Coralie Gautier, A. Langlois, V. Sasseville, E. Neave, C. Johnson
Accelerated warming of the Arctic has reduced sea ice and has increased the occurrence of winter extreme events like rain-on-snow and storms that impact snow-cover densification, affecting Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) seasonal movements and grazing conditions. We used caribou movements between Banks, Melville and Victoria islands and mainland Canada, documented from Indigenous Knowledge, to assess whether spatiotemporal trends in sea-ice anomalies (1983–2019) can be used as an indicator of caribou movement. We used the SNOWPACK model to evaluate how foraging conditions (as indexed by simulated snow properties) contribute to the prediction of caribou presence. Our results suggest that changes in sea-ice anomalies over time have impacted caribou crossings between islands: caribou no longer use areas with less sea ice whilst they continue to use areas with more sea ice. Our model evaluation shows that, when the simulated snow conditions are paired with other environmental variables, the ability of models to predict Peary caribou occurrence on land was enhanced across Banks and Melville islands. Overall, the land models suggest that caribou are more likely to occupy areas with lower density of snow accumulation and a majority of forb tundra with dwarf shrubs for Banks Island and cryptogam tundra, rush and grass for the Melville Island Complex. Our results suggest that future work monitoring changes in sea-ice and snow conditions will be important for understanding the impact of climate change on the distribution of Peary caribou in the western Arctic.
{"title":"Remote sensing, snow modelling, survey data and Indigenous Knowledge show how snow and sea-ice conditions affect Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) distribution and inter-island and island–mainland movements","authors":"Coralie Gautier, A. Langlois, V. Sasseville, E. Neave, C. Johnson","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.7964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7964","url":null,"abstract":"Accelerated warming of the Arctic has reduced sea ice and has increased the occurrence of winter extreme events like rain-on-snow and storms that impact snow-cover densification, affecting Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) seasonal movements and grazing conditions. We used caribou movements between Banks, Melville and Victoria islands and mainland Canada, documented from Indigenous Knowledge, to assess whether spatiotemporal trends in sea-ice anomalies (1983–2019) can be used as an indicator of caribou movement. We used the SNOWPACK model to evaluate how foraging conditions (as indexed by simulated snow properties) contribute to the prediction of caribou presence. Our results suggest that changes in sea-ice anomalies over time have impacted caribou crossings between islands: caribou no longer use areas with less sea ice whilst they continue to use areas with more sea ice. Our model evaluation shows that, when the simulated snow conditions are paired with other environmental variables, the ability of models to predict Peary caribou occurrence on land was enhanced across Banks and Melville islands. Overall, the land models suggest that caribou are more likely to occupy areas with lower density of snow accumulation and a majority of forb tundra with dwarf shrubs for Banks Island and cryptogam tundra, rush and grass for the Melville Island Complex. Our results suggest that future work monitoring changes in sea-ice and snow conditions will be important for understanding the impact of climate change on the distribution of Peary caribou in the western Arctic.","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43320914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Review of John Møller: mirrored, portraits of Good Hope, by Inuuteq Storch (2021). Copenhagen: Rousse Roulette. 312 pp. ISBN 978-87-97324-20-2.","authors":"Anna Gielas","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.8845","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.8845","url":null,"abstract":" \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43280017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Among his varied Resistance activities during the Nazi occupation of Norway, Tore Gjelsvik co-edited an underground newspaper called Bulletinen (The Bulletin). Four of the paper’s previous editors were arrested and the fifth, who handed it off to Gjelsvik, fled to neutral Sweden to avoid capture. Gjelsvik went on to become a geologist and to serve as director of the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) from 1960 to 1983 (Fig. 1). In July 1982, toward the end of his appointment, he wrote a brief foreword to the maiden issue of Polar Research (Fig. 2), a periodical whose production and distribution posed no risk to life or limb.
{"title":"Polar Research turns 40","authors":"H. Goldman","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.8903","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.8903","url":null,"abstract":"Among his varied Resistance activities during the Nazi occupation of Norway, Tore Gjelsvik co-edited an underground newspaper called Bulletinen (The Bulletin). Four of the paper’s previous editors were arrested and the fifth, who handed it off to Gjelsvik, fled to neutral Sweden to avoid capture. Gjelsvik went on to become a geologist and to serve as director of the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) from 1960 to 1983 (Fig. 1). In July 1982, toward the end of his appointment, he wrote a brief foreword to the maiden issue of Polar Research (Fig. 2), a periodical whose production and distribution posed no risk to life or limb.","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43447547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ingebjørg H. Nymo, Eva Fuglei, Torill Mørk, Eva M. Breines, Karin Holmgren, Rebecca Davidson, Morten Tryland
Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) are susceptible to smooth Brucella (s-Brucella) infection and may be exposed to such bacteria through the consumption of infected marine mammals, as implied by the finding of s-Brucella antibodies in polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Arctic foxes in Svalbard have not previously been investigated for s-Brucella antibodies, but such antibodies have been detected in Arctic foxes in Iceland, Alaska (USA) and Russia. We investigated blood from Svalbard Arctic foxes for s-Brucella antibodies using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). The animals (0–13 years old) were either caught by fur trappers (1995–2003, n = 403) or found dead (1995 and 2003, n = 3). No seropositive animals were detected. Morbidity and mortality due to the infection cannot be ruled out. However, no known, large disease outbreaks of unknown aetiology have been reported. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the Svalbard Arctic fox is resistant to infection as Arctic foxes from other populations are susceptible, and there is circumpolar connectivity between populations. The discrepancy between the findings in Iceland and Svalbard is surprising as both populations are on islands with no known local sources of exposure to s-Brucella other than marine mammals. However, our negative findings suggest that marine mammals may not be a major source of infection for this species. Comparative investigations are needed in order to draw conclusions regarding the epizootiology of s-Brucella in Arctic foxes in Svalbard and Iceland.
北极狐(Vulpes lagopus)容易感染布鲁氏菌(s-布鲁氏菌)，并且可能通过食用受感染的海洋哺乳动物而暴露于这种细菌，正如在北极熊(Ursus maritimus)中发现的s-布鲁氏菌抗体所暗示的那样。斯瓦尔巴群岛的北极狐以前没有被调查过s-布鲁氏菌抗体，但在冰岛、阿拉斯加(美国)和俄罗斯的北极狐中发现了这种抗体。我们使用间接酶联免疫吸附试验(iELISA)对斯瓦尔巴北极狐血液中的s-布鲁氏菌抗体进行了研究。这些动物(0 ~ 13岁)或被猎人捕获(1995 ~ 2003年， n = 403)或被发现死亡(1995 ~ 2003年， n = 3)。未发现血清阳性动物。不能排除感染引起的发病率和死亡率。然而，还没有报道过病原不明的大规模疾病暴发。此外，斯瓦尔巴北极狐不太可能对感染有抵抗力，因为来自其他种群的北极狐是易感的，而且种群之间存在环极地联系。冰岛和斯瓦尔巴群岛的研究结果之间的差异令人惊讶，因为这两个种群都生活在岛屿上，除了海洋哺乳动物外，没有已知的当地布鲁氏菌接触源。然而，我们的阴性结果表明，海洋哺乳动物可能不是该物种的主要感染源。为了得出关于斯瓦尔巴群岛和冰岛北极狐中s-布鲁氏菌流行病学的结论，需要进行比较调查。
{"title":"Why are Svalbard Arctic foxes Brucella spp. seronegative?","authors":"Ingebjørg H. Nymo, Eva Fuglei, Torill Mørk, Eva M. Breines, Karin Holmgren, Rebecca Davidson, Morten Tryland","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.7867","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7867","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Arctic foxes (<em>Vulpes lagopus</em>) are susceptible to smooth <em>Brucella</em> (s-<em>Brucella</em>) infection and may be exposed to such bacteria through the consumption of infected marine mammals, as implied by the finding of s-<em>Brucella</em> antibodies in polar bears (<em>Ursus maritimus</em>). Arctic foxes in Svalbard have not previously been investigated for s-<em>Brucella</em> antibodies, but such antibodies have been detected in Arctic foxes in Iceland, Alaska (USA) and Russia. We investigated blood from Svalbard Arctic foxes for s-<em>Brucella</em> antibodies using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). The animals (0–13 years old) were either caught by fur trappers (1995–2003, <em>n</em> = 403) or found dead (1995 and 2003, <em>n</em> = 3). No seropositive animals were detected. Morbidity and mortality due to the infection cannot be ruled out. However, no known, large disease outbreaks of unknown aetiology have been reported. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the Svalbard Arctic fox is resistant to infection as Arctic foxes from other populations are susceptible, and there is circumpolar connectivity between populations. The discrepancy between the findings in Iceland and Svalbard is surprising as both populations are on islands with no known local sources of exposure to s-<em>Brucella</em> other than marine mammals. However, our negative findings suggest that marine mammals may not be a major source of infection for this species. Comparative investigations are needed in order to draw conclusions regarding the epizootiology of s-<em>Brucella</em> in Arctic foxes in Svalbard and Iceland.</p>","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138513993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sea-ice cover across the Arctic has declined rapidly over the past several decades owing to amplified climate warming. The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) relies on sea-ice floes in the St. Lawrence Island (SLI) and Wainwright regions of the Bering and Chukchi seas surrounding Alaska as a platform for rest, feeding and reproduction. Lower concentrations of thick ice floes are generally associated with earlier seasonal fragmentation and shorter annual persistence of sea-ice cover, potentially affecting the life history of the Pacific walrus. In this study, 24 Landsat satellite images were classified into thick ice, thin ice or open water to assess sea-ice fragmentation over the spring-summer breakup period. Geospatial fragmentation analyses traditionally used in terrestrial landscapes were newly implemented in this study to characterize the icescape environment. Fragmentation of sea ice was assessed based on the Percent of Landscape, Number of Patches, Mean Area, Shape Index, Euclidean Nearest Neighbor and Edge Density. Results show that lower sea-ice concentrations in both the SLI and Wainwright regions were associated with smaller sea-ice floes. In the Bering Sea, lower sea-ice concentrations were also associated with increases in the number of ice floes, floe isolation and edge density. By contrast, lower sea-ice concentrations in the Chukchi Sea were associated with ice floes that were more circular in shape. The continuation of sea-ice decline with shifting icescape characteristics may result in walruses having to swim longer distances in the northern Bering Sea and adapt to use less-preferred, rounder ice floes in the Chukchi Sea.
{"title":"Applying landscape fragmentation analysis to icescape environments: potential impacts for the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)","authors":"Anthony Himmelberger, K. Frey, F. Sangermano","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.5169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.5169","url":null,"abstract":"Sea-ice cover across the Arctic has declined rapidly over the past several decades owing to amplified climate warming. The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) relies on sea-ice floes in the St. Lawrence Island (SLI) and Wainwright regions of the Bering and Chukchi seas surrounding Alaska as a platform for rest, feeding and reproduction. Lower concentrations of thick ice floes are generally associated with earlier seasonal fragmentation and shorter annual persistence of sea-ice cover, potentially affecting the life history of the Pacific walrus. In this study, 24 Landsat satellite images were classified into thick ice, thin ice or open water to assess sea-ice fragmentation over the spring-summer breakup period. Geospatial fragmentation analyses traditionally used in terrestrial landscapes were newly implemented in this study to characterize the icescape environment. Fragmentation of sea ice was assessed based on the Percent of Landscape, Number of Patches, Mean Area, Shape Index, Euclidean Nearest Neighbor and Edge Density. Results show that lower sea-ice concentrations in both the SLI and Wainwright regions were associated with smaller sea-ice floes. In the Bering Sea, lower sea-ice concentrations were also associated with increases in the number of ice floes, floe isolation and edge density. By contrast, lower sea-ice concentrations in the Chukchi Sea were associated with ice floes that were more circular in shape. The continuation of sea-ice decline with shifting icescape characteristics may result in walruses having to swim longer distances in the northern Bering Sea and adapt to use less-preferred, rounder ice floes in the Chukchi Sea.","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45217637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Atkinson, K. Mashburn, D. Vos, Tracy A. Romano, B. Mahoney
Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Cook Inlet (CI), Alaska, are listed as “endangered” because of dramatic declines in abundance, with no indications of population recovery. Serum samples from this population are exceedingly rare. Longitudinal samples from aquarium (AQ) belugas can potentially provide health assessment reference ranges for free-ranging beluga, including reproductive and metabolic hormones. We analysed serum hormone concentrations from CI (n = 6, three females and three males) and Bristol Bay (Alaska; BB; n = 5, four males and one female), alongside AQ (n = 3, two females and one male) belugas, to conduct physiological comparisons of reproductive hormones (progesterone, testosterone and total oestrogens) and metabolic hormones (total thyroxine, triiodothyronine and cortisol) in beluga serum. Oestrogen and progesterone profiles from January through May from two AQ female beluga were typical of non-pregnant, cycling females. CI and BB sex steroid concentrations were within AQ hormone ranges, with the exception of elevated progesterone concentrations in four potentially pregnant females. Both CI and BB belugas had elevated metabolic hormones, which may indicate greater metabolic effort required in the wild environment or capture response. Because sample collection from CI belugas is rare, analysis of even the few samples that we analysed may contribute to the conservation of the small and declining population of genetically distinct CI beluga whales. It is important that each sample collected from free-range CI belugas provides the maximum biological information possible. Continued comparison of hormones in AQ and free-ranging beluga will enhance the interpretation of health data in both groups.
{"title":"Hormone profiles from Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and aquarium beluga whales","authors":"S. Atkinson, K. Mashburn, D. Vos, Tracy A. Romano, B. Mahoney","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.5525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.5525","url":null,"abstract":"Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Cook Inlet (CI), Alaska, are listed as “endangered” because of dramatic declines in abundance, with no indications of population recovery. Serum samples from this population are exceedingly rare. Longitudinal samples from aquarium (AQ) belugas can potentially provide health assessment reference ranges for free-ranging beluga, including reproductive and metabolic hormones. We analysed serum hormone concentrations from CI (n = 6, three females and three males) and Bristol Bay (Alaska; BB; n = 5, four males and one female), alongside AQ (n = 3, two females and one male) belugas, to conduct physiological comparisons of reproductive hormones (progesterone, testosterone and total oestrogens) and metabolic hormones (total thyroxine, triiodothyronine and cortisol) in beluga serum. Oestrogen and progesterone profiles from January through May from two AQ female beluga were typical of non-pregnant, cycling females. CI and BB sex steroid concentrations were within AQ hormone ranges, with the exception of elevated progesterone concentrations in four potentially pregnant females. Both CI and BB belugas had elevated metabolic hormones, which may indicate greater metabolic effort required in the wild environment or capture response. Because sample collection from CI belugas is rare, analysis of even the few samples that we analysed may contribute to the conservation of the small and declining population of genetically distinct CI beluga whales. It is important that each sample collected from free-range CI belugas provides the maximum biological information possible. Continued comparison of hormones in AQ and free-ranging beluga will enhance the interpretation of health data in both groups.","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46663397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
To elucidate poorly known aspects of the microscopic metazoan distribution in ice-free parts of the Antarctic, we examined samples of the multicellular terrestrial alga Prasiola crispa, collected over the last decade in different parts of continental East Antarctica and Haswell Island. We found that the micrometazoans inhabiting the algae consist of remarkably abundant bdelloid rotifers (subclass Bdelloidea), followed by tardigrades. We did not find nematodes. The rotifer assemblages were characterized by low diversity (only six species). Nevertheless, rotifer densities were extremely high: mean densities ranged from 75 to 3030 individuals per 100 mg of the dry sample weight and the maximum value numbered in excess of 8000 per 100 mg of the dry sample weight. These data show that terrestrial algae, along with mosses, are a very attractive habitat for rotifers and tardigrades in the Antarctic. The statistical analysis showed a lack of correlations between rotifer and tardigrade densities and nutrients (N, C, P, K and Na). Our findings are consistent with the patchy distribution of terrestrial micrometazoans in the Antarctic that has previously been found.
{"title":"Extremely high abundances of Prasiola crispa-associated micrometazoans in East Antarctica","authors":"D. Lukashanets, Yury H. Hihiniak, V. Miamin","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.7781","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7781","url":null,"abstract":"To elucidate poorly known aspects of the microscopic metazoan distribution in ice-free parts of the Antarctic, we examined samples of the multicellular terrestrial alga Prasiola crispa, collected over the last decade in different parts of continental East Antarctica and Haswell Island. We found that the micrometazoans inhabiting the algae consist of remarkably abundant bdelloid rotifers (subclass Bdelloidea), followed by tardigrades. We did not find nematodes. The rotifer assemblages were characterized by low diversity (only six species). Nevertheless, rotifer densities were extremely high: mean densities ranged from 75 to 3030 individuals per 100 mg of the dry sample weight and the maximum value numbered in excess of 8000 per 100 mg of the dry sample weight. These data show that terrestrial algae, along with mosses, are a very attractive habitat for rotifers and tardigrades in the Antarctic. The statistical analysis showed a lack of correlations between rotifer and tardigrade densities and nutrients (N, C, P, K and Na). Our findings are consistent with the patchy distribution of terrestrial micrometazoans in the Antarctic that has previously been found.","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45110940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
For more than 20 years Antarctic Treaty Parties have been discussing how to appropriately manage cumulative impacts in the continent. Preventing cumulative impacts requires the fluent exchange of information to enable proper and timely assessment of, and response to, the impacts that result from multiple activities, undertaken by multiple stakeholders and supervised by different Parties. This is a particular challenge for the effective management of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs), as a lack of coordination may potentially put at risk the fulfillment of their conservation objectives. Here we suggest that incorporating lessons learnt from protected areas management elsewhere might improve the effectiveness of ASPAs and provide valuable experiences and insights on how to better manage cumulative impacts in the rest of the continent. Key concepts to incorporate in Antarctica’s environmental management toolbox include (1) the notion of adaptive management, which is a cornerstone of protected areas management effectiveness elsewhere, and (2) the need of empowering protected area managers, which are a key (but often missing) element to ensure local compliance with management plans, co-ordinate on site activities, facilitate exchange of information, promote cooperation and manage conflicts.
{"title":"Managing cumulative impacts and protected areas in Antarctica: what can we learn from the rest of the world?","authors":"Á. Soutullo, Ana Laura Machado-Gaye, Eduardo Juri","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.8432","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.8432","url":null,"abstract":"For more than 20 years Antarctic Treaty Parties have been discussing how to appropriately manage cumulative impacts in the continent. Preventing cumulative impacts requires the fluent exchange of information to enable proper and timely assessment of, and response to, the impacts that result from multiple activities, undertaken by multiple stakeholders and supervised by different Parties. This is a particular challenge for the effective management of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs), as a lack of coordination may potentially put at risk the fulfillment of their conservation objectives. Here we suggest that incorporating lessons learnt from protected areas management elsewhere might improve the effectiveness of ASPAs and provide valuable experiences and insights on how to better manage cumulative impacts in the rest of the continent. Key concepts to incorporate in Antarctica’s environmental management toolbox include (1) the notion of adaptive management, which is a cornerstone of protected areas management effectiveness elsewhere, and (2) the need of empowering protected area managers, which are a key (but often missing) element to ensure local compliance with management plans, co-ordinate on site activities, facilitate exchange of information, promote cooperation and manage conflicts.","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43645595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The elongated, spiraled tusk of male narwhals (Monodon monoceros) grows continuously throughout the life of the whale and is most likely a secondary sexual trait used in male–male hierarchical competition and possibly in female mate choice. Sex determination in narwhals is typically based on the presence (male) or absence (female) of an erupted tusk, but anomalies such as females with tusks, tuskless males or double-tusked whales occur, although infrequently. In this study, we collected reproductive data and recorded the presence or absence of a tusk in narwhals from the Inuit hunt in Greenland (1993 and 2010–19) with the purpose of estimating the frequency of tusk anomalies. We found that of the 173 whales, 2.9% displayed tusk anomalies. Tusked females constituted 1.5% of sampled females, tuskless males 2.8% of sampled males and double-tusked males 0.9% of sampled males. Biological information on a tusked female, a tuskless male and a double-tusked male was collected and is presented here. The tusked female was sexually mature, and 18 ovarian scars (indicating pregnancies) documented a long reproductive lifespan. The complete female tusk was estimated to be between 146 and 151 cm in length. The tuskless male was sexually maturing, as indicated by body dimensions, and the double-tusked male was sexually immature, with the two tusks measuring <90 cm in length. Although narwhals exhibit extremely low levels of genetic diversity, tusk anomalies persist in the populations, perhaps facilitated by the reproductive ability of whales with tusk anomalies.
{"title":"Tusk anomalies in narwhals (Monodon monoceros) from Greenland","authors":"E. Garde, M. Heide‐Jørgensen","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.8343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.8343","url":null,"abstract":"The elongated, spiraled tusk of male narwhals (Monodon monoceros) grows continuously throughout the life of the whale and is most likely a secondary sexual trait used in male–male hierarchical competition and possibly in female mate choice. Sex determination in narwhals is typically based on the presence (male) or absence (female) of an erupted tusk, but anomalies such as females with tusks, tuskless males or double-tusked whales occur, although infrequently. In this study, we collected reproductive data and recorded the presence or absence of a tusk in narwhals from the Inuit hunt in Greenland (1993 and 2010–19) with the purpose of estimating the frequency of tusk anomalies. We found that of the 173 whales, 2.9% displayed tusk anomalies. Tusked females constituted 1.5% of sampled females, tuskless males 2.8% of sampled males and double-tusked males 0.9% of sampled males. Biological information on a tusked female, a tuskless male and a double-tusked male was collected and is presented here. The tusked female was sexually mature, and 18 ovarian scars (indicating pregnancies) documented a long reproductive lifespan. The complete female tusk was estimated to be between 146 and 151 cm in length. The tuskless male was sexually maturing, as indicated by body dimensions, and the double-tusked male was sexually immature, with the two tusks measuring <90 cm in length. Although narwhals exhibit extremely low levels of genetic diversity, tusk anomalies persist in the populations, perhaps facilitated by the reproductive ability of whales with tusk anomalies.","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41685459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
For the Ross Sea, the only Marine Protected Area in Antarctica, available data on the tintinnid ciliates of the marine microzooplankton are mostly limited to nearshore waters near Terra Nova Bay or the vicinity of the McMurdo Sound. Here, we report results from a geographically extensive sampling across the Ross Sea conducted in December 2020. Material from plankton net tows (20 µm mesh), made at 38 stations spanning over 30° of latitude, was examined. We found 11 tintinnid species of varying commonality or rarity, many showing considerable morphological variability that is here documented. We found four forms that had not been previously reported from the Ross Sea. Based on our findings and previous reports, we assembled a species accumulation curve showing the growth in the inventory of tintinnid species recorded from the Ross Sea as a function of sampling effort and time since 1983. Extrapolation of the species accumulation curve, derived from sampling over the last 37 years, indicates that continued sampling will likely provide new species records, suggesting that the Ross Sea is under-sampled at present. This complicates efforts to detect temporal changes in species compositions, at least with regard to tintinnid ciliates. Comparing species accumulation curves for the Ross Sea and the relatively well-studied Weddell Sea, it appears that the Ross Sea may be more species-rich.
{"title":"Tintinnid ciliates (marine microzooplankton) of the Ross Sea","authors":"J. Dolan, Wuju Son, H. La, Jisoo Park, E. Yang","doi":"10.33265/polar.v41.8382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.8382","url":null,"abstract":"For the Ross Sea, the only Marine Protected Area in Antarctica, available data on the tintinnid ciliates of the marine microzooplankton are mostly limited to nearshore waters near Terra Nova Bay or the vicinity of the McMurdo Sound. Here, we report results from a geographically extensive sampling across the Ross Sea conducted in December 2020. Material from plankton net tows (20 µm mesh), made at 38 stations spanning over 30° of latitude, was examined. We found 11 tintinnid species of varying commonality or rarity, many showing considerable morphological variability that is here documented. We found four forms that had not been previously reported from the Ross Sea. Based on our findings and previous reports, we assembled a species accumulation curve showing the growth in the inventory of tintinnid species recorded from the Ross Sea as a function of sampling effort and time since 1983. Extrapolation of the species accumulation curve, derived from sampling over the last 37 years, indicates that continued sampling will likely provide new species records, suggesting that the Ross Sea is under-sampled at present. This complicates efforts to detect temporal changes in species compositions, at least with regard to tintinnid ciliates. Comparing species accumulation curves for the Ross Sea and the relatively well-studied Weddell Sea, it appears that the Ross Sea may be more species-rich.","PeriodicalId":49684,"journal":{"name":"Polar Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45096850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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