OceThe OfficiaaL MaganZineog of the Oceanographyra Spocietyhy CITATION Bluhm, B.A., A.V. Gebruk, R. Gradinger, R.R. Hopcroft, F. Huettmann, K.N. Kosobokova, B.I. Sirenko, and J.M. Weslawski. 2011. Arctic marine biodiversity: An update of species richness and examples of biodiversity change. Oceanography 24(3):232–248, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/ oceanog.2011.75. COPYRIGHT This article has been published inOceanography , Volume 24, Number 3, a quarterly journal of The Oceanography Society. Copyright 2011 by The Oceanography Society. All rights reserved. USAGE Permission is granted to copy this article for use in teaching and research. Republication, systematic reproduction, or collective redistribution of any portion of this article by photocopy machine, reposting, or other means is permitted only with the approval of The Oceanography Society. Send all correspondence to: [email protected] or The Oceanography Society, PO Box 1931, Rockville, MD 20849-1931, USA. downLoaded from www.tos.org/oceanography THE CHANGING ARctIC OCEAN | SPECIAL IssUE on THE IntERNATIonAL PoLAR YEAr (2007–2009) Arctic Marine Biodiversity An Update of Species Richness and Examples of Biodiversity Change Under-ice image from the Bering Sea. Photo credit: Miller Freeman Divers (Shawn Cimilluca) BY BODIL A. BLUHM, AnDREY V. GEBRUK, RoLF GRADINGER, RUssELL R. HoPCROFT, FALK HUEttmAnn, KsENIA N. KosoboKovA, BORIS I. SIRENKO, AND JAN MARCIN WESLAwsKI AbstRAct. The societal need for—and urgency of over 1,000 ice-associated protists, greater than 50 ice-associated obtaining—basic information on the distribution of Arctic metazoans, ~ 350 multicellular zooplankton species, over marine species and biological communities has dramatically 4,500 benthic protozoans and invertebrates, at least 160 macro- increased in recent decades as facets of the human footprint algae, 243 fishes, 64 seabirds, and 16 marine mammals. Endemic alter Arctic marine biodiversity. The primary goals of this and abundant species are present in all three environmental article are to present updated species inventories based on realms (sea ice, water column, and seafloor) and across phyla. focused biodiversity research over the last decade, to give The few published time series on Arctic marine biodiversity examples of emerging recent changes in diversity as indicators have detected interannual and interdecadal variability or change of environmental change, and to recommend future diversity- both in pelagic and benthic habitats, and at virtually all trophic related research areas. Species inventories across all eukaryotic levels. We identify knowledge gaps and stress the urgency to taxonomic levels now total close to 8,000 species, with several fill them. We recommend regular, strategic, and sustained thousand additional benthic species predicted to be recorded monitoring of Arctic marine biodiversity in a public, open- or discovered in the future. The currently known Arctic species access fashion in order to provide comprehensive data to inform richness estimate includes close to 2,000 phytoplankton taxa, management, conservation, and other decisions. 232 Oceanography | Vol.24, No.3 WHAT IS BIODIVERSIty AND pollutants, and tourism (ACIA, 2005; a century has produced fundamental WHY Do WE CARE AboUT It Johnsen et al., 2010). One of the most knowledge of marine life in the Arctic IN THE ARctIC? visible ongoing changes is the reduc- (e.g., Sirenko, 2001; Vassilenko and Biological diversity, contracted to the tion of sea ice cover and thickness, in Petryashev, 2009; Buzhinskaja, 2011). term biodiversity, is most commonly particular during the summer months, In addition, the early explorers laid the defined as the variety of life (Gaston, reducing the habitat for ice-related flora foundation for many of the following 2010). The definition by the Convention and fauna. Concurrently, increased research projects by describing their on Biological Diversity (CBD) reads: subsurface light levels and water biotic findings in their diaries and “the variability among living organisms temperatures now occur in many regions expedition reports. from all sources including, inter alia, previously covered continuously with More recently, the Arctic Ocean terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ice (Perovich et al., 2007). The predicted Diversity project (ArcOD, 2004–2011), ecosystems and the complexes of which total loss of summer ice by mid-century, as part of the Census of Marine Life, they are part; this includes diversity and the anticipated increased human was an international collaborative effort within species, between species and presence, will alter Arctic ecosystems’ to inventory biodiversity in Arctic of ecosystems” (http://www.cbd.int/ functioning, with regional changes marine realms on a pan-Arctic scale. convention/text). in, for example, primary production, Led by authors of this article, the project In this article, we present an overview species distributions (including those of compiled historic and new data in an of organismal and ecological diversity, disease-causing taxa), and indigenous online open-access database, improved with some examples of genetic diversity subsistence use. To understand such taxonomic identification of existing of Arctic marine biota, from microbes change, biodiversity studies spanning samples, and made new collections to mammals. The primary goals are regional species lists to functional link- focused on taxonomic, regional, and twofold: to present an updated review ages between indices of diversity and habitat gaps. Legacy products include, on species inventories, here defined as ecosystems are critical. for example, the Arctic Register of numbers of species occurring per realm Various definitions exist for the Marine Species (ARMS; http://www. and broad taxonomic group, and to give marine Arctic and its boundaries, marinespecies.org/arms), which expands examples of emerging recent changes with most based on a combination of the previously most complete list by in diversity on species and community temperature, geopolitical boundaries, Sirenko (2001), both in terms of taxa levels. While other recent publications and sea ice cover. Here, we consider the and regional coverage. The majority present regional biodiversity invento- Arctic primarily as those marine regions of taxon distribution records (defined ries—including Arctic regions—in much north of Bering Strait on the Pacific side here as georeferenced location of an more detail (e.g., Archambault et al., and areas with consistent seasonal sea ice identified specimen), underlying both 2010; Carr, 2011, for Canadian waters), cover on the Atlantic side, recognizing, ARMS and related publications, are avail- we focus on the pan-Arctic macroscale however, that the literature cited does able through the Ocean Biogeographic across all habitats. We also discuss not consistently use this definition. Information System (OBIS: http://www. observed changes in Arctic biodiversity iobis.org; Figure 1) and ArcOD’s web to highlight the need for, and usefulness RECEnt AND ONGOING portal (http://www.arcodiv.org) with of, collecting data on the distribution ARctIC MARINE BIODIVERSIty microbial data housed within MICROBIS over time of individual species and INITIATIVES (http://icomm.mbl.edu/microbis). communities as indicators of Arctic Much of today’s marine biodiversity ArcOD also provided species pages to the environmental and ecosystem change. In research builds on the tremendous (and Encyclopedia of Life (http://www.eol.org) the Arctic, major stressors include, for ongoing) effort of dozens of taxonomists and genetic sequences to the marine example, climate change, species inva- from the Russian Federation where Barcode of Life Initiative (http://www. sions, fisheries effects, oil and gas explo- substantial emphasis on Arctic species marinebarcoding.org). The scientific ration, shipping, ocean acidification, identification and description for over network developed through ArcOD Oceanography | September 2011 233 continues its activities—though with been published (CAFF, 2010). The hope Pacific Arctic region, which could reduced financial support—beyond 2011. is that synthesis efforts such as this will fulfill part of the CBMP goals. DBO is Currently, international teams are eventually lead to informed timely deci- suggested to include a range of biological engaged in the Arctic Biodiversity sion making for international policy, and environmental measurements, Assessment (ABA), an initiative aimed resource management, and conservation. supplemented by satellite observa- at synthesizing and assessing the status Also under the umbrella of the tions, at four key areas in the Bering, and trends of biological diversity in the Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas with the Arctic (http://www.caff.is/aba). This Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the currently goals of detecting and tracking the initiative was created by the Arctic prepared Circumpolar Biodiversity effects of changing oceanographic Council in response to the ambitious Monitoring Plan (CBMP) is intended conditions, from microbes to mammals (though not attained) target set by to enhance and harmonize biodiversity (Grebmeier et al., 2010). the United Nations Environmental monitoring efforts (http://www.caff.is). Several large national Arctic initia- Programme (UNEP) and CBD to reduce The CBMP’s Marine Expert Monitoring tives—with international collabora- the loss of biodiversity globally by Group, co-led by Norway and the United tors—include biodiversity components