Crossing the final ecological threshold in high Arctic ponds
A characteristic feature of most Arctic regions is the many shallow ponds that dot the landscape. These surface waters are often hotspots of biodiversity and production for microorganisms, plants, and animals in this otherwise extreme terrestrial environment. However, shallow ponds are also especial...
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Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941480 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17606917 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702777104 |
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:1941480 2023-05-15T14:47:02+02:00 Crossing the final ecological threshold in high Arctic ponds Smol, John P. Douglas, Marianne S. V. 2007-07-24 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941480 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17606917 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702777104 en eng National Academy of Sciences http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941480 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17606917 http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702777104 © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA Biological Sciences Text 2007 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702777104 2013-09-01T00:26:35Z A characteristic feature of most Arctic regions is the many shallow ponds that dot the landscape. These surface waters are often hotspots of biodiversity and production for microorganisms, plants, and animals in this otherwise extreme terrestrial environment. However, shallow ponds are also especially susceptible to the effects of climatic changes because of their relatively low water volumes and high surface area to depth ratios. Here, we describe our findings that some high Arctic ponds, which paleolimnological data indicate have been permanent water bodies for millennia, are now completely drying during the polar summer. By comparing recent pond water specific conductance values to similar measurements made in the 1980s, we link the disappearance of the ponds to increased evaporation/precipitation ratios, probably associated with climatic warming. The final ecological threshold for these aquatic ecosystems has now been crossed: complete desiccation. Text Arctic PubMed Central (PMC) Arctic Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 30 12395 12397 |
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PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Smol, John P. Douglas, Marianne S. V. Crossing the final ecological threshold in high Arctic ponds |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences |
description |
A characteristic feature of most Arctic regions is the many shallow ponds that dot the landscape. These surface waters are often hotspots of biodiversity and production for microorganisms, plants, and animals in this otherwise extreme terrestrial environment. However, shallow ponds are also especially susceptible to the effects of climatic changes because of their relatively low water volumes and high surface area to depth ratios. Here, we describe our findings that some high Arctic ponds, which paleolimnological data indicate have been permanent water bodies for millennia, are now completely drying during the polar summer. By comparing recent pond water specific conductance values to similar measurements made in the 1980s, we link the disappearance of the ponds to increased evaporation/precipitation ratios, probably associated with climatic warming. The final ecological threshold for these aquatic ecosystems has now been crossed: complete desiccation. |
format |
Text |
author |
Smol, John P. Douglas, Marianne S. V. |
author_facet |
Smol, John P. Douglas, Marianne S. V. |
author_sort |
Smol, John P. |
title |
Crossing the final ecological threshold in high Arctic ponds |
title_short |
Crossing the final ecological threshold in high Arctic ponds |
title_full |
Crossing the final ecological threshold in high Arctic ponds |
title_fullStr |
Crossing the final ecological threshold in high Arctic ponds |
title_full_unstemmed |
Crossing the final ecological threshold in high Arctic ponds |
title_sort |
crossing the final ecological threshold in high arctic ponds |
publisher |
National Academy of Sciences |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941480 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17606917 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702777104 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941480 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17606917 http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702777104 |
op_rights |
© 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702777104 |
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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104 |
container_issue |
30 |
container_start_page |
12395 |
op_container_end_page |
12397 |
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1766318171013251072 |