A review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine vertebrates in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems
Climate change is impacting marine ecosystems throughout the circumpolar Arctic, altering seasonal habitats and the food bases for fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals. Arctic and Subarctic regions provide resources for resident species and for species that migrate to the north from more southerly r...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Environmental Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1434549/full |
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| author | Katherine J. Kuletz Steven H. Ferguson Morten Frederiksen Colin P. Gallagher Donna D. W. Hauser Haakon Hop Kit M. Kovacs Christian Lydersen Anders Mosbech Andrew C. Seitz |
| author_facet | Katherine J. Kuletz Steven H. Ferguson Morten Frederiksen Colin P. Gallagher Donna D. W. Hauser Haakon Hop Kit M. Kovacs Christian Lydersen Anders Mosbech Andrew C. Seitz |
| author_sort | Katherine J. Kuletz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate change is impacting marine ecosystems throughout the circumpolar Arctic, altering seasonal habitats and the food bases for fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals. Arctic and Subarctic regions provide resources for resident species and for species that migrate to the north from more southerly regions. Changes in northerly latitudes thus impact endemic as well as non-endemic animals. Herein, we review what is known about climate-driven changes in the migration patterns of Arctic and Subarctic marine vertebrates, including: 1) Arctic residents with seasonal movements – those fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals that complete their entire life cycle within the Arctic but exhibit seasonal movements; 2) Breeding migrants – many seabirds enter the Arctic to breed and subsequently migrate south in the fall; and 3) Summer visitors for feeding – certain species of boreal fishes, seabirds and marine mammals arrive during the northern summer to feed on abundant prey though they breed elsewhere. Migratory movements are often driven by the timing and extent of sea ice, which defines suitable habitat for some animals and limits access to open water and prey for others. Longer open-water seasons, warmer ocean temperatures, and stronger winds have resulted in earlier production blooms in spring and often, extended open-ocean plankton blooms into late summer, resulting in altered prey types and distributions. A common thread among taxa is that shifts in distribution and timing of migrating animals indicate they are traveling farther north, or shifting longitudinally, and migrations are occurring over longer seasonal time frames. Species performing multiple lifetime migrations or long-distance migrants may need to adjust migration timing or routing iteratively to match changes in marine productivity. Altered animal distributions or phenology, and reduced sea ice, affects access to animals that are critical nutritional, economical, and cultural components of Indigenous people’s lives in the Arctic. Ongoing changes challenge the resilience and adaptability of Arctic people and ecosystems, and will require adaptive research and management approaches. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-227ce2a04c5c41f7a3d1bef26d6e780d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2296-665X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Environmental Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-227ce2a04c5c41f7a3d1bef26d6e780d2025-08-20T02:11:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2024-10-011210.3389/fenvs.2024.14345491434549A review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine vertebrates in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystemsKatherine J. Kuletz0Steven H. Ferguson1Morten Frederiksen2Colin P. Gallagher3Donna D. W. Hauser4Haakon Hop5Kit M. Kovacs6Christian Lydersen7Anders Mosbech8Andrew C. Seitz9U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (retired affiliate), Anchorage, AK, United StatesFisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaDepartment of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, DenmarkFisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaInternational Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United StatesResearch Department, Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, NorwayResearch Department, Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, NorwayResearch Department, Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, NorwayDepartment of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, DenmarkCollege of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United StatesClimate change is impacting marine ecosystems throughout the circumpolar Arctic, altering seasonal habitats and the food bases for fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals. Arctic and Subarctic regions provide resources for resident species and for species that migrate to the north from more southerly regions. Changes in northerly latitudes thus impact endemic as well as non-endemic animals. Herein, we review what is known about climate-driven changes in the migration patterns of Arctic and Subarctic marine vertebrates, including: 1) Arctic residents with seasonal movements – those fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals that complete their entire life cycle within the Arctic but exhibit seasonal movements; 2) Breeding migrants – many seabirds enter the Arctic to breed and subsequently migrate south in the fall; and 3) Summer visitors for feeding – certain species of boreal fishes, seabirds and marine mammals arrive during the northern summer to feed on abundant prey though they breed elsewhere. Migratory movements are often driven by the timing and extent of sea ice, which defines suitable habitat for some animals and limits access to open water and prey for others. Longer open-water seasons, warmer ocean temperatures, and stronger winds have resulted in earlier production blooms in spring and often, extended open-ocean plankton blooms into late summer, resulting in altered prey types and distributions. A common thread among taxa is that shifts in distribution and timing of migrating animals indicate they are traveling farther north, or shifting longitudinally, and migrations are occurring over longer seasonal time frames. Species performing multiple lifetime migrations or long-distance migrants may need to adjust migration timing or routing iteratively to match changes in marine productivity. Altered animal distributions or phenology, and reduced sea ice, affects access to animals that are critical nutritional, economical, and cultural components of Indigenous people’s lives in the Arctic. Ongoing changes challenge the resilience and adaptability of Arctic people and ecosystems, and will require adaptive research and management approaches.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1434549/fullArcticdistributional shiftfish migrationsmarine mammal migrationsphenologysea-ice loss |
| spellingShingle | Katherine J. Kuletz Steven H. Ferguson Morten Frederiksen Colin P. Gallagher Donna D. W. Hauser Haakon Hop Kit M. Kovacs Christian Lydersen Anders Mosbech Andrew C. Seitz A review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine vertebrates in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems Frontiers in Environmental Science Arctic distributional shift fish migrations marine mammal migrations phenology sea-ice loss |
| title | A review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine vertebrates in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems |
| title_full | A review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine vertebrates in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | A review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine vertebrates in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | A review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine vertebrates in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems |
| title_short | A review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine vertebrates in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems |
| title_sort | review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine vertebrates in arctic and subarctic ecosystems |
| topic | Arctic distributional shift fish migrations marine mammal migrations phenology sea-ice loss |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1434549/full |
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