Arctic marine mammals in a time of climate change- a Kongsfjorden Case Study („ARK“ – Arktiske Klima forandringer Konsekvenser)

Project description

The retreat of sea ice and the melting and retreat of tidewater glaciers are particularly visible signs of the changes taking place in the Arctic due to global warming. The deterioration of these two physical features of Arctic marine systems is occurring faster in the northern Barents Sea than elsewhere in the circumpolar Arctic, making the Norwegian High Arctic an indicator of climate change in the Arctic region as a whole. The changes will undoubtedly have profound effects on marine ecosystems in the High Arctic and consequences for endemic Arctic marine mammal species.

The ARK research programme will use a variety of data time series (occurrence, ecology, diet, contaminant levels, health parameters, infectious diseases, trophic interactions, etc.) to quantitatively assess different hypotheses on climate change impacts on Arctic marine mammals:
1) Habitat decline will lead to declines in ice-dependent species, changes in distribution patterns and, in the long term, species extinction.
2) Endemic species will increasingly compete with temperate species, which are expanding their habitats.
3) Exposure to new pathogens and increased levels of pollutants will have a negative impact on endemic species.
4) Atlantification of food webs will negatively impact Arctic species and affect the entire Arctic ecosystem.

Within the ARK project, the Kongsfjord, on the west coast of Spitsbergen, will be used in a case-study approach to investigate changes in the ecosystem, apply physical-biochemical food web models and complex risk analyses to make predictions and provide management information.