A review article in this week’s Science on the impact of climate change on the Arctic notes that ecosystems are changing fast, and that could portend more shifts in other parts of the world. The authors list numerous examples. Ringed seal pups in the Canadian Arctic have lost birth lairs to early spring melts, while warmer winters have allowed reindeer in Norway to thrive. Arctic fox populations are dropping as red foxes move north. And caribou calving has fallen out of sync with peak plant growth in Greenland, possibly explaining why calf survival has declined. More here
A review article in this week’s Science on the impact of climate change on the Arctic notes that ecosystems are changing fast, and that could portend more shifts in other parts of the world. The authors list numerous examples. Ringed seal pups in the Canadian Arctic have lost birth lairs to early spring melts, while warmer winters have allowed reindeer in Norway to thrive. Arctic fox populations are dropping as red foxes move north. And caribou calving has fallen out of sync with peak plant growth in Greenland, possibly explaining why calf survival has declined. More here