Dear Friends,

Welcome back from your holidays and field seasons!

 

The CBMP has been busy this summer establishing the Coastal Expert Monitoring Group (CEMG). We congratulate CEMG co-chairs Donald McLennan of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station and Carl Markon of the United States Geological Survey and the rest of the CEMG on their formation and initial meeting in Akureyri, Iceland this September.

 

Members of the CEMG are working to develop the Arctic Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring Plan, a multi-disciplinary, multi-knowledge base, integrated, pan-Arctic, long-term biodiversity monitoring plan. This Coastal Plan will be the fourth and final integrated plan, and will join the completed Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Plans as a suite of biodiversity monitoring plans produced by the CBMP.

 

This issue of the newsletter focuses on the Arctic coastal environment. From the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment:

 

"Coastal zones, especially over the relatively shallow continental shelf and banks, are particularly productive marine areas. Along coastlines, the mixing of marine water with nutrient-rich fresh water, from land-based drainages and melting sea ice, enhances productivity and attracts large concentrations of marine mammals. Migratory marine mammals rely on this spatially-concentrated ocean productivity for foraging opportunities. Deltas and offshore plumes from the major rivers (notably the Mackenzie and Lena) are heavily used feeding areas. Coastlines and nearshore ice and barrier islands are particularly important for polar bears, combining high-value habitats for reproduction and resting with relatively high marine productivity especially in spring and summer. Coastal zones are particularly at risk because expanding human activities (e.g. shipping, fishing, oil and gas developments, transportation infrastructure and settlements) are and will be concentrated in and beside these zones of high ecological productivity and easier access to resources." (CAFF; ABA, 2013: 121-122)

 

Arctic coastal zones are vitally important hubs of activity - for biodiversity and for people. Given the importance of and threats to these systems, the work of the  CEMG is imperative and urgent. In this issue they will present an initial country review of coastal monitoring efforts and provide results from their discussion on the definition of "coastal zone". On this last point, collaboration with other CBMP Steering Groups will ensure potential areas of overlap are addressed in a well-coordinated and consolidated manner.

 

In addition, we hope share progress from the CBMP Steering Groups and Expert Networks with you at the upcoming Arctic Biodiversity Congress, December 2-4,2014 in Trondheim, Norway. We have a strong placement in the program:

 

December 2:

• CBMP Freshwater: monitoring the ecological response to climate change in Arctic freshwater ecosystems
• CBMP Sea Ice Biota Network: effects of reduced sea ice cover and increased heat transport on the ice-associated ecosystem in the Arctic Ocean

 

December 3

• CBMP Marine: effects of stressors and drivers of relevance to biodiversity

 

December 4

• CBMP Terrestrial: The Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring Plan: An invitation to engage
• CBMP Coastal: monitoring and understanding change in Arctic coastal zones

 

Check out the entire Arctic Biodiversity Congress program here. We will also have several poster presentations. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing our thoughts and experiences with you at the Arctic Biodiversity Congress.

 

In the meantime, enjoy the newsletter and the focus on the coastal environment. 

 

Sincerely, 

John Payne and Tom Christensen

Co-Chairs
Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program

 

 

CBMP Coastal Expert Monitoring Group starts its work

 

Attendees of the CBMP Coastal Expert Monitoring Group's meeting in Akureyri. Photo: K�ri L�russon

Formed in May 2014, the CBMP Coastal Expert Monitoring Group (CEMG) has begun working on the fourth and final CBMP integrated circumpolar monitoring plan, the Arctic Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring Plan.

 

The CEMG is co-led by Canada (Donald McLennan) and the USA (Carl Markon), with appointed representatives from Norway (Maria Pettersvik Arvnes), Greenland/Denmark (Susse Wegeberg) and the Inuit Circumpolar Council (Carolina Behe). The CEMG is awaiting Icelandic and Russian nominations. Tom Christiansen (CBMP co-lead) and Tom Barry (CAFF Secretariat) have also been involved in the initial meetings.

 Activities to date include two teleconferences since the formation CEMG, and a face to face meeting held in Akureyri, Iceland in September 2014.

 

Accomplishments include:

1. Finalizing of the Terms of Reference, to be approved by the CAFF Board
2. Establishing an overview of ongoing monitoring activities by each country
3. Creating an outline with writing assignments for drafting of the CBMP Coastal Background Paper; and
4. Leading a discussion on the geographic boundaries and the Coastal CBMP in relation to the other three CBMP Steering Groups - Marine, Freshwater, and Terrestrial

Coastal wetlands. Photo: Donald McLennan

 

• Freshwater Steering Group Special Session at the Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting

• Freshwater Steering Group annual meeting held; progress on metadata made 

Members of the CBMP Freshwater Steering Group (FSG) organized and chaired a special session on Arctic freshwater biodiversity at the Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (JASM) in Portland, Oregon, USA. The well-attended, full-day session began with a keynote presentation from Dr. Sandy Milner (UK) that outlined shifts in biotic communities of Arctic and alpine streams in response to climate change along a latitudinal gradient from the French Pyrenees to Svalbard. The second keynote presentation of the day was given by Dr. Warwick Vincent (Canada), and provided an overview of observed biogeochemical changes to thaw lakes in response to climate change in the Canadian Arctic. Oral presentations were given by three FSG members and six members of national Freshwater Expert Networks. In addition, FSG members presented a poster outlining the CBMP Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan. In total, the special session featured 23 oral presentations and eight poster presentations by scientists from Austria, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, UK, and USA. The high attendance throughout the session indicated that interest in Arctic and alpine research is indeed growing in the freshwater scientific community.

The JASM international scientific meeting took place from May 18 to 23, 2014, and brought together four aquatic science organizations: the Society for Freshwater Science, the Phycological Society of America, the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, and the Society of Wetland Scientists. The special session, entitled "Ecological Change in Arctic and Alpine Freshwaters," was designed to include presentations from the international scientific community summarizing ecological trends and challenges in Arctic freshwater systems.

 

 

High spatial and temporal resolution remote sensing of a rapidly eroding segment of arctic coastline

 

Coastal erosion. Photo: Ben Jones, USGS

Eroding permafrost coasts in the Arctic are increasingly susceptible to the combined effects of declining sea ice extent, more frequent and effective storms, sea level rise, and warming permafrost. However, several observation sites have yet to firmly link changes in decadal-scale erosion rates with changing environmental conditions in the Arctic. This partially results from the broad temporal gaps in suitable remote sensing observations necessary to address the relative role of potential drivers of change on an annual and seasonal basis. Recently, we have acquired high spatial and temporal resolution remote sensing imagery for a rapidly eroding segment of arctic coastline to better understand recent patterns of erosion in relation to potential environmental drivers that impact erosion over seasonal and annual time periods. The detailed coastal studies highlight the potential role of repeat, high-spatial and temporal resolution spaceborne optical and radar imagery for Arctic coastal erosion studies. These studies also show how detailed observations of arctic coasts, now possible using high-spatial resolution satellite imagery, provide an essential step forward in linking changes at the Arctic land-sea interface with those in the broader Arctic system.

 

Contact: Benjamin M. Jones, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, U.S.A.

 

 

 

 

Canadian DNA-barcoding research sheds light on diversity of Arctic plankton; enhances monitoring

 

Sampled collected during monitoring. Photo: Rob Young

Canada has the longest marine coastline in the world, with a significant portion of these coastal waters contained in the Arctic region. Aside from some focal sites of intense research, little is known about the biodiversity of these waters. To address the poor understanding of our Arctic biodiversity, and to establish a baseline biodiversity survey, the Second Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network (CAISN II) has sampled plankton at one proposed (Steensby Inlet NU) and three current (Iqaluit NU, Churchill MB, Deception Bay QC) Arctic ports. 

 

Rob Young in the field. Photo: University of Guelph

Zooplankton collections were taxonomically identified to the lowest possible level using standard morphological techniques and then DNA barcoded, a process whereby a short standardized DNA region is sequenced to enable rapid identification and discovery of provisional species. Nine phyla were represented in our collections, comprised of 51 morphologically identified species and 200 provisional species based on DNA barcode data using the Barcode Index Number algorithm (available through BOLD, the Barcode of Life Data Systems).  

 

These collections provide valuable information about the currently underestimated planktonic diversity, as well as the overall distribution of planktonic species in Canada's Arctic environment.  This DNA barcode reference library will enable future rapid monitoring of Arctic marine zooplankton communities via whole-community sequencing methods.

 

Contact: Rob Young, PhD candidate, Adamowicz Lab, Department of Integrative Biology
University of Guelph, Canada 

 

 

 

Monitoring Coastal ecosystems and plants in Spitsbergen and along the White and Barents Seas

 

A group of students studying the salt marsh plants in the coastal zone near the Keret settlement from the White Sea (Karelia, Belomorsky district). Photo: Liudmila Sergienko

Since 2008, researchers at the Department of Botany and Plant Physiology at the Petrozavodsk State University, Karelia, Russian Federation, have conducted regular investigations on the Spitsbergen, White and Barents Sea coasts to study the biodiversity and adaptations of coastal plants and epilithic lichens.

 

They have found that various factors help determine the formation and development of coastal ecosystem vegetation, including: flooding; type of soil and subsoil; carbon content; long-term (palaeo-) vegetation dynamics; groundwater level and quality; dependence on permafrost; relative position within the intertidal zone; and the effectiveness of habitat use by animal species. The composition of plant communities is determined by factors such as: vegetation cover and species richness; coenopopulation structure; with seasonal and perennial vegetation dynamics playing a main role in the formation of salt marsh plant communities. The primary stage of succession occurs on soil without plants, which is thought to be the same across the circumpolar Arctic coasts.

Coastal zone near the Keret settlement from the White Sea -Triglochin maritima L. Photo: Liudmila Sergienko

 

The total number of family/genera/species on the studied coasts can be seen in the table below. A total of 113 species of epilithic lichens along four zones of the tidal belt have been identified. The study of anatomical and biochemical characteristics of two species - Lecanora polytropa and L. intricate - collected from the White Sea coast has revealed that the ratio of the algal layer to the general thickness of thallus was similar in all samples, at about 3:1. The higher content of usnic acid  (a specific lichen substance) in all samples testifies to the capacity of these species to adapt to high levels of illumination on the coastal rocks.

 

 

	Spitsbergen	Barents Sea	White Sea (east)	White Sea (west)
Family	7	20	25	18
Genera	16	35	42	25
Species	23	47	63	38

 

Contact: Prof. Liudmila Sergienko, Petrozavodsk State Univeristy, Russian Federation 

 

 

 

Merging science and traditions helps improve the management of Atlantic salmon fisheries in the Barents region

 

Coastal bag net fishery and adult sampling in Northern Norway - Photo: Eero Neiemel�/ FGFRI

Scientists, managers and commercial fishermen from Northern Norway, Finland and north-west Russia, White Sea area combined their efforts in the Kolarctic salmon project (2011-2013), with the aim of providing a better knowledge-base for the countries salmon management. Within this joint and unique effort bio-specimen were sampled along the North-Norwegian coast and in Russian Barents and White Seas, generating the most comprehensive ecological and genetic datasets for Atlantic salmon. 

DNA analysis of samples - Photo: UTU-Kevo

 

In more detail, the project provided comprehensive information on the salmon rivers and populations in the area including genetic diversity which allowed for estimating the stock of origin for each sampled salmon from the sea. This in turn facilitated stock composition examination of mixed stock fishery catches as well as inference of spatial and temporal migratory patterns for the largest salmon stocks. Overall the results provide opportunities for developing knowledge-based adaptive management regimes for coastal salmon fisheries. In addition, the action facilitated a better understanding of the rich fishing traditions, coastal and Sami culture of the area and will hopefully contribute to preserve the highly important regional and local socio-economy with regards to salmon and salmon fisheries. 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Angela Matz (left), U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chief of the Environmental Contaminants Program, and National Park Service Wildlife Biologist, Melanie Flamme, collaborate on Yellow-billed Loon contaminants research in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska, 2012. Photo: Tara Whitesell/National Parks Service

The Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii) is a rare, circumpolar species of concern with a global population estimated at 16, 650-21,000. Approximately 25% of the worldwide population nests in Alaska, including coastal areas of Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR) and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA). Currently, USFWS is considering the species for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

 

Yellow-billed Loons in western Alaska are monitored by the National Park Service Arctic Network Inventory and Monitoring program (ARCN). ARCN conducts biennial aerial surveys to determine Yellow-billed Loon population occupancy, density and distribution in BELA and CAKR. With USFWS, we monitor contaminants burdens occurring in Yellow-billed Loon eggs and minnows from nesting lakes. Along with Wildlife Conservation Society, BLM and USFWS, and communities, we examine incidental harvest of loon entanglements in fishing nets. 

 

In partnership with USGS, ARCN study the species' genetic diversity across Alaska. Collaborating with Central Alaska Network and USGS, we use environmental DNA from nesting lakes to assess fish species diversity for Yellow-billed Loon habitat models. Also, with USGS, we utilize synthetic aperture radar (ifSAR) to remotely distinguish lakes that maintain some liquid water throughout winter as potential overwintering fish habitats vital to loons in these parklands.  

 

 

 

• Arctic Biodiversity Congress

• New Arctic Biodiversity Data Service revealed at the Arctic Biodiversity Congress