environment Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Solan, Martin Ward, Ellie R. Wood, Christina L. Reed, Adam J. Grange, Laura J. Godbold, Jasmin A. |
spellingShingle |
Solan, Martin Ward, Ellie R. Wood, Christina L. Reed, Adam J. Grange, Laura J. Godbold, Jasmin A. Climate-driven benthic invertebrate activity and biogeochemical functioning across the Barents Sea polar front |
author_facet |
Solan, Martin Ward, Ellie R. Wood, Christina L. Reed, Adam J. Grange, Laura J. Godbold, Jasmin A. |
author_sort |
Solan, Martin |
title |
Climate-driven benthic invertebrate activity and biogeochemical functioning across the Barents Sea polar front |
title_short |
Climate-driven benthic invertebrate activity and biogeochemical functioning across the Barents Sea polar front |
title_full |
Climate-driven benthic invertebrate activity and biogeochemical functioning across the Barents Sea polar front |
title_fullStr |
Climate-driven benthic invertebrate activity and biogeochemical functioning across the Barents Sea polar front |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate-driven benthic invertebrate activity and biogeochemical functioning across the Barents Sea polar front |
title_sort |
climate-driven benthic invertebrate activity and biogeochemical functioning across the barents sea polar front |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0365 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2019.0365 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsta.2019.0365 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Climate change Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Climate change Sea ice |
op_source |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences volume 378, issue 2181, page 20190365 ISSN 1364-503X 1471-2962 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/-/media/journals/author/Licence-to-Publish-20062019-final.pdf https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0365 |
container_title |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |
container_volume |
378 |
container_issue |
2181 |
container_start_page |
20190365 |
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