Trends in Benthic Macrofaunal Populations, Seasonal Sea Ice Persistence, and Bottom Water Temperatures in the Bering Strait Region
Recent declines in sea ice extent and warming seawater temperatures in the Arctic have the potential to impact regional and pan-Arctic marine ecosystems. To investigate marine biological response to these key drivers and other environmental factors, we undertook a robust trend analysis of benthic ma...
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The Oceanography Society
2018
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2018.224 https://doaj.org/article/76e9234c630042e695b62c86786e19b1 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:76e9234c630042e695b62c86786e19b1 2023-05-15T14:56:47+02:00 Trends in Benthic Macrofaunal Populations, Seasonal Sea Ice Persistence, and Bottom Water Temperatures in the Bering Strait Region Jacqueline M. Grebmeier Karen E. Frey Lee W. Cooper Monica Kedra 2018-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2018.224 https://doaj.org/article/76e9234c630042e695b62c86786e19b1 EN eng The Oceanography Society https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2018.224 https://doaj.org/toc/1042-8275 doi:10.5670/oceanog.2018.224 1042-8275 https://doaj.org/article/76e9234c630042e695b62c86786e19b1 Oceanography, Vol 31, Iss 2, Pp 136-151 (2018) marine ecosystems Arctic benthic populations benthic biomass Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2018.224 2022-12-31T13:08:13Z Recent declines in sea ice extent and warming seawater temperatures in the Arctic have the potential to impact regional and pan-Arctic marine ecosystems. To investigate marine biological response to these key drivers and other environmental factors, we undertook a robust trend analysis of benthic macrofaunal populations and environmental drivers in the Bering Strait region. Our focus was on the waters of the northern Bering and southern Chukchi Seas, which are shallow (<100 m) and seasonally productive, with strong pelagic-benthic coupling between water-column-derived organic matter and the seafloor. Studies indicate that both in situ production and advection of upstream phytodetritus support persistent biologically productive regions, termed hotspots, in the greater Bering Strait region. The benthic marine ecosystem is dominated by macroinvertebrates (e.g., clams, polychaetes, and amphipods) that in turn serve as food resources for diving mammals and seabirds, thus allowing for changes to cascade strongly through the food web from prey to predator. During our study, the persistence of seasonal sea ice significantly declined; trend analyses indicate both earlier sea ice breakup and later fall freeze-up in recent years. When combined with warming seawater temperatures in the region, these changes have ramifications for water column processes that influence benthic faunal biomass and composition, which can transfer to upper trophic level predators. We studied these changes by evaluating time series sites in three benthic biomass hotspots starting in 1998 (Southeast Chukchi Sea region), 1999 (Chirikov Basin region), and 2000 (St. Lawrence Island Polynya region). We present these data within a broader evaluation of benthic biomass results from prior cruises dating as early as the 1970s. The current study focuses on the period 1998–2015 at sites occupied annually each July using CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Since 2010, these time series sites have become part of the international Distributed Biological Observatory ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Bering Strait Chukchi Chukchi Sea Sea ice St Lawrence Island Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Chukchi Sea Bering Strait Lawrence Island ENVELOPE(-103.718,-103.718,56.967,56.967) Oceanography 31 2 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
marine ecosystems Arctic benthic populations benthic biomass Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
marine ecosystems Arctic benthic populations benthic biomass Oceanography GC1-1581 Jacqueline M. Grebmeier Karen E. Frey Lee W. Cooper Monica Kedra Trends in Benthic Macrofaunal Populations, Seasonal Sea Ice Persistence, and Bottom Water Temperatures in the Bering Strait Region |
topic_facet |
marine ecosystems Arctic benthic populations benthic biomass Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Recent declines in sea ice extent and warming seawater temperatures in the Arctic have the potential to impact regional and pan-Arctic marine ecosystems. To investigate marine biological response to these key drivers and other environmental factors, we undertook a robust trend analysis of benthic macrofaunal populations and environmental drivers in the Bering Strait region. Our focus was on the waters of the northern Bering and southern Chukchi Seas, which are shallow (<100 m) and seasonally productive, with strong pelagic-benthic coupling between water-column-derived organic matter and the seafloor. Studies indicate that both in situ production and advection of upstream phytodetritus support persistent biologically productive regions, termed hotspots, in the greater Bering Strait region. The benthic marine ecosystem is dominated by macroinvertebrates (e.g., clams, polychaetes, and amphipods) that in turn serve as food resources for diving mammals and seabirds, thus allowing for changes to cascade strongly through the food web from prey to predator. During our study, the persistence of seasonal sea ice significantly declined; trend analyses indicate both earlier sea ice breakup and later fall freeze-up in recent years. When combined with warming seawater temperatures in the region, these changes have ramifications for water column processes that influence benthic faunal biomass and composition, which can transfer to upper trophic level predators. We studied these changes by evaluating time series sites in three benthic biomass hotspots starting in 1998 (Southeast Chukchi Sea region), 1999 (Chirikov Basin region), and 2000 (St. Lawrence Island Polynya region). We present these data within a broader evaluation of benthic biomass results from prior cruises dating as early as the 1970s. The current study focuses on the period 1998–2015 at sites occupied annually each July using CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Since 2010, these time series sites have become part of the international Distributed Biological Observatory ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jacqueline M. Grebmeier Karen E. Frey Lee W. Cooper Monica Kedra |
author_facet |
Jacqueline M. Grebmeier Karen E. Frey Lee W. Cooper Monica Kedra |
author_sort |
Jacqueline M. Grebmeier |
title |
Trends in Benthic Macrofaunal Populations, Seasonal Sea Ice Persistence, and Bottom Water Temperatures in the Bering Strait Region |
title_short |
Trends in Benthic Macrofaunal Populations, Seasonal Sea Ice Persistence, and Bottom Water Temperatures in the Bering Strait Region |
title_full |
Trends in Benthic Macrofaunal Populations, Seasonal Sea Ice Persistence, and Bottom Water Temperatures in the Bering Strait Region |
title_fullStr |
Trends in Benthic Macrofaunal Populations, Seasonal Sea Ice Persistence, and Bottom Water Temperatures in the Bering Strait Region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Trends in Benthic Macrofaunal Populations, Seasonal Sea Ice Persistence, and Bottom Water Temperatures in the Bering Strait Region |
title_sort |
trends in benthic macrofaunal populations, seasonal sea ice persistence, and bottom water temperatures in the bering strait region |
publisher |
The Oceanography Society |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2018.224 https://doaj.org/article/76e9234c630042e695b62c86786e19b1 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-103.718,-103.718,56.967,56.967) |
geographic |
Arctic Chukchi Sea Bering Strait Lawrence Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Chukchi Sea Bering Strait Lawrence Island |
genre |
Arctic Bering Strait Chukchi Chukchi Sea Sea ice St Lawrence Island |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bering Strait Chukchi Chukchi Sea Sea ice St Lawrence Island |
op_source |
Oceanography, Vol 31, Iss 2, Pp 136-151 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2018.224 https://doaj.org/toc/1042-8275 doi:10.5670/oceanog.2018.224 1042-8275 https://doaj.org/article/76e9234c630042e695b62c86786e19b1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2018.224 |
container_title |
Oceanography |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
2 |
_version_ |
1766328853214527488 |