Food web changes in arctic ecosystems related to climate warming |
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| Authors: | Roberto Quinlan,Marianne S.V. Douglas, John P. Smol&dagger |
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| Affiliation: | Paleoenvironmental Assessment Laboratory, Department of Geology, University of Toronto, 22 Russell St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3B1 and;Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory, Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6 |
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| Abstract: | Sedimentary records from three Canadian High Arctic ponds on Ellesmere Island, spanning the last several thousand years, show major shifts in pond communities within the last ～200 years. These paleolimnological data indicate that aquatic insect (Diptera: Chironomidae) populations rapidly expanded and greatly increased in community diversity beginning in the 19th century. These invertebrate changes coincided with striking shifts in algal (diatom) populations, indicating strong food‐web effects because of climate warming and reduced ice‐cover in ponds. Predicted future warming in the Arctic may produce ecological changes that exceed the large shifts that have already occurred since the 19th century. |
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| Keywords: | Arctic Canada Chironomidae climate change food webs paleoecology paleolimnology ponds |
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