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Home , Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay

8/18: LME FACTSHEET SERIES EAST SIBERIAN LME

tic LMEs Arc LME MAP 18 of Map Barents Strait

Siberia

LME

Iceland Central (Russia)

8 1 ARCTIC LMEs

Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) are defined as of work of the Arcc Council in developing and promong the ocean space of 200,000 km² or greater, that encompass Ecosystem Approach to management of the Arcc marine coastal areas from basins and to the outer environment. margins of a connental shelf or the seaward extent of a predominant coastal current. LMEs are defined by ecological Joint EA Expert group criteria, including bathymetry, , producvity, and PAME established an Ecosystem Approach to Management tropically linked populaons. PAME developed a map expert group in 2011 with the parcipaon of other Arcc delineang 17 Arcc Large Marine Ecosystems (Arcc LME's) Council working groups (AMAP, CAFF and SDWG). This joint in the marine waters of the Arcc and adjacent in 2006. Ecosystem Approach Expert Group (EA-EG) has developed a In a consultave process including agencies of Arcc Council framework for EA implementaon where the first step is member states and other Arcc Council working groups, the idenficaon of the ecosystem to be managed. Idenfying Arcc LME map was revised in 2012 to include 18 Arcc the Arcc LMEs represents this first step. LMEs. This is the current map of Arcc LMEs used in the This factsheet is one of 18 in a series of the Arcc LMEs.

OVERVIEW: EAST SIBERIAN SEA LME The East Siberian Sea is located on the eastern between the New Siberian Wrangel in the west and in the east. Its boundaries are not very disnct. Bulunsky The East Siberian Sea is District a very wide and shallow shelf with a large area less than 50 m deep. The seafloor is a fairly even plain with few features, sloping very gently from the River shallowest part in the southwest to somewhat deeper water in northeast.

The East Siberian Sea is Map: The East Siberian Sea LME. Source: AMSAIIC Report heavily influenced by and the whole sea is frozen during winter. Freeze-up This area is characterized as a transion zone for the starts in late September and proceeds quickly so that Pacific influence from the eastern side. The southern the ice-cover forms during a few weeks me. Ice-melt coast with the deltas and estuaries of and starts in June but most of the ice clearing takes place Kolyma constute important breeding, feeding in July and August to minimum ice cover in and staging areas for birds of migratory populaons September prior to freeze-up. that winter on the Pacific side. Bowheads and belugas from the migratory populaons that winter In summer, mul-annual usually remains over in the may also move into this area in the the outer shelf area. Much of the western area may summer season. The East Siberian Sea LME is a High clear of ice in a normal year, while much ice may Arcc and low producve area and there are no remain in the eastern area. This is partly due to separate subpopulaons of polar bears or other transport of dri ice into this area. marine in this LME.

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MARINE MAMMALS The East Siberian Sea is a transion zone between Sea where they are observed along the coast and in populaons of marine mammals migrang east from the area of Wrangel Island. Pacific also extend the Barents, Kara and Laptev Seas, and west from the their summer distribuon into the eastern part Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Individuals from where they are common and abundant around these separate populaons may meet but the extent Wrangel Island. Walrus from the Laptev populaon of this is limited. The heavy ice condions with the occur around the and extend Ayon ice massif usually persisng through summer in their distribuon into the western part of the East the eastern East Siberian Sea, forms a barrier for the Siberian Sea. migraons. and are resident species in The adjacent contains large populaons the East Siberian Sea although there are lile specific of some marine species and these extend informaon from this area. The vast area of fast ice their distribuons and migraons into the eastern extending east from the New Siberian Islands offer a part of the East Siberian Sea. potenal large breeding area for ringed seal, while the extensive shallow waters offer feeding This is the case for beluga and bowhead from opportunies for bearded seals. However, the low the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort populaons that oen producvity and lack of large fish populaons may be migrate north in the Chukchi Sea and west into the liming factors for these seals. eastern part of the East Siberian Sea during summer and early autumn. Polar bears of the Alaska-Chukotka subpopulaon are widely distributed on the pack ice of the northern In August-September, belugas are regularly sighted in Bering, Chukchi, and eastern porons of the East this area. This is also the case for bowheads that may Siberian seas. The western boundary of the reach the in the warmest years with light subpopulaon was set near Chaunskaya in ice condions. Belugas from the Karskaya populaon northeastern Russia while the eastern boundary was appear not generally to migrate further east than the set at Icy , Alaska. The area around Wrangel Laptev Sea so encounters between individuals from Island is used by relavely large numbers of the two populaons seem to be rare. individuals. The populaon size is esmated to be about 2,000 individuals. The esmate has wide Gray extends its feeding area from the ranges and is considered to be of lile value for western Chukchi Sea into the eastern East Siberian management.

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FISH SHOREBIRDS The fish communies of the East Siberian Sea The low-lying coasts and adjacent and contain marine, estauarine, and andromous fish wetlands of the East Siberian Sea constute species that occur in coastal waters, estuaries and important habitats for shorebirds during breeding rivers. Several coregonid whitefish species are and migraon seasons. Extensive lowlands are common in the Indigirka, Kolyma and other rivers, found from the Delta in the eastern Laptev Sea including Arcc cisco or , least, muksun, broad via the Indigirka Delta to the Kolyma Delta in the whitefish, European whitefish, and nelma or East Siberian Sea. Further east a prominent feature inconnu. is the Chaun Bay with the adjacent Chaun Lowlands.

Arcc char occurs in the area, while pink The shorebird fauna of the East Siberian Sea is and dog or may enter Kolyma and largely similar to that of the Laptev Sea, also in Indigirka Rivers. Siberian also occurs in terms of subspecies (the Wrangel Island fauna is these rivers. c smelt is found in part of the treated as part of the Chukchi Sea). New species area but is absent from the region of the Indigirka which do not occur in the Laptev Sea area are great and Kolyma rivers. knot and buff-breasted sandpiper, and also Baird’s sandpiper, which may occur in the eastern part of Polar is the most common and important the East Sibirian Sea, whereas Eurasian golden marine fish species in the East Siberian Sea. There is plover and purple sandpiper extend their possibly a local stock of polar cod in this area, as distribuons eastwards only to the westernmost indicated by the occurrence of young fry. Schools of parts of the Laptev Sea. Many of the northern polar cod have been observed along the shores of sandpipers are common on coastal tundra of the the eastern part of the sea, migrang eastwards East Siberian Sea such as lile snt, temminck’s towards the Chukchi Sea. Arcc cod occurs in the snt, pectoral sandpiper, and dunlin. Grey plover East Siberian Sea, both along the coast and over and Pacific golden plover are also common breeding deeper waters in north. species. Red phalarope and red-breasted phalarope are abundant species in coastal waters aer Safron cod may extend its distribuon west from breeding. Species which breed on southern tundra the Bering Sea to Chaunskaya Inlet. The marine fish are also common in parts of the areas adjacent to fauna of the East Siberian Sea has been lile the East Siberian Sea, notably in the Kolyma Delta studied, but the euryhaline species Four-horned and the Chaun Lowlands. These include ruff, sculpin, Nine-spine sckleback and Arcc flounder spoed redshank, common snipe, and short-billed are assumed to be common in the coastal waters. dowitcher.

4 The Chaun Lowlands around Chaun Bay in the eastern part is another area with important waterfowl habitats. The coast further east on Chukotka is more hilly and rocky with cliffs. Rocky shores are also found on some of the islands of the New Siberian , which otherwise contain tundra and low-lying and accumulave coasts SEABIRDS which are used as breeding and molng habitats by Seabirds inhabing the East-Siberian Sea are typical several waterfowl species. for the mid-Siberian Arcc with some differences. There is a lack of Atlanc species like lile auk or The species composion of waterfowl in the East gull, while some few species from the Pacific Siberian Sea is fairly similar to that of the Laptev penetrate the area (e.g., the pelagic cormorant). Sea. The same 3 species of geese (brent, greater Thus, the species composion is limited and the white-fronted, bean), about 12 species of ducks, number of individuals is relavely low, about the tundra swan, and 3 divers (red-throated, black- same order of magnitude as in the Laptev Sea. throated, white-billed) occur commonly or regularly About 17 species of seabirds breed at the East- as breeders also in the East Siberian Sea area. The Siberian Sea coasts. ducks include 7 sea duck species: all four eiders (common, king, spectacled, Steller’s), long-tailed Colonies of cliff-breeding seabirds (auks, kiwakes, duck, and black and white-winged scoters, 4 and cormorants) are found on the islands, mainly dabbling ducks (northern pintail, Eurasian wigeon, on the high-Arcc New Siberian Islands and on common teal, Baikal teal), and the diving duck Wrangel Island, but also on smaller islands of the ). Medvezhiy Ostrova () archipelago (located north of the Kolyma delta), and east of Pacific eider, which is the subspecies v-nigrum of Chaun Bay on the coast. Only two species common eider, breeds on the New Siberian Islands, form the core populaons of the seabird colonies, Wrangel Island, and the mainland coast eastwards black-legged kiwake and thick-billed murre, while from Kolyma delta. The Pacific eider subspecies black guillemot is also numerous in the East nest usually solitary on marime tundra, oen Siberian Sea. The largest seabird colonies are away from the coasts to larger extent than the associated with the Great Siberian and nominate mollissima which is more strongly ed to western Wrangel . the sea cost. Loose colonies with breeding densies of up to 30-40 pairs per km2 are observed in opmal habitats on Wrangel Island, while west of Chaun Bay Pacific eiders are scarce.

The total world populaon of Pacific eider has been esmated at 20,000, having declined three- to fourfold since the early 1970s. Aer breeding the Pacific eiders move to coastal habitats but there is limited informaon on molng and migraon. They WATERFOWL winter in the Bering Sea and migrate there via the Chukchi Sea. Many molt on the way or at the The East Siberian Sea is bounded in south by a low- wintering quarters, but molng males and non- lying coast with large deltas and swampy plains that breeders have been found at sea over shoals in the are important habitats for waterfowl. The two New Siberian Islands. major rivers are Indigirka in the western part and Kolyma in the central part. The whole area from Non-breeders remain in coastal habitats during Yana in the southeastern Laptev Sea to Kolyma is an summer and do not move onto the tundra breeding extensive wetland area with marime tundra, habitats. Staging aggregaons prior to fall migraon swamps, and an accumulave coast with deltas, have been observed off the south coast of Wrangel shoals, beaches and spits. In addion to Indigirka Island. Fall migraon along the eastern Chukchi and Kolyma, there are several more rivers in this Peninsula takes place in September-October, while area including Khroma, Alaseja, and Tsjukotsje. the Pacific eiders return back in May, arriving at the New Siberian Islands in late May and the first part of June.

5 ARCTIC LMEs 1. Faroe Plateu LME 2. Shelf and Sea LME 3. Sea-East Greenland LME 4. LME 5. LME 6. LME 7. Laptev Sea LME 8. East Siberian Sea LME 9. East Bering Sea LME 10. Aleuan Islands LME 11. West Bering Sea LME 12. Northern Bering-Chukchi Sea LME 13. Central Arcc Ocean LME 14. LME 15. Canadian High Arcc - North Greenland LME 16. Canadian Eastern Arcc - West Greenland LME 17. Complex LME 18. - LME

LITERATURE REFERENCES Acknowledgements • The 2007 assessment of Oil and Gas in the Arcc (OGA) - PAME gratefully acknowledges the financial AMAP (2007) support provided to this project by the Nordic • Arcc Marine Areas of Heightened Ecological and Cultural Council of Ministers and the OAK Foundaon. Significance: Arcc Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) IIC - AMAP/CAFF/SDWG (2013) • Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) of the Arcc area Revision of the Arcc LME map - PAME (2013)

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