Friday, 14 February 2014: 8:30 AM-11:30 AM
Regency B (Hyatt Regency Chicago)
Nowhere in the world has climate change had a greater impact than in the Arctic. Understanding the effects global warming is having on marine productivity and consequences to higher trophic level organisms in the Arctic pales in comparison to existing biophysical datasets mapping global warming and its effects on regional climate, meteorological, and oceanographic changes. This session details how recent oceanographic changes have disrupted a fragile Arctic “status quo,” dramatically impacting the health and resilience of marine mammals, wildlife populations, and indigenous people in the North. It will focus on seals, walrus, and beluga as landmark sentinel species to illustrate the consequences of a changing marine ecosystem, and how it is critically affecting the health and sustainability of marine mammal populations and the indigenous communities of wildlife and people that depend on their survival. The dynamic and complex nature of these interactions will be illustrated by case studies of unusual mortality events involving ringed seals and walrus in Alaska. Studies of harvested beluga in the western Canadian Arctic have identified the emergence of protozoal pathogens that may impact beluga population health and increase disease exposure to their predators, including indigenous hunters and consumers. Marine mammals are intimately associated with the Arctic and are important sentinels of ecosystem health and indicators of climate change.
Organizer:
Andrew Trites, North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium
Co-organizers:
Stephen A. Raverty, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
and Mike E. Grigg, National Institutes of Health
and Mike E. Grigg, National Institutes of Health
Discussant:
Teri Rowles, NOAA
Speakers: