Knowledge Tree
Pacific Arctic
Also known as: Pacific Arctic region
Facts (24)
Sources
A review of climate change impacts on migration patterns of marine ... frontiersin.org Oct 25, 2024 24 facts
claimIn the eastern Chukchi Sea of the Pacific Arctic, reduced sea ice and warmer ocean temperatures have led to longer open-water seasons, higher zooplankton abundance, and increases in boreal fish species, as reported by Mueter et al. (2021).
referenceA. R. Szesciorka, K. M. Stafford, and C. L. Berchok documented a basin-wide shift in bowhead whale migration in the Pacific Arctic in a 2024 study published in Geophysical Research Letters.
claimMandt’s black guillemot (Cepphus grylle mandtii) in the Pacific Arctic, and the ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) and Ross’s gull (Rhodostethia rosea) in the Atlantic Arctic, are closely tied to sea ice year-round and often follow the marginal ice zone.
referencePacific Arctic beluga whales have exhibited decadal shifts in their autumn migration timing, which are related to delayed annual sea ice formation, according to a 2017 study by Hauser et al.
claimOn the Pacific side of the Arctic, sea ice historically extended south across the central Bering Sea shelf and retracted in late spring, with the Bering Strait remaining ice-covered until June, according to Stabeno and Bell (2019).
claimGray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) have been departing the northern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea earlier each year since 2016, although their spring arrival timing in the Pacific Arctic has shown little change.
claimCitta et al. (2015) synthesized satellite telemetry data from 1987 to 2015 to map the overlap of marine mammal distributions and core use areas in the Pacific Arctic.
claimIn the Pacific Arctic, the Subarctic region includes the entire Bering Sea and portions of the northwestern Gulf of Alaska shelf.
claimKiller whales (Orcinus orca) have shown increasing detections in the Pacific Arctic region, as reported by K. M. Stafford in 2019.
referenceMoore (2016) investigated whether the Pacific Arctic region is experiencing 'boom times' for baleen whales.
claimUnusual Mortality Events among ice-dependent marine mammal species in the Pacific Arctic have been linked to reductions in sea ice, as reported by Barratclough et al. in 2023.
claimSea-ice cover within bowhead whale habitats in the Pacific Arctic is experiencing trends in change.
claimWill et al. (2020) found that recent sea ice loss in the Pacific Arctic is detrimental to planktivorous seabirds and does not benefit piscivorous seabirds.
claimKiller whales have extended their season of residence in both the Canadian High Arctic and the Pacific Arctic, indicating expanded migratory routes and timing, as documented by Higdon et al. (2014) and Stafford (2019).
referenceReduced sea-ice conditions have created a "boom time" for large whales in newly exposed areas of the Pacific Arctic (Moore, 2016).
claimIn the Pacific Arctic, longer open water seasons and increased zooplankton productivity have caused planktivorous seabirds to shift their post-breeding movements northward.
claimBetween 2008 and 2011, Pacific walruses arrived earlier and stayed later in their Chukchi Sea summering areas compared to previous decades, a change in migration phenology driven by sea-ice changes in the Pacific Arctic.
referenceLevine et al. (2023) documented climate-driven shifts in pelagic fish distributions in the rapidly changing Pacific Arctic.
claimFemale walruses and young animals, which previously remained year-round near sea ice over the shallow shelf of the Pacific Arctic, now move to land-based haul-out sites along the coasts of Alaska and Russia between feeding trips due to the northward retreat of sea ice, as reported by Jay et al. (2012).
referenceMoore et al. (2014) examined marine fishes, birds, and mammals as sentinels of ecosystem variability and reorganization in the Pacific Arctic region.
referenceEvidence suggests that a potential transformation of the Pacific Arctic ecosystem is currently underway, according to a 2020 study by Huntington et al.
claimBeluga whales in the Pacific Arctic did not significantly shift their habitats between 1990 and 2014, despite the loss of sea-ice cover.
claimPhenological changes, including earlier spring migration and later fall migration, have been documented in Pacific Arctic bowhead whale populations in recent decades, supported by acoustical time-series data and Indigenous Knowledge.
claimSubarctic upper trophic level animals have exhibited a northward range expansion into the Pacific Arctic region, according to a 2022 study by K. M. Stafford, E. V. Farley, M. Ferguson, K. J. Kuletz, and R. Levine.