Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-07-17DOI: 10.1139/as-2023-0068
Julius Nielsen, R. Nygaard, Melissa Brandner, K. Præbel
{"title":"Occurrence of the invasive pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, Walbaum 1792) in Greenland 2020 and 2021 as revealed using citizen science, snorkeling, and environmental DNA metabarcoding of fishes in the Kapisillit River","authors":"Julius Nielsen, R. Nygaard, Melissa Brandner, K. Præbel","doi":"10.1139/as-2023-0068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0068","url":null,"abstract":"The occurrence of the invasive pink salmon ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, Walbaum 1792) in Greenland was initially described in 2019 using social media to collect data on their presence. In this study we continue data collection through social media and initiate a monitoring program of the Kapisillit River in Southwest Greenland using snorkeling and environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding in 2020 and 2021. The Kapisillit River is the only freshwater system in Greenland, where the red-listed Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar, Linnaeus 1758) is known to spawn. This genetically unique population of Atlantic salmon has been found to decline, wherefore there is general conservation concern that the occurrence of pink salmon at some point can become an additional stressor to the “Kapisillit salmon”. In 2021, pink salmon were present near all larger populated areas in Greenland and likely more abundant than in 2019. From visual observations and using eDNA, the presence of pink salmon was documented in the Kapisillit River in 2021. From the number of individuals observed combined with the spatial distribution of eDNA detections in the river, we suggest that the pink salmon invasion in the Kapisillit River is at an early stage.","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141639974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-07-08DOI: 10.1139/as-2024-0003
Aura Diaz, Zou zou Kuzyk, A. Guzzi, Kaushik Gupta, T. Papakyriakou, Jens Ehn
{"title":"Stable Isotopes of Landfast Sea Ice as a Record of La Grande River Under-Ice Plume Dispersal","authors":"Aura Diaz, Zou zou Kuzyk, A. Guzzi, Kaushik Gupta, T. Papakyriakou, Jens Ehn","doi":"10.1139/as-2024-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2024-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Vertical profiles of salinity, and isotopic abundance ratios of hydrogen (δ2H ) and oxygen (@delta;18O) of 18 landfast ice cores, collected along the northeast coast of James Bay in March 2019, and one ice core collected in Belcher Islands, were used to obtain the winter timeseries of the spatiotemporal evolution of the under-ice plume of La Grande River (LGR), the dominant river in the area. Variability in the isotopic composition and salinity of the ice cores indicated changes to the water source composition at the ice-water interface when the ice layers formed. The increased presence of river water beneath the ice during January-March was marked by more negative isotopic ratios in the lower portion of the ice as river discharge was increased for hydroelectric production. River water was the source of ~43% of the ice in our ice core samples (n=320) with the interquartile range from 16% to 71%. The river water fractions incorporated into the ice indicate that LGR under-ice plume extended more than 75 km north and at least 30 km south of the river mouth for ~3 months. These findings correspond well with more challenging to obtain hydrographic observations. End-of-winter ice core sampling and analysis for isotopic abundance has potential as a tool to monitor dispersal of LGR discharge into the ice-covered coastal environment.","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141669732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-06-06DOI: 10.1139/as-2024-0008
G. Coppa, C. Musacchio, Francesca Becherini, Mauro Mazzola, Angelo Viola, A. Merlone
{"title":"On-site calibration of instruments in the Arctic: assessment of temperature records at Climate Change Tower in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard","authors":"G. Coppa, C. Musacchio, Francesca Becherini, Mauro Mazzola, Angelo Viola, A. Merlone","doi":"10.1139/as-2024-0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2024-0008","url":null,"abstract":"The Arctic is as a key place to perform environmental measurements given its combination of reduced human activity and increased sensitivity to climate change. The Svalbard archipelago constitutes an invaluable measurement location, due to its ease of access and the presence of the research centre of Ny-Ålesund. Sensors are usually not designed to sustain prolonged periods of time in demanding environments like the Arctic, therefore chances of failures, drift and errors are high. Maintenance and calibration of these sensors must be rigorous and frequent, to avoid poor quality data, or even their loss. Within the frame of EURAMET EMPIR project “MeteoMet 2”, calibration of the temperature sensors hosted by the Climate Change Tower (CCT), a unique research facility designed to monitor lower-atmosphere profiles of several meteorological quantities, has been performed. The calibration campaign pointed out sensors errors up to 1 °C and corrected the measurements, straightening the skewed temperature profiles. Absolute calibration uncertainties have been evaluated at ~0.2 °C, less than half those stated by the manufacturer, while an evaluation of relative uncertainties yielded values of just few 0.01°C. This experience stimulated the creation of an in-situ calibration facility, to the benefit of the whole scientific community based in Ny-Ålesund.","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141381975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-06-06DOI: 10.1139/as-2023-0064
F. N. A. Shipman, T. Lantz, L. Blight
{"title":"Assessing ecological effects of storm surges on Arctic bird populations in the outer Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories","authors":"F. N. A. Shipman, T. Lantz, L. Blight","doi":"10.1139/as-2023-0064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0064","url":null,"abstract":"Coastal areas in the Western Canadian Arctic are predicted to experience increases in the frequency and intensity of storm surges as rapid climate change continues. Although storm surges have the potential to cause widespread and persistent vegetation loss, little information is available about the influence of decreasing disturbance intervals (between storms), expected timelines of recovery for vegetation, and how vegetation change alters habitat availability and/or quality for local wildlife populations. We investigated how Arctic bird diversity is affected by heterogeneous vegetation recovery post-storm. We employed field survey protocols from the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) to investigate how avian community assemblage was affected by heterogeneous re-vegetation 20 years following a record 1999 storm surge. Comparisons of this bird survey data with vegetation and habitat factors showed that the drier, post-storm vegetation barrens were preferred by ground-nesters and species that use open habitats such as Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) and semipalmated plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), whereas the wetter (usually with surface water) revegetated habitats were frequented by species of ducks (Anasspp.), red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus), and savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Overall, this research shows that areas that have revegetated after the 1999 storm can be considered as functionally recovered in comparison to our Reference (i.e., unaffected) sites in terms of vegetation and bird communities, but that areas still exist ~20 years post-storm that do not show evidence of recovery","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141378975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-06-06DOI: 10.1139/as-2022-0050
Angel Chen, T. Lantz
{"title":"Influence of tundra fire severity on vegetation recovery in the Northwest Territories.","authors":"Angel Chen, T. Lantz","doi":"10.1139/as-2022-0050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0050","url":null,"abstract":"Anthropogenic climate change has driven an increase in the frequency, size, and severity of fires at high latitudes. Recent research shows that increasing fire severity in the subarctic is altering the trajectories of forest succession, but to date, research on the effect of fire severity on tundra succession has been limited. In this study, we investigated short-term recovery of shrub tundra communities following fire in the Tuktoyaktuk Coastal Plain and Anderson River Plain ecoregions of the Northwest Territories. To understand the effects of fire severity, we documented vegetation and permafrost recovery within moderately burned, severely burned, and unburned portions of six tundra fires that burned in 2012. We found that vegetation structure at moderately and severely burnt sites recovered rapidly towards pre-fire levels, but that differences in community composition, characterized by a decrease in shrub and lichen cover as well as an increase in abundance of ruderals and graminoids, persisted at severely burned sites. The persistence of thermal changes and increased thaw depth indicate that while biotic recovery can occur promptly, severe fire may have long-term impacts on belowground conditions.","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141379716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-05-24DOI: 10.1139/as-2023-0050
Andrea Bryndum-Buchholz, Jennifer Herbig, Gerald Darnis, Maxime Geoffroy, Tyler Eddy
{"title":"Ecosystem structure and function of the North Water Polynya","authors":"Andrea Bryndum-Buchholz, Jennifer Herbig, Gerald Darnis, Maxime Geoffroy, Tyler Eddy","doi":"10.1139/as-2023-0050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0050","url":null,"abstract":"The North Water Polynya is one of the most productive Arctic regions on Earth, sustaining the world’s northernmost Inuit communities for millennia. The polynya is a large and persistent region of open water surrounded by sea ice and exhibits high primary productivity, is a high biodiversity hotspot and is a key habitat and migration corridor for Arctic species. Many aspects of the ecosystem structure and the role of resident species in the North Water Polynya remain uncertain. To shed light on these, we developed the first representation of the North Water Polynya food web using the Ecopath modelling framework. Modelled trophic flows indicated that pelagic and benthic communities were primarily connected by Age 1+ Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), and ringed seal (Pusa hispida). Large copepods, Age 1+ Arctic cod, and bivalves were key prey species. Overall productivity in the North Water Polynya was higher compared to Western Baffin Bay and Western Greenland, corroborating expectations of relatively high productivity within the polynya. This model provides a baseline description of the North Water Polynya ecosystem structure and function prior to future climate-driven food web changes and the emergence of large-scale commercial fisheries.","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141102321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-05-24DOI: 10.1139/as-2023-0070
K. Brown, P. Jain, Nicholas J.R. Hebda, Nicholas Conder, Richard J. Hebda, Les C. Cwynar
{"title":"Holocene vegetation and wildfire disturbance in boreal central Yukon, Canada","authors":"K. Brown, P. Jain, Nicholas J.R. Hebda, Nicholas Conder, Richard J. Hebda, Les C. Cwynar","doi":"10.1139/as-2023-0070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0070","url":null,"abstract":"Sediment cores were collected from Wrong (WL) and Lenore (LL) lakes in boreal central Yukon Territory, Canada, spanning circa 6000 years. Analyses of pollen, charcoal, magnetic susceptibility, levoglucosan, and down-scaled paleoclimatic data reveal the vegetation history and character/drivers of Holocene fire disturbance. Boreal forest has persisted in the region for millennia, with a regional mid-Holocene expansion of Picea mariana followed by expansion of Pinus contorta in the latest Holocene. The shortest reconstructed fire return intervals (FRI; ca. 110-125 years) occurred in the mid-Holocene, coincident with the development of highly flammable Picea-dominated forest and warm, dry summers that were characterized by elevated JJA Z500 anomalies and associated with an eastward/intense Aleutian Low. In the late-Holocene, FRI increased to ca. 240 years at WL and 280 years LL. Drivers of this change include regional cooling and increased precipitation, with a westward/weaker Aleutian Low position delivering more moisture to interior Yukon. Longer FRIs allowed for greater fuel accumulation between fires, enhancing fire size/severity. While higher fire frequency is noted in the mid-Holocene and increased fire size/severity in the late-Holocene, recent changes in Yukon fire disturbance suggest that the fire regime may soon lie outside the natural range of mid- and late-Holocene variability.","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141101059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-05-24DOI: 10.1139/as-2023-0067
Madeleine C. Garibaldi, P. Bonnaventure, Nicholas C. Noad, Will Kochtitzky
{"title":"Modelling air, ground surface and permafrost temperature variability across four dissimilar valleys, Yukon, Canada","authors":"Madeleine C. Garibaldi, P. Bonnaventure, Nicholas C. Noad, Will Kochtitzky","doi":"10.1139/as-2023-0067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0067","url":null,"abstract":"Spatial maps of the air and ground thermal regime were generated for four Yukon valleys. The aim was to model air, ground surface and ground temperature (at fine spatial resolution) using locally measured inverted surface lapse rates (SLR), to better predict temperature along an elevation gradient. These local models were then compared to a regional permafrost probability model, which utilized differing inversion assumptions, as well as circumpolar and national models generated without considering inversions. Overall, permafrost probability in the regional model matched well with the local models where assumptions of treeline and inverted SLRs held true. When normal SLRs were assumed, permafrost presence was overestimated in each valley. This discrepancy was greatest at high elevations where permafrost was predicted to be coldest and most widespread. However, the difference between valleys was dependent on surface and subsurface characteristics such as higher snow cover, mature forest or thick organic layers showed a greater disassociation from the air temperature overall. Appropriate characterization of the SLR is essential for accurate predictions of the ground thermal regime’s spatial distribution and permafrost presence. These models also provide a starting point for better predictions of warming in these valleys and other areas subject to inversions of similar magnitudes.","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141099870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-05-10DOI: 10.1139/as-2023-0076
Veronica Laura Maria Coppolaro, Kaushik Gupta, L. Loseto, C.J. Mundy, Marianne Marcoux
{"title":"Seasonal and diurnal marine mammal presence in the proposed marine protected area of Southampton Island, Hudson Bay, Nunavut as revealed by passive acoustic monitoring","authors":"Veronica Laura Maria Coppolaro, Kaushik Gupta, L. Loseto, C.J. Mundy, Marianne Marcoux","doi":"10.1139/as-2023-0076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0076","url":null,"abstract":"Marine protected areas contribute to mitigating the effects of human activities on marine ecosystems. The waters of Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada are under consideration to become a marine protected area, but baseline information of marine mammal presence and habitat use is lacking. This study represents the first passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in this area, with data collected in 2018 and 2019. Bioacoustics analyses and generalized linear models were used to investigate species seasonal and temporal vocalization trends; infer behavior and habitat use from vocal cues; and explore vocal activity correlation with sea ice. Over a diel period, bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus (Erxleben, 1777)) and walruses (Odobenus rosmarus (Linnaeus, 1758)) were found to increase their vocal activity at night, whereas belugas (Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776)) mainly vocalized during daytime. Seasonally, bearded seals were recorded only during their breeding season at sea ice break-up, while walruses vocalized consistently throughout the open-water period outside their breeding season. Beluga vocal trends suggest their use of the area as a migratory corridor during sea ice break-up and freeze-up. Finally, bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus (Linnaeus, 1758)) were recorded later than expected, concurrently with the onset of their mating vocal displays during the fall migration at sea ice freeze-up.","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140991252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arctic SciencePub Date : 2024-05-08DOI: 10.1139/as-2023-0043
P.M. Treitz, D.M. Atkinson, A. Blaser, M.T. Bonney, C.A. Braybrook, E.C. Buckley, A. Collingwood, R. Edwards, K. van Ewijk, V. Freemantle, Fiona Marianne Gregory, J. Holloway, J. Hung, S. Lamoureux, N. Liu, G. Ljubicic, G. Robson, A.C.A. Rudy, N. A. Scott, C. Shang, J. Wall
{"title":"Remote sensing of biogeophysical variables at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory, Melville Island, Nunavut, Canada","authors":"P.M. Treitz, D.M. Atkinson, A. Blaser, M.T. Bonney, C.A. Braybrook, E.C. Buckley, A. Collingwood, R. Edwards, K. van Ewijk, V. Freemantle, Fiona Marianne Gregory, J. Holloway, J. Hung, S. Lamoureux, N. Liu, G. Ljubicic, G. Robson, A.C.A. Rudy, N. A. Scott, C. Shang, J. Wall","doi":"10.1139/as-2023-0043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0043","url":null,"abstract":"The Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory (CBAWO), Melville Island, Nunavut (74°55′N, 109°34′W) was established in 2003 to examine Arctic ecosystem processes that would be impacted by climate warming and permafrost degradation. This paper provides a synthesis of how remote sensing has contributed to biogeophysical modelling and monitoring at the CBAWO from 2003 to 2023. Given the location and isolated nature of the CBAWO in the Canadian High Arctic, remote sensing data and derivatives have been instrumental for studies examining ecosystem structure and function at local and landscape scales. In combination with field measurements, remote sensing data facilitated mapping and modelling of vegetation types, % vegetation cover and aboveground phytomass, soil moisture, carbon exchange rates, and permafrost degradation and disturbance. It has been demonstrated that even in an environment with limited vegetation cover and phytomass, spectral vegetation indices (e.g., the normalized difference vegetation index) are able to model various biogeophysical variables. These applications are feasible for research sites such as the CBAWO using high spatial resolution remote sensing data across the visible, infrared, and microwave regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Furthermore, as the satellite record continues to expand, we will gain a greater understanding of the impacts arising from the expected continued warming at northern latitudes. Although the logistics for research in the Arctic remain challenging, today's technologies (e.g., high spatial resolution satellite remote sensing, automated in situ sensors and data loggers, and wireless communication systems) can support a host of scientific endeavours in the Arctic (and other remote sites) through modelling and monitoring of biogeophysical variables and Earth surface processes with limited but critical field campaigns. The research synthesized here for the CBAWO highlights the essential role of remote sensing of terrestrial ecosystems in the Canadian Arctic.","PeriodicalId":48575,"journal":{"name":"Arctic Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141002044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}