Status and trends in the structure of Arctic benthic food webs

• Main Authors: Kędra, Monika, Moritz, Charlotte, Choy, Emily S., David, Carmen, Degen, Renate, Duerksen, Steven, Ellingsen, Ingrid, Górska, Barbara, Grebmeier, Jacqueline M., Kirievskaya, Dubrava, van Oevelen, Dick, Piwosz, Kasia, Samuelsen, Annette, Węsławski, Jan Marcin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2015
• Subjects: Arctic; food web; climate change; sea-ice retreat; trophic transfer; pelagic-benthic coupling; Arctic Ocean; Chukchi; Climate change; ice pack; Polar Research; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/3531

Ongoing climate warming is causing a dramatic loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, and it is projected that the Arctic Ocean will become seasonally ice-free by 2040. Many studies of local Arctic food webs now exist, and with this review paper we aim to synthesize these into a large-scale assessment of the current status of knowledge on the structure of various Arctic marine food webs and their response to climate change, and to sea-ice retreat in particular. Key drivers of ecosystem change and potential consequences for ecosystem functioning and Arctic marine food webs are identified along the sea-ice gradient, with special emphasis on the following regions: seasonally ice-free Barents and Chukchi seas, loose ice pack zone of the Polar Front and Marginal Ice Zone, and permanently sea-ice covered High Arctic. Finally, we identify knowledge gaps in different Arctic marine food webs and provide recommendations for future studies.