Abstracts
Climate Interactions with Arctic Freshwater Ecosystems
F.J. Wrona1, T.D. Prowse and J.D. Reist
1Environment Canada
Fred.Wrona@ec.gc.ca
The scientific reports of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment to be released in spring 2005 result from an international project of the Arctic Council and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), which evaluates and synthesizes knowledge on climate variability and change, increased ultraviolet radiation, and their impacts on northern landscapes, ecosystems and communities. Future changes in climate and UV in the Arctic are predicted to have far-reaching impacts on, and in some cases fundamentally alter, the hydrology and ecology of freshwater ecosystems. Key effects include alteration and loss of northern aquatic habitat as the basic hydrology of the Arctic changes (this is outlined in a companion talk by Prowse et al.) and thereby threatens the abundance and diversity of arctic species. Productivity and trophic interactions within these systems will change in response to increased nutrient, sediment and carbon loadings from increasingly vegetated, permafrost-degraded catchments. Shift of the geographic range of southerly species northward as new and altered freshwater habitats develop will be detrimental to arctic species and the northern populations that depend on them. These effects of climate change will be compounded by climate interactions with contaminants, and the potential for enhanced UV exposure. Climate interactions with arctic freshwater ecosystems will be complex and may be propagated through ecosystems in ways that are difficult to predict. As such, our understanding of the structure and function of arctic freshwater systems and their interrelationships with climate and other environmental variables must advance such that the accuracy of predictions and the effectiveness of adaptation and mitigation strategies increases. Steps towards this end include establishment of an integrated network of international, long-term freshwater monitoring and hydro-ecological research sites in the Arctic.
2005-04-05 |
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