Responses of shallow-water Arctic benthic communities to climate change

• Main Author: Lebrun, Anaïs
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Sorbonne Université, Jean-Pierre Gattuso, Steeve Comeau
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: Arctic; Benthos; Global change; Physiology; Molecular biology; Arctique; Changement global; Physiologie; Biologie moléculaire; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Tromsø; arctic cryosphere; Arctique*; Climate change; glaciers; Sea ice; Alaska
• Online Access: https://theses.hal.science/tel-04435267; https://theses.hal.science/tel-04435267/document; https://theses.hal.science/tel-04435267/file/LEBRUN_Anais_these_2023.pdf

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the average surface air temperature in the Arctic has risen by around 2 to 3°C. This rapid rise in temperature is leading to a year-on-year reduction in the extent of the Arctic cryosphere. Melting ice leads to increased turbidity and reduced salinity in coastal waters, resulting in changes of natural habitats. In addition, with ongoing warming, the shallow coastal Arctic is experiencing an increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of marine heat waves. All these changes can have profound repercussions on the Arctic marine ecosystem, affecting the distribution and behavior of the organisms that live there. The main aim of this thesis is to analyze the effects of climate change on benthic communities in the shallow Arctic, in particular kelp forests, which are home to a high level of biodiversity. By modifying light, sedimentation, physical abrasion and bottom currents, kelp forests provide a habitat, food source and breeding ground for fish and invertebrates. In the short term, the increase in water turbidity induced by melting snow and land ice will trigger a local remodeling of communities, limiting the expansion of some species but giving others a competitive advantage, such as Alaria esculenta in low-light areas. In the longer term, the melting of glaciers and sea ice will expand the potential habitat range of kelp which, as this thesis suggests, should be able to withstand rising temperatures, marine heat waves, and decreasing salinity and underwater light. However, the disappearance of ice, particularly glaciers, which serve as habitats for top predators, could lead to the decline of these crucial species regulating ecosystem diversity and induce, as in Tromsø but also in other Norwegian fjords or in south-west Alaska, a significant reduction in kelp populations due to an overabundance of herbivores, particularly sea urchins. Further research into the responses of Arctic coastal communities is needed to refine our predictions and provide sound scientific ...