Resolute 5.1 4 5.2 6 Arctic Bay Clyde River

2 Holman 5.1.2

5.1 5.1.1 5.1.3

5.1 Repulse Bay Iqaluit

5.2 6

5.2 Kuujjuaq 5.1.4 5.1 5

Churchill 5.1.4

5.1.5

0 50 100 400 km 5. Hudson/Boothian Arctic

Level II seafloor geomorphological regions include: 5.1 Hudson/Boothian Shelf 5.2 Hudson/Boothian Slope

Level III coastal regions include: 5.1.1 Coronation/Queen Maud Gulf 5.1.2 Peel/Boothian Neritic 5.1.3 Foxe Basin 5.1.4 Central Hudson Bay 5.1.5 Southern Hudson/James Bay

Regional Overview and Ellesmere Islands often reach from the mountaintops and into This is perhaps one of the most unusual marine systems in North the sea. On the eastern side of Ellesmere Island, glaciers extending America. The primary characteristic of this ecoregion is its Arctic into the sea calve (break off) huge icebergs into Nares Strait. water mass with seasonal ice regimes. Except for the Hudson Bay area, vast and open seascapes are rare in this region. The habitats During the long winter, sea ice is jammed fast to the land (“landfast of this ecoregion are generally composed of a patchwork of inter- ice”) and extends over the seas as a solid sheet. Polynyas occur connecting bays, fjords, channels, straits, sounds, basins, shoals, throughout the ecoregion and are critically important to wildlife. sills and gulfs. Its northwestern most border includes Prince The ice cover reaches its maximum thickness in May. In the brief Regent and Peel Sounds. The ecoregion encompasses part of Lan- spring and summer periods, the ice breaks up. In the northwestern caster Sound and waters to the west of Baffin Island, including Foxe part of the ecoregion, the sea ice normally shatters into massive Basin, most of the Gulf of Boothia (except its southernmost part), sheets that are separated by narrow channels of open water; there, Queen Maud and Coronation Gulfs and extends south into Canada’s the sea ice persists throughout the summer. In the rest of the eco- most prominent geographical features, Hudson Bay and James system, the ice is more seasonal. In summer, the massive sheets Bay. The ecoregion is one of the richest areas for marine mammals of ice fracture, drift, and melt away. The process can be very dra- in the world. It is also an important habitat for several species at matic. Shorelines can be markedly scoured by drifting fragments risk, like the beluga whale and polar bear. of ice, or huge ice jams can be driven up on the beaches. As the summer period proceeds, open water can be found further and Physical and Oceanographic Setting further north. From year to year, ice conditions are so variable The coastline in this ecoregion varies considerably. Precipitous and unpredictable, however, that mariners and navigators of even fjords and cliffs are common around the coasts of Baffin Island, Lan- the most technologically advanced ships can still find themselves caster Sound and Nares Strait, whereas Foxe Basin features flat to blocked. By September, most of the sea ice in the southeasterly rolling coastal plains. Massive glaciers along the backbone of Baffin parts has either melted or drifted away on southerly currents.

33 Fact Sheet appear in the ecosystem. As the pack ice breaks up, ice edges become vital areas for mammals and seabirds. The region pro- Rationale: Arctic water mass and seasonal ice regimes vides an example of marine and terrestrial ecosystems that are Surface: 1,294,989 km2 intricately linked—species like polar bear and Arctic tern, for Sea surface temperature: -2–4°C example, roam between land and sea. Major currents and gyres: North Water Polynya in Baffin Bay Depth: shelf (roughly 0–200 m): 89%; slope (roughly 200–2,500/3,000 m): 11%; abyssal plain Although relatively little is known about the Hudson Bay/ (3,000+ m): 0%. Note that water depths of 150–400 m are typical. In Hudson and James Bays the waters are shallow (50–150 m). Boothian Ecoregion, recent studies are proving it to be both bio- Substrate type: rocky to muddy logically rich and diverse. The numerous polynyas in the north- Major community types and subtypes: estuaries and mud flats ern Foxe Basin support high densities of bearded seals and the Productivity: Moderately high (150-300 g C/m2/yr), enhanced in coastal waters, largest walrus herd in Canada (over 6,000 individuals). Ringed near embayments, estuaries, and islands where there is upwelling of nutrient-rich water seal and polar bear are common, with north Southampton Island Species at risk: beluga whale, polar bear, walrus, narwhal, bowhead whale, peregrine falcon and Churchill, Manitoba, being two of the highest-density polar Key habitat: Polynyas of northern Foxe Basin support high densities of bearded seals and walrus; high- bear denning areas in Canada. This region is also one of the density polar bear denning areas of Southampton Island and Churchill, Manitoba; the region supports richest in abundance of marine mammals in the world. Most of most of world’s narwhal as well as one-third of North America’s beluga—high density along the west coast of Hudson Bay, particularly Nelson River estuary, in summer; whales in high density are found in the world’s narwhal population and one-third of North Amer- North Water Polynya in Baffin Bay in winter; adjacent tidal flats and inland marshes are key area for ica’s belugas, as well as the eastern population of the endan- shorebirds and waterfowl gered bowhead whale, spend the summer in these waters; many Human activities and impacts: subsistence hunting and fishing, tourism, mining on adjacent whales winter in the North Water Polynya in Baffin Bay. Upwards lands, hydroelectric development on adjacent rivers, deposition of long-range transported of 20,000 belugas summer along the west coast of Hudson Bay, pollutants (e.g., PCBs, DDT, mercury) with the densest concentrations in the larger estuaries, notably that of the Nelson River. Annual autumn concentrations of polar bear along the Cape Churchill coast are also quite exceptional Foxe Basin itself is rarely ice-free until late August or early Septem- as they gather to await the return of the ice and good feeding. ber; open pack ice is common throughout the short summer. Vigor- Walrus tend to concentrate around the major polynyas. Some ous tidal currents and strong winds keep the pack ice in constant motion and contribute to the numerous polynyas and shore leads which are found throughout the region. This same motion, com- bined with the high sediment content of the water makes the sea ice of Foxe Basin dark and rough, easily distinguishable from other ice in the Canadian Arctic. In Hudson Bay, the ice cover season is shorter—lasting from October to June. Shore leads along the entire inner edge of the bay are often kept open through the winter by strong prevailing winds, separating the land fast ice along the coast from the pack ice which predominates in most of the bay.

Long periods of daylight in the short summer help stretch the short productive season, but air temperatures remain chilly. Even in July, mean daily air temperatures average just 10ºC. In winter, air temperatures average about -30ºC, and are often much lower. In the southern range of the ecosystem lie Hudson and James Bays, where the waters are amongst the shallowest (50–150 m) and the climates are the most temperate.

Biological Setting

During the brief Arctic summer, dozens of species of migrating The Envisat satellite captures an ice-free Foxe Basin, a nearly circular shallow extension north of Hudson Bay, home to birds make use of the unpredictable sections of open water that the last large landmasses discovered in North America. Photo: European Space Agency

34 Marine Ecoregions of North America 20,000 to 50,000 harp seals spend the summer in these waters. This region also has one of the highest population densities of polar bear in the Canadian Arctic.

The Hudson Bay tidal flats and inland marsh areas harbor some of the world’s largest concentrations of breeding, moulting and migrating shorebirds and waterfowl. About one-third of eastern Canada’s colonial seabirds breed and feed in Lancaster Sound, including more than 700,000 pairs of thick-billed murres, black- legged kittiwakes and northern fulmars. There are also several thousand pairs of black guillemot, Arctic tern, and glaucous, Ice- land and ivory gulls; many of these species use the ecoregion to breed. Large colonies of greater snow goose are located in the region as well. Thousands of waterfowl, notably tundra swan, brant, greater white-fronted, Ross’s, snow and Canada geese, along with common eider, oldsquaw, and yellow-billed loon breed, moult and stage in the area.

The largest bird concentrations are within the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary, including most of the world’s popula- tion of Ross’s goose. Several shorebird species are also abundant nesters. The region is the main North American stronghold of the Sabine’s gull, with some 10,000 pairs nesting here. The Great Plain of the Koukdjuak on Baffin Island is the world’s largest goose nesting colony, with upwards of 1.5 million birds, 75 per- cent of which are lesser snow geese and the remainder Canada geese and brant. Shorebirds and ducks are also abundant, and more than a million cliff-nesting seabirds breed throughout the The little-known, southwestern part of Foxe Basin in the Canadian Arctic supports large concentrations of king eiders, whose region, notably thick-billed murres, black-legged kittiwakes and males remain in the breeding area for a short time at the start of the season. © Mark Carwardine/OceanwideImages.com northern fulmars. The region harbors some of the most impor- tant North American breeding sites for the Hudsonian godwit and Ontario and Manitoba. Subsistence hunting and fishing for tra- whimbrel, as well as one of the world’s largest breeding concen- ditional food remain significant human activities in this ecore- trations of peregrine falcon. gion. As mineral prospectors gain more experience in northern latitudes, large mineral deposits may be found, raising ques- Although some 30 fish species have been reported for the north- tions about mine waste and tailings that could find their way ern portion of the region, one species—Arctic cod—makes up into the sea (MEQAG 1994; Wiken et al.1996). To the south, hydro- most of the diet of various seabirds and marine mammals. Large electric development will likely continue on the rivers draining schools of this species have been observed in the region. Green- into James Bay. Changes in water flow, salt content, and the pres- land cod and Arctic char are also common. Some 40 to 50 fresh- ence of heavy metals leached from the soil could have unpredict- water, anadromous and Arctic and subarctic marine fish species able consequences for the southern portion of the region. The are found in the waters of the southern portion of the region, long-range transport of pollutants—such as PCBs, DDT and mer- with Arctic char, capelin, Arctic cod, Greenland cod, sculpins and cury—from distant places has impacts on the region and adjacent blennies being the most abundant. areas as well. Moreover, the possibility that climate change may influence the regimes of ice formation raises concerns about the Human Activities and Impacts possibility of commercial shipping routes opening in the future The ecoregion is located mostly in the Nunavut Territory, (Wiken et al.1996; WHC 2001), as well as long-term changes to although it also encompasses parts of the coasts of Quebec, the ecology of the region.

Hudson/Boothian Arctic 35 Pod of belugas in the Canadian Arctic. The white adults are easily distinguished from brownish young. Photo: Art Wolfe