Effects of changing permafrost and snow conditions on tundra wildlife: critical places and times

The change of water phase around 0 °C has considerable impacts on wildlife ecology because liquid and solid water strongly differ in their insulating capability, mechanical resistance, and light reflectance. Freeze and melt events thus have strong ecological relevance, particularly in the Arctic whe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic Science
Main Authors: Dominique Berteaux, Gilles Gauthier, Florent Domine, Rolf A. Ims, Scott F. Lamoureux, Esther Lévesque, Nigel Yoccoz
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
French
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2017
Subjects:
ice
geo
Ice
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0023
https://doaj.org/article/1fc5e76cf106473d8812f5a89e9be0d4
Description
Summary:The change of water phase around 0 °C has considerable impacts on wildlife ecology because liquid and solid water strongly differ in their insulating capability, mechanical resistance, and light reflectance. Freeze and melt events thus have strong ecological relevance, particularly in the Arctic where snow and ice are omnipresent and their conditions are changing due to climate warming. We first review the mechanisms linking water phase transitions to wildlife ecology, with emphasis on seven key processes. These processes are illustrated with examples or detailed case studies, such as snowmelt and icing events affecting herbivore populations, thaw-induced collapse of structures used by wildlife for reproduction, and thermal erosion of ice wedges reducing waterfowl habitat. We infer that water phase transitions generate some critical places and critical times that play a disproportionate role in the ecology of tundra wildlife. We map these critical places and times to help structure future research on the effects of climate change on tundra wildlife in a context where changing permafrost and snow conditions might trigger abrupt ecological responses in the Arctic tundra.