Climate change and the ecology and evolution of Arctic vertebrates.

• Published in: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Main Authors: Gilg, Olivier, Kovacs, Kit M., Aars, Jon, Fort, Jérôme, Gauthier, Gilles, Grémillet, David, Ims, Rolf A., Meltofte, Hans, Moreau, Jérôme, Post, Eric, Schmidt, Niels Martin, Yannic, Glenn, Bollache, Loïc
• Other Authors: Biogéosciences UMR 6282 (BGS), Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Division of Population Biology, FRAM Centre, Norwegian Polar Institute, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University Aarhus, Departement de Biologie & Centre d'Etudes Nordiques, Université Laval Québec (ULaval), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø (UiT), Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), Penn State System-Penn State System, Support from the Conseil Régional de Bourgogne (project "1036-Interactions"), the French Polar Institute (IPEV) (project "388-Adaclim"), the Norwegian Research Council's IPY and NORKLIMA research programs (Climate change research in Norway), and from the Norwegian Polar Institute.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: phenological changes; plasticity; range shifts; trophic interactions; threat; adaptations; polar bear; shorebirds; rodents; lemmings; large herbivores; seabirds; marine mammals; geese; parasites; impacts; mismatches; sea ice; tundra; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.EE.BIO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment/Bioclimatology; [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; Arctic; Climate change; Ocean acidification; Sea ice; Tundra
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00676048; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06412.x

25 pages International audience Climate change is taking place more rapidly and severely in the Arctic than anywhere on the globe, exposing Arctic vertebrates to a host of impacts. Changes in the cryosphere dominate the physical changes that already affect these animals, but increasing air temperatures, changes in precipitation, and ocean acidification will also affect Arctic ecosystems in the future. Adaptation via natural selection is problematic in such a rapidly changing environment. Adjustment via phenotypic plasticity is therefore likely to dominate Arctic vertebrate responses in the short term, and many such adjustments have already been documented. Changes in phenology and range will occur for most species but will only partly mitigate climate change impacts, which are particularly difficult to forecast due to the many interactions within and between trophic levels. Even though Arctic species richness is increasing via immigration from the South, many Arctic vertebrates are expected to become increasingly threatened during this century.