Changing Arctic Ecosystems

Return to Ecosystems

The objectives of the USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative are to:

• Quantify the responses of wildlife species and their habitats to ecosystem change in the Arctic through research and assessments,
• Provide projections of likely future wildlife and habitat responses, and
• Make information publicly available to inform land and species management decisions and Alaska Native subsistence and co-management council actions.
   

Arctic Ecosystem Assessments

The USGS conducts natural hazard and resource assessments of the Earth’s ecosystems and the response of those ecosystems to environmental change, human activities, and land use. Information on recent assessments can be found in the fact sheet on USGS Arctic Ecosystems Assessments and in the publications below.

Additionally, a list of upcoming assessments is listed below:

• Behavioral responses of Central Arctic Herd to mitigation measures
• Effects of climate-induced variability on the behavior, distribution and demography of the Porcupine Caribou Herd
• Range expansion of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Arctic Alaska relative to ecological change
• Population status of two rare taxa endemic to the central Bering Sea, Alaska: McKay’s Bunting and Pribilof Rock Sandpiper
• Assessing the effects of saxitoxin ingestion by Common Murres
• Demographic trend of the Pacific walrus, 2016-2024
• Quantifying body condition and relationships with reproductive success in Pacific walruses

Decisions Informed by the USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative

Below are some examples of how this program is informing decision-making:

• Science for Oil and Gas Leasing-related Decisions

  • Evaluating the efficacy of aerial infrared sensors to detect artificial polar bear
  • Effect of spring phenology on current and future space use patterns of the Porcupine Caribou Herd in northern Alaska and Canada
  • Summary of wildlife-related research on the Arctic Coastal Plain
  • Catalogue of polar bear maternal den locations in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas
  • Caribou use of habitat near energy development in Arctic Alaska
  • Seismic survey design and impacts to maternal polar bear dens
  • Determining priority habitats for molting waterfowl in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska

• Science Informing Endangered Species Act Decisions and Recovery Planning

  • Regional walrus abundance estimate in the United States Chukchi Sea in autumn
  • Analyses on Subpopulation Abundance and Annual Number of Maternal Dens for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Southern Beaufort Sea, Alaska
  • Polar bear distribution and habitat resource selection data
  • Ringed seal remain the main prey of southern Beaufort Sea polar bears

• Science Informing the Status and Trends of Migratory Birds

  • Response of forage plants to alteration of temperature and spring thaw date: implications for geese in a warming Arctic
  • Provided spatial and temporal maps of population change of waterbirds on Alaska’s North Slope
  • Tracking data for three loon species in the Arctic
  • Spatial distribution of band recoveries of black brant
  • Data and model-based estimates from Pacific brant fall age ratio surveys at Izembek Lagoon, Alaska

• Science Informing the Status of Northern Ecosystems

  • Survey of Arctic Alaskan wildlife for influenza A antibodies
  • Ice wedge degradation impacts water budgets and nutrient cycling in Arctic ponds
  • Surface water connectivity controls fish food web structure in Arctic Coastal Plain lakes
  • Response of Arctic forage plants to changes in temperature and spring thaw date
  • Willow drives changes in arthropod communities of northwestern Alaska and the ecological implications of shrub expansion