Climate and Arctic Ocean pelagic ecosystems

地球气候正在变暖，北冰洋及其附属海域的海冰覆盖范围正在惊人地缩小。到2030年，巨大的北极大陆架(600万平方公里)可能在1400万年来首次在夏季实现无冰。对比今天的北极和北方海洋动物，清楚地表明，这种从永久冰盖到季节性冰盖的转变将对北极海洋生态系统提供的服务产生巨大影响。拟议研究计划的总体目标是为政策、决策和战略提供信息，以帮助北极利益相关者(因纽特人、政府、私营部门)适应并受益于生态系统服务的预期变化。为了实现这一目标，拟议的研究方案将进一步记录北极远洋生态系统的关键要素对冰盖减少、无冰季节延长和北冰洋沿岸表层变暖的反应。将讨论三个主要主题：(1)以小型北极鳕鱼为食的浮游桡足类动物的种群动态，而小型北极鳕鱼是北冰洋海豹、鲸鱼和海洋鸟类的主要食物；(2)与气候有关的年代际变化和北极鳕鱼幼体、摄食和生长的变化；(3)幼体和成体北极鳕鱼的时空分布和种群结构。

Earth's climate is warming and the sea-ice cover of the Arctic Ocean and its ancillary seas is shrinking spectacularly. By 2030 the immense arctic continental shelves (six millions km2) could be ice-free in summer for the first time in 14 million years. Comparing present-day arctic and boreal marine fauna clearly indicates that such a shift from permanent to seasonal ice cover will have formidable impacts on the services provided by arctic marine ecosystems. The overarching objective of the proposed research program is to inform the policies, decisions, and strategies that will help arctic stakeholders (Inuit, governments, private sector) adapt to, and benefit from the expected changes in ecosystem services. Towards this objective, the proposed research program will further document the response of key elements of the arctic pelagic ecosystems to a reduction in ice cover, the lengthening of the ice-free season, and the warming of the surface layer of the coastal Arctic Ocean. Three major themes will be addressed: (1) the population dynamics of planktonic copepods that feed the small Arctic cod, which in turn is the main food of the seals, whales, and marine birds of the Arctic Ocean; (2) climate-related decadal variations and change in the hatching season, feeding, and growth of larval Arctic cod; and (3) the spatio-temporal distribution and stock structure of juvenile and adult Arctic cod.