Long-term ecological changes in marine mammals driven by recent warming in northwestern Alaska

Carbon and nitrogen isotopes analyses were performed on marine mammal bone collagen from three archaeological sites (ad 1170-1813) on Cape Espenberg (Kotzebue Sound, northwestern Alaska) as well as modern animals harvested from the same area to examine long-term trends in foraging ecology and sea ic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global Change Biology
Main Authors: Szpak, Paul, Buckley, Michael, Darwent, Christyann M., Richards, Michael P.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2017
Subjects:
Arctic
Climate change
Marine mammals
Paleoecology
Sea ice
Stable isotopes
Western Alaska
ResearchInstitutes_Networks_Beacons/manchester_institute_of_biotechnology
name=Manchester Institute of Biotechnology
ringed seal
Alaska
Online Access:https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/016144e5-726c-45db-a80a-b727d71d5f7b
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13880
https://pure.manchester.ac.uk/ws/files/62333365/10.1111_gcb.13880.pdf
http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85030177034&partnerID=8YFLogxK
Description
Summary:Carbon and nitrogen isotopes analyses were performed on marine mammal bone collagen from three archaeological sites (ad 1170-1813) on Cape Espenberg (Kotzebue Sound, northwestern Alaska) as well as modern animals harvested from the same area to examine long-term trends in foraging ecology and sea ice productivity. We observed significant and dramatic changes in ringed seal stable isotope values between the early 19th and early 21st centuries, likely due to changing sea ice productivity and reduced delivery of organic matter to the benthos driven by recent warming in the Arctic. These data highlight the importance of the archaeological record for providing a long-term perspective on environmental variation and interpreting recent changes driven by anthropogenic processes.

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