Structure and function of the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem
Arctic marine species, from benthos to fish and mammals, are essential for food security and sovereignty of Inuit people. Inuit food security is dependent on the availability, accessibility, quality, and sustainability of country food resources. However, climate change effects are threatening Inuit...
Published in: | Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Online Access: | https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04295700 https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00015 |
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ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-04295700v1 2023-12-24T10:12:40+01:00 Structure and function of the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem Pedro, Sara Lemire, Mélanie Hoover, Carie Saint-Béat, Blanche Janjua, Muhammad Herbig, Jennifer Geoffroy, Maxime Yunda-Guarin, Gustavo Moisan, Marie-Ange Boissinot, Justin Tremblay, Jean-Éric Little, Matthew Chan, Laurie Babin, Marcel Kenny, Tiff-Annie Maps, Frédéric Takuvik International Research Laboratory Université Laval Québec (ULaval)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2023-02-16 https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04295700 https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00015 en eng HAL CCSD University of California Press info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1525/elementa.2022.00015 hal-04295700 https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04295700 doi:10.1525/elementa.2022.00015 EISSN: 2325-1026 Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04295700 Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 2023, 11 (1), ⟨10.1525/elementa.2022.00015⟩ [SDE]Environmental Sciences info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2023 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00015 2023-11-25T23:38:33Z Arctic marine species, from benthos to fish and mammals, are essential for food security and sovereignty of Inuit people. Inuit food security is dependent on the availability, accessibility, quality, and sustainability of country food resources. However, climate change effects are threatening Inuit food systems through changes in abundance and nutritional quality of locally harvested species, while foundational knowledge of Arctic food webs remains elusive. Here, we summarized scientific knowledge available for the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem by building a food web model using the Ecopath with Ecosim modeling framework. Based on this model, we calculated ecological network analysis indices to describe structure and function of the system. We used Linear Inverse Modeling and Monte Carlo analysis to assess parameter uncertainty, generating plausible parameterizations of this ecosystem from which a probability density distribution for each index was generated. Our findings suggest that the system is controlled by intermediate trophic levels, highlighting the key role of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) as prey fish, as well as the importance of other less studied groups like cephalopods in controlling energy flows. Most of the ecosystem biomass is retained in the system, with very little lost to subsistence harvest and commercial fisheries, indicating that these activities were within a sustainable range during the modeling period. Our model also highlights the scientific knowledge gaps that still exist (e.g., species abundances), including valued harvest species like Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), and seals, and importantly our poor understanding of the system in winter. Moving forward, we will collaborate with Inuit partners in Qikiqtarjuaq, NU, Canada, to improve this modeling tool by including Inuit knowledge. This tool thus serves as a starting point for collaborative discussions with Inuit partners and how its use can better inform local and regional ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic cod Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Boreogadus saida Climate change inuit Odobenus rosmarus Qikiqtarjuaq Salvelinus alpinus walrus* Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Qikiqtarjuaq ENVELOPE(-64.029,-64.029,67.557,67.557) Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 11 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
op_collection_id |
ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
topic |
[SDE]Environmental Sciences |
spellingShingle |
[SDE]Environmental Sciences Pedro, Sara Lemire, Mélanie Hoover, Carie Saint-Béat, Blanche Janjua, Muhammad Herbig, Jennifer Geoffroy, Maxime Yunda-Guarin, Gustavo Moisan, Marie-Ange Boissinot, Justin Tremblay, Jean-Éric Little, Matthew Chan, Laurie Babin, Marcel Kenny, Tiff-Annie Maps, Frédéric Structure and function of the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem |
topic_facet |
[SDE]Environmental Sciences |
description |
Arctic marine species, from benthos to fish and mammals, are essential for food security and sovereignty of Inuit people. Inuit food security is dependent on the availability, accessibility, quality, and sustainability of country food resources. However, climate change effects are threatening Inuit food systems through changes in abundance and nutritional quality of locally harvested species, while foundational knowledge of Arctic food webs remains elusive. Here, we summarized scientific knowledge available for the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem by building a food web model using the Ecopath with Ecosim modeling framework. Based on this model, we calculated ecological network analysis indices to describe structure and function of the system. We used Linear Inverse Modeling and Monte Carlo analysis to assess parameter uncertainty, generating plausible parameterizations of this ecosystem from which a probability density distribution for each index was generated. Our findings suggest that the system is controlled by intermediate trophic levels, highlighting the key role of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) as prey fish, as well as the importance of other less studied groups like cephalopods in controlling energy flows. Most of the ecosystem biomass is retained in the system, with very little lost to subsistence harvest and commercial fisheries, indicating that these activities were within a sustainable range during the modeling period. Our model also highlights the scientific knowledge gaps that still exist (e.g., species abundances), including valued harvest species like Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), and seals, and importantly our poor understanding of the system in winter. Moving forward, we will collaborate with Inuit partners in Qikiqtarjuaq, NU, Canada, to improve this modeling tool by including Inuit knowledge. This tool thus serves as a starting point for collaborative discussions with Inuit partners and how its use can better inform local and regional ... |
author2 |
Takuvik International Research Laboratory Université Laval Québec (ULaval)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pedro, Sara Lemire, Mélanie Hoover, Carie Saint-Béat, Blanche Janjua, Muhammad Herbig, Jennifer Geoffroy, Maxime Yunda-Guarin, Gustavo Moisan, Marie-Ange Boissinot, Justin Tremblay, Jean-Éric Little, Matthew Chan, Laurie Babin, Marcel Kenny, Tiff-Annie Maps, Frédéric |
author_facet |
Pedro, Sara Lemire, Mélanie Hoover, Carie Saint-Béat, Blanche Janjua, Muhammad Herbig, Jennifer Geoffroy, Maxime Yunda-Guarin, Gustavo Moisan, Marie-Ange Boissinot, Justin Tremblay, Jean-Éric Little, Matthew Chan, Laurie Babin, Marcel Kenny, Tiff-Annie Maps, Frédéric |
author_sort |
Pedro, Sara |
title |
Structure and function of the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem |
title_short |
Structure and function of the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem |
title_full |
Structure and function of the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem |
title_fullStr |
Structure and function of the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem |
title_full_unstemmed |
Structure and function of the western Baffin Bay coastal and shelf ecosystem |
title_sort |
structure and function of the western baffin bay coastal and shelf ecosystem |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04295700 https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00015 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-64.029,-64.029,67.557,67.557) |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Qikiqtarjuaq |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Qikiqtarjuaq |
genre |
Arctic cod Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Boreogadus saida Climate change inuit Odobenus rosmarus Qikiqtarjuaq Salvelinus alpinus walrus* |
genre_facet |
Arctic cod Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Boreogadus saida Climate change inuit Odobenus rosmarus Qikiqtarjuaq Salvelinus alpinus walrus* |
op_source |
EISSN: 2325-1026 Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04295700 Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 2023, 11 (1), ⟨10.1525/elementa.2022.00015⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1525/elementa.2022.00015 hal-04295700 https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04295700 doi:10.1525/elementa.2022.00015 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00015 |
container_title |
Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1786175767833477120 |