Sea Ice Loss and Polar Ecosystems

Abstract: Climate change is dramatically altering Arctic environments through the rapid
decline of sea ice extent, which has profound effects upon Arctic ecosystems. Polar bears are the
most well-recognized and well-studied of the Arctic ice-dwellers, but are far from the only
important species in the region threatened by sea ice loss. Organisms at all trophic levels within
the food web are affected by the rapid decline in sea ice; this paper highlights but a few of the
multitude of organisms involved, focusing specifically on species with a direct dependency upon
the ice. Along with the polar bear, seals, walruses, algae, and microscopic organisms all rely on
sea ice and experience negative consequences from its loss. Effects upon one population can
impact all the rest within the food chain, or evenas is observed with microorganismsthe
overall global climate. In order to fully comprehend the effects of climate change upon a single
species, as well as the Arctic as a whole, it is important to consider all of the many diverse
members of the Arctic community.

Weve all seen it before: the token image of a polar bear that seems to accompany every
campaign, news report, and environmental initiative related to climate change. From Prius
commercials to Greenpeace protests, polar bears are used as an effective tool to appeal to human
pathos and gain support. These cuddly-looking creatures have become the poster child for
climate change, serving as a constant reminder of the severe issues the world faces due to global
warming, and drawing specific attention to the rapid melting of the Arctic. It is now common
knowledge that the Arctic is melting and that polar bears face harsh consequences because of it,
but this simple summary fails to tell the whole story. The Arctic is home to a complex ecosystem
of both land and marine organisms, all of which are heavily dependent on the seasonal changes
of sea ice and are threatened by its loss. Seals, walruses, algae, and microscopic organisms all
share the ice with polar bears, each playing their part to maintain balance in the Arctic food web.
Microbes and phytoplankton, so often overlooked when discussing the melting Arctic, play an
especially significant role in regulating organic carbon cycles within the frigid northern ocean
and have an important impact on global climate change. In order to obtain a complete
understanding of the effects that melting Arctic sea ice has upon Arctic ecosystems, it is
important to consider not just the polar bears, but all ice-dependent organisms throughout the
food chain.
To begin with, an examination of the Arctics most well-studied, visibly threatened, and
cherished organismthe polar bearis required. It is an undisputed fact, shown both by models
and recorded evidence, that a strong correlation exists between polar bear population decline and
sea ice loss. Polar bears rely heavily on sea ice for travel, mating, and hunting seals. These large
predators prefer to hunt at the edge of the pack ice over the continental shelf where seals
congregate in large numbers, but due to the break-up of sea ice are instead forced to hunt farther
out over the ocean, or from land (Regehr, 2009). Also, thanks to earlier sea ice break-up and the
melting of seal birthing lairs, seal pup mortality rates have greatly increased, which is a major
problem for polar bears who rely on seal pups as a primary food source in the spring and
summer. In the 1990s, scientists in Canadas Hudson Bay observed weight changes in bears
during warmer years, noting that for every week that the ice broke up earlier, bears came ashore
10 kilograms lighter. (Kerr, 2002). Even more recently, scientific studies have shown that the
longer ice-free periods in 2004 and 2005 were associated with an unusual number of reports of
inefficient foraging behaviors by polar bears, observations of cannibalism, and observations of
polar bears that had apparently starved to death. (Regehr, 2009). Historically, observations such
as these had been rare to non-existent. In 2004, it was even recorded that the rapid retreat of sea
ice resulted in several drownings of bears in the south Beaufort Sea (Regehr, 2009).
Malnourishment among polar bears also results in reduced breeding rates and cub survival.
Females must be over 189kg in order to produce viable offspring, and must weigh significantly
more than that to successfully provide for their cubs after birth (Molnar, 2010). Sea ice loss also
inhibits polar bears from traveling and meeting up during the mating season, further reducing
population. Due to rapid sea ice loss, polar bear populations are significantly decreasing, with
some estimates reporting that multiple polar bear subpopulations could become completely
extinct by the end of the century (Molnar, 2010). But these top predators are far from the only
organisms whose populations are threatened by sea ice loss.
Seals and walruses are both dependent on the Arctic sea ice for survival. Both species use
ice floes and pack ice to serve as resting platforms while hunting, and seals also give birth to
their young upon the ice. In the spring, seals create their birthing lairs under snow mounds,
which both hides their pups from predators and protects them from the cold. Pups leave their
lairs not upon reaching a certain age or maturity, but precisely when warming saturates the
snow with water, causing the mounds to collapse. (Krajick, 2001). In the past, seal pup maturity
and snow saturation were carefully aligned, but with the Arctics ice and snow melting earlier
and earlier, pups are often forced out of their collapsing lairs and into the water before being
weaned. Another factor to consider is the retreat of sea ice from the traditional hunting grounds
of seals and walruses. Just as with polar bears, these marine mammals prefer hunting at the edge
of the ice over the continental shelf, where the water is shallower and a greater concentration of
edible benthic organisms can be found. Between hunting trips, walruses and seals rest upon the
sea ice to avoid exhaustion, but in recent years retreating ice levels have forced them to travel
longer distances from the pack ice to their food source. During the unusually warm summer of
1998, walruses were observed to be leaner than average that year, due to the retreat of pack ice
in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas out over the deep ocean, forcing them to swim much longer
distances to feed (Kerr, 2002). Owing to a lack of relevant historical data with which to compare,
it is hard to gauge just how great of an impact that warming in the Arctic has upon seal and
walrus populations. Even so, the fact that these species will be in some way affected by the loss
of sea ice is undisputed, and is the reason behind the placement of arctic seals under the
Endangered Species Act in 2012. While large mammals such as arctic seals, walruses, and polar
bears garner most of the attention when discussing sea ice loss, organisms at the lower trophic
levels are by no means less important.
Microscopic organismsthe very bottom of the food chainplay a dynamic role in
maintaining ecosystem equilibrium among all species in the Arctic. Even slight changes among
the phyto- and zooplankton communities can have cascading effects at higher trophic levels, and
also affects the cycling of organic carbon within Arctic ecosystems. The life cycles of these
organisms depend heavily on sea ice. Diatoms, a type of algae, make their home upon the
underside of the sea ice as well as within the brine channels that flow through the ice. When the
sea ice melts in the spring, more sunlight penetrates the surface ocean and the diatoms, along
with phytoplankton, partake in vigorous algal blooms at the ices edge over the continental shelf,
then die and sink down into the deep ocean where they feed benthic organisms. Considering this,
at first glance it would seem logical to assume that reduced ice cover would in fact lead to an
increase in algae and primary production, and ultimately benefit the ecosystem. Unfortunately
this is not true of the Arctic, where limited nutrients severely hinder phytoplankton and algal
growth. The Arctic Ocean is heavily stratified, with a surface mixed layer that is only a few
meters deep, and prevents the flow of nutrients from the deep ocean to the surface. Melting sea
ice and increased freshwater from rivers only amplifies this stratification by decreasing the
density of the surface layer, stabilizing the water column, and further inhibiting upwelling and
nutrient flow (Vincent, 2010). Decreases in algal blooms means less organic carbon will be
transported to benthic ecosystems and from there flow though the food chain. Instead, more
carbon is caught up in the microbial loop, which is where bacteria and protists convert organic
carbon to CO
2
rather than transferring it through the food web. Heterotrophic bacteria, which
feed on diatoms and phytoplankton at the ocean surface, are found in very low concentrations
within the Arctic Ocean, and in fact have growth rates three times lower than those of bacteria in
the Equatorial Pacific (Kirchman, 2009). But recent increases in ocean temperature have been
encouraging greater bacterial growth, which means even more organic carbon is being caught up
in the microbial loop and being released as CO
2
without ever being transferred to larger
organisms (Kirchman, 2009). Bacterial growth rates have also been increasing on land in the
Arctic. Larger permafrost thaws cause organic carbon that was previously trapped in soil,
sometimes for thousands of years, to be released as CO
2
through microbial respiration. Gas flux
studies have shown that this respiration can result in significant CO
2
production rates that exceed
the regions plant carbon uptake (Vincent, 2010). This creates a positive feedback loop, similar
to that of sea ice loss, wherein the thaw of permafrost allows more carbon to be released into the
atmosphere, which in turn causes the thawing of more permafrost. It is even thought that this
microbial respiration [has] the potential to produce globally significant effluxes of greenhouse
gases. (Vincent, 2010). Microorganisms play an indispensable role in the Arctic, and the
melting of Arctic sea ice significantly affects themand, as a result, the worldas well.

When people think of the warming Arctic, they think of the polar bear, and with good
reason. The Arctics top predator faces major risks and even the threat of extinction from the loss
of sea ice. With habitat reduced, travel limited, loss of access to traditional hunting areas, and
reductions in reproduction and cub survival, polar bear populations are in rapid decline. But
other ecologically significant organismsso often ignored when compared to polar bearsalso
face serious risks from the melting Arctic ice. Seals and walruses are threatened by sea ice loss
as they are forced to swim longer distances between the ice upon which they rest and their
hunting grounds, risking exhaustion. And seal pups, whose first vulnerable months are spent
upon the pack ice, now face higher mortality rates as earlier melting forces them out of their
snowy lairs before maturity. Even the Arctics smallest of residents, microorganisms, face dire
threats from sea ice loss. Algae known as diatoms are losing the ice habitat to which they cling,
phytoplankton are consumed in larger numbers by a growing bacteria population that releases
even more CO
2
into the atmosphere, and benthic food chains receive fewer nutrients due to the
reduction of sinking primary producers on which they typically feed. Such changes among
microorganism populations has a cascading effect all throughout the food chain and creates
havoc for larger organisms already threatened by melting sea ice. Considering this, it becomes
clear that when discussing the warming Arctic it is important to evaluate the system as a whole,
including the vast myriad of species and subpopulations that call the Arctic their home. Focusing
too heavily upon a single speciesno matter how rare, significant, or etched into the publics
consciousness they may bedevalues the interconnectedness inherent in all ecosystems and
inhibits complete understanding of the overall effects of climate change upon a given region. So
to fully consider the effects of melting Arctic sea ice, it is important to think not just of the polar
bear, but the entire biotic system of which it is a part.
References

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