Evaluation of the Beaufort Sea shelf structure and function in support of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area
Arctic ecosystems are at risk to climate impacts, challenging existing conservation measures such as protected areas. This study aims to describe the ecological dynamics of the Canadian Beaufort Sea Shelf (BSS) ecosystem and the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area (TNMPA) under historical changes...
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Canadian Science Publishing
2022
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7214d378b496412598373c9c818f2975 2023-05-15T14:23:51+02:00 Evaluation of the Beaufort Sea shelf structure and function in support of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area Kristen J. Sora Colette C.C. Wabnitz Nadja S. Steiner U. Rashid Sumaila William W.L. Cheung Andrea Niemi Lisa L. Loseto Carie Hoover 2022-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0040 https://doaj.org/article/7214d378b496412598373c9c818f2975 EN FR eng fre Canadian Science Publishing https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2020-0040 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2020-0040 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/7214d378b496412598373c9c818f2975 Arctic Science, Vol 8, Iss 4, Pp 1252-1275 (2022) ecosystem modelling Arctic climate change keystone species ecosystem-based management modélisation des écosystèmes Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0040 2022-12-30T19:37:42Z Arctic ecosystems are at risk to climate impacts, challenging existing conservation measures such as protected areas. This study aims to describe the ecological dynamics of the Canadian Beaufort Sea Shelf (BSS) ecosystem and the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area (TNMPA) under historical changes in sea surface temperature and sea ice extent. Using Ecopath with Ecosim, we compared the status of the BSS between two time periods, 1970–1974 and 2008–2012, and against four ecosystem models (Eastern Chukchi Sea, Barents Sea, Eastern Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska) to inform the relative long-term health and status of Arctic marine ecosystems. We find that relative to the comparable ecosystems, the BSS had a greater proportion of biomass from pelagic primary and secondary producers, and limited production from higher trophic levels. Estimates of trophic structure indices for the BSS indicate temporal ecosystem stability, and no loss in diversity. While beluga whales are a focus of the TNMPA management plan, they are not considered a key component of the modeled food web. Rather, Arctic and polar cods (main beluga prey group), arthropods, large copepods, micro-zooplankton, and herring and smelt, were identified as keystone species and warrant attention as proxies for both beluga whales and ecosystem health. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Barents Sea Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga* Bering Sea Chukchi Chukchi Sea Climate change Sea ice Zooplankton Alaska Copepods Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Barents Sea Bering Sea Chukchi Sea Gulf of Alaska Arctic Science |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
ecosystem modelling Arctic climate change keystone species ecosystem-based management modélisation des écosystèmes Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
spellingShingle |
ecosystem modelling Arctic climate change keystone species ecosystem-based management modélisation des écosystèmes Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 Kristen J. Sora Colette C.C. Wabnitz Nadja S. Steiner U. Rashid Sumaila William W.L. Cheung Andrea Niemi Lisa L. Loseto Carie Hoover Evaluation of the Beaufort Sea shelf structure and function in support of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area |
topic_facet |
ecosystem modelling Arctic climate change keystone species ecosystem-based management modélisation des écosystèmes Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
description |
Arctic ecosystems are at risk to climate impacts, challenging existing conservation measures such as protected areas. This study aims to describe the ecological dynamics of the Canadian Beaufort Sea Shelf (BSS) ecosystem and the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area (TNMPA) under historical changes in sea surface temperature and sea ice extent. Using Ecopath with Ecosim, we compared the status of the BSS between two time periods, 1970–1974 and 2008–2012, and against four ecosystem models (Eastern Chukchi Sea, Barents Sea, Eastern Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska) to inform the relative long-term health and status of Arctic marine ecosystems. We find that relative to the comparable ecosystems, the BSS had a greater proportion of biomass from pelagic primary and secondary producers, and limited production from higher trophic levels. Estimates of trophic structure indices for the BSS indicate temporal ecosystem stability, and no loss in diversity. While beluga whales are a focus of the TNMPA management plan, they are not considered a key component of the modeled food web. Rather, Arctic and polar cods (main beluga prey group), arthropods, large copepods, micro-zooplankton, and herring and smelt, were identified as keystone species and warrant attention as proxies for both beluga whales and ecosystem health. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kristen J. Sora Colette C.C. Wabnitz Nadja S. Steiner U. Rashid Sumaila William W.L. Cheung Andrea Niemi Lisa L. Loseto Carie Hoover |
author_facet |
Kristen J. Sora Colette C.C. Wabnitz Nadja S. Steiner U. Rashid Sumaila William W.L. Cheung Andrea Niemi Lisa L. Loseto Carie Hoover |
author_sort |
Kristen J. Sora |
title |
Evaluation of the Beaufort Sea shelf structure and function in support of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area |
title_short |
Evaluation of the Beaufort Sea shelf structure and function in support of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area |
title_full |
Evaluation of the Beaufort Sea shelf structure and function in support of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area |
title_fullStr |
Evaluation of the Beaufort Sea shelf structure and function in support of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluation of the Beaufort Sea shelf structure and function in support of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area |
title_sort |
evaluation of the beaufort sea shelf structure and function in support of the tarium niryutait marine protected area |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0040 https://doaj.org/article/7214d378b496412598373c9c818f2975 |
geographic |
Arctic Barents Sea Bering Sea Chukchi Sea Gulf of Alaska |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Bering Sea Chukchi Sea Gulf of Alaska |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Barents Sea Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga* Bering Sea Chukchi Chukchi Sea Climate change Sea ice Zooplankton Alaska Copepods |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Barents Sea Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga* Bering Sea Chukchi Chukchi Sea Climate change Sea ice Zooplankton Alaska Copepods |
op_source |
Arctic Science, Vol 8, Iss 4, Pp 1252-1275 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2020-0040 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2020-0040 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/7214d378b496412598373c9c818f2975 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0040 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
_version_ |
1766296321599209472 |