The immune response and diving: conservation considerations for belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in a changing Arctic environment

Diving is a critical behaviour of marine mammals, including belugas, which dive to forage and travel under Arctic sea ice. While the limitations of dive behaviour and physiological dive adaptations have been the focus of several studies, cellular adaptations, particularly those of the immune system, have been little considered. However, diving itself presents several challenges that can impact immune responses, leading to disease or injury. As beluga dive their behaviour changes in response to human activity or environmental shifts. It is necessary to better understand how the beluga’s immune system functions during diving. This review provides a brief overview of what is known about beluga’s diving behaviour and physiology and discusses the first efforts to understand the link between diving and health via immune function in belugas. This new area of research is an important consideration regarding potential sub-lethal impacts of a rapidly changing Arctic environment on beluga’s diving behaviour, health and disease susceptibility.

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Effects of Oil Under Sea Ice

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/s0022143000023236 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 13 (69) ◽

pp. 473-488

Author(s):

L. Stephen Wolfe ◽

David P. Hoult

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Crude Oil ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

Qualitative Description ◽

Laboratory Research ◽

Arctic Environment ◽

Maximum Extent ◽

Quantitative Measurements ◽

Arctic Sea

This paper describes laboratory research performed to determine the effects of crude and diesel oils on the porous sub-structure of Arctic sea ice. It includes a qualitative description of what occurs when oil is placed under the ice and an evaluation of some quantitative measurements made to determine the maximum extent to which crude oil can spread in an Arctic environment.

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Effects of Oil Under Sea Ice

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s0022143000023236 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 13 (69) ◽

pp. 473-488 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

L. Stephen Wolfe ◽

David P. Hoult

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Crude Oil ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

Qualitative Description ◽

Laboratory Research ◽

Arctic Environment ◽

Maximum Extent ◽

Quantitative Measurements ◽

Arctic Sea

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Retention of ice-associated amphipods: possible consequences for an ice-free Arctic Ocean

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2012.0517 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 1012-1015 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

J. Berge ◽

Ø. Varpe ◽

M. A. Moline ◽

A. Wold ◽

P. E. Renaud ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Arctic Ocean ◽

Marine Mammals ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

Ocean Currents ◽

The Arctic ◽

Arctic Sea ◽

The Arctic Ocean ◽

Deep Ocean Currents

Recent studies predict that the Arctic Ocean will have ice-free summers within the next 30 years. This poses a significant challenge for the marine organisms associated with the Arctic sea ice, such as marine mammals and, not least, the ice-associated crustaceans generally considered to spend their entire life on the underside of the Arctic sea ice. Based upon unique samples collected within the Arctic Ocean during the polar night, we provide a new conceptual understanding of an intimate connection between these under-ice crustaceans and the deep Arctic Ocean currents. We suggest that downwards vertical migrations, followed by polewards transport in deep ocean currents, are an adaptive trait of ice fauna that both increases survival during ice-free periods of the year and enables re-colonization of sea ice when they ascend within the Arctic Ocean. From an evolutionary perspective, this may have been an adaptation allowing success in a seasonally ice-covered Arctic. Our findings may ultimately change the perception of ice fauna as a biota imminently threatened by the predicted disappearance of perennial sea ice.

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Predictions replaced by facts: a keystone species' behavioural responses to declining arctic sea-ice

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2015.0803 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 20150803 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Charmain D. Hamilton ◽

Christian Lydersen ◽

Rolf A. Ims ◽

Kit M. Kovacs

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Marine Mammals ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Keystone Species ◽

Ocean Basin ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

The Arctic ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Population Declines ◽

Arctic Sea

Since the first documentation of climate-warming induced declines in arctic sea-ice, predictions have been made regarding the expected negative consequences for endemic marine mammals. But, several decades later, little hard evidence exists regarding the responses of these animals to the ongoing environmental changes. Herein, we report the first empirical evidence of a dramatic shift in movement patterns and foraging behaviour of the arctic endemic ringed seal ( Pusa hispida ), before and after a major collapse in sea-ice in Svalbard, Norway. Among other changes to the ice-regime, this collapse shifted the summer position of the marginal ice zone from over the continental shelf, northward to the deep Arctic Ocean Basin. Following this change, which is thought to be a ‘tipping point’, subadult ringed seals swam greater distances, showed less area-restricted search behaviour, dived for longer periods, exhibited shorter surface intervals, rested less on sea-ice and did less diving directly beneath the ice during post-moulting foraging excursions. In combination, these behavioural changes suggest increased foraging effort and thus also likely increases in the energetic costs of finding food. Continued declines in sea-ice are likely to result in distributional changes, range reductions and population declines in this keystone arctic species.

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Viral emergence in marine mammals in the North Pacific may be linked to Arctic sea ice reduction

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-51699-4 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

E. VanWormer ◽

J. A. K. Mazet ◽

A. Hall ◽

V. A. Gill ◽

P. L. Boveng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pacific Ocean ◽

Sea Ice ◽

North Pacific ◽

Marine Mammals ◽

North Pacific Ocean ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

Sea Ice Extent ◽

The North ◽

Arctic Sea ◽

The North Pacific

Abstract Climate change-driven alterations in Arctic environments can influence habitat availability, species distributions and interactions, and the breeding, foraging, and health of marine mammals. Phocine distemper virus (PDV), which has caused extensive mortality in Atlantic seals, was confirmed in sea otters in the North Pacific Ocean in 2004, raising the question of whether reductions in sea ice could increase contact between Arctic and sub-Arctic marine mammals and lead to viral transmission across the Arctic Ocean. Using data on PDV exposure and infection and animal movement in sympatric seal, sea lion, and sea otter species sampled in the North Pacific Ocean from 2001–2016, we investigated the timing of PDV introduction, risk factors associated with PDV emergence, and patterns of transmission following introduction. We identified widespread exposure to and infection with PDV across the North Pacific Ocean beginning in 2003 with a second peak of PDV exposure and infection in 2009; viral transmission across sympatric marine mammal species; and association of PDV exposure and infection with reductions in Arctic sea ice extent. Peaks of PDV exposure and infection following 2003 may reflect additional viral introductions among the diverse marine mammals in the North Pacific Ocean linked to change in Arctic sea ice extent.

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Changes in the distribution of nesting Arctic seaducks are not strongly related to variation in polar bear presence

Arctic Science ◽

10.1139/as-2019-0017 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 114-123

Author(s):

Cody J. Dey ◽

Christina A.D. Semeniuk ◽

Samuel A. Iverson ◽

H. Grant Gilchrist

Keyword(s):

Marine Mammals ◽

Polar Bear ◽

Large Scale ◽

Population Level ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

Polar Bears ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Common Eiders ◽

Arctic Sea ◽

Bird Eggs

Contemporary climate change is predicted to expose some species to altered predation regimes. Losses of Arctic sea ice are causing polar bears to increasingly forage on colonial seaduck eggs in lieu of ice-based hunting of marine mammals. Although polar bear predation of bird eggs has now been widely documented, it is unclear whether this change in predator behavior is having population-level consequences for Arctic breeding birds. In this study, we tested whether changes in the number of common eider nests on 76 islands in Hudson Strait, Canada, were related to variation in polar bear presence. We found that polar bear sign detected during eider breeding surveys was strongly correlated with spatial patterns of polar bears observed during aerial surveys. However, changes in eider nest count did not appear to be clearly related to polar bear sign at either the island scale or the island-cluster scale. This results of this study, therefore, suggest that the spatial overlap between eiders and polar bears varies across the landscape, but patterns of polar bear spatial variation do not seem to have driven large-scale redistribution of nesting common eiders.

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Uncertainty in climate model projections of Arctic sea ice decline: An evaluation relevant to polar bears

10.3133/70174204 ◽

2007 ◽

pp. 1-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Eric DeWeaver

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Climate Model ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

Polar Bears ◽

Sea Ice Decline ◽

Arctic Sea

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Prévoir les variations saisonnières de la glace de mer arctique et leurs impacts sur le climat

La Météorologie ◽

10.37053/lameteorologie-2020-0089 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 024

Author(s):

Rym Msadek ◽

Gilles Garric ◽

Sara Fleury ◽

Florent Garnier ◽

Lauriane Batté ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Arctic Region ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

The Arctic ◽

Recent Effort ◽

Sea Ice Thickness ◽

Arctic Sea ◽

Ice Conditions ◽

Upper Level

L'Arctique est la région du globe qui s'est réchauffée le plus vite au cours des trente dernières années, avec une augmentation de la température de surface environ deux fois plus rapide que pour la moyenne globale. Le déclin de la banquise arctique observé depuis le début de l'ère satellitaire et attribué principalement à l'augmentation de la concentration des gaz à effet de serre aurait joué un rôle important dans cette amplification des températures au pôle. Cette fonte importante des glaces arctiques, qui devrait s'accélérer dans les décennies à venir, pourrait modifier les vents en haute altitude et potentiellement avoir un impact sur le climat des moyennes latitudes. L'étendue de la banquise arctique varie considérablement d'une saison à l'autre, d'une année à l'autre, d'une décennie à l'autre. Améliorer notre capacité à prévoir ces variations nécessite de comprendre, observer et modéliser les interactions entre la banquise et les autres composantes du système Terre, telles que l'océan, l'atmosphère ou la biosphère, à différentes échelles de temps. La réalisation de prévisions saisonnières de la banquise arctique est très récente comparée aux prévisions du temps ou aux prévisions saisonnières de paramètres météorologiques (température, précipitation). Les résultats ayant émergé au cours des dix dernières années mettent en évidence l'importance des observations de l'épaisseur de la glace de mer pour prévoir l'évolution de la banquise estivale plusieurs mois à l'avance. Surface temperatures over the Arctic region have been increasing twice as fast as global mean temperatures, a phenomenon known as arctic amplification. One main contributor to this polar warming is the large decline of Arctic sea ice observed since the beginning of satellite observations, which has been attributed to the increase of greenhouse gases. The acceleration of Arctic sea ice loss that is projected for the coming decades could modify the upper level atmospheric circulation yielding climate impacts up to the mid-latitudes. There is considerable variability in the spatial extent of ice cover on seasonal, interannual and decadal time scales. Better understanding, observing and modelling the interactions between sea ice and the other components of the climate system is key for improved predictions of Arctic sea ice in the future. Running operational-like seasonal predictions of Arctic sea ice is a quite recent effort compared to weather predictions or seasonal predictions of atmospheric fields like temperature or precipitation. Recent results stress the importance of sea ice thickness observations to improve seasonal predictions of Arctic sea ice conditions during summer.

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