The Arctic is changing in striking ways, but change in the Arctic is not always obvious - in fact, sometimes it is hidden. Amidst shrubs, tucked behind stones and often surviving in the most improbable of places, many tundra plants remain unnoticed by scientists. Discovering this hidden biodiversity can help us understand how life on Earth is being altered at its northernmost extremes… To understand these shifts in tundra ecosystems, we need to look beyond the plots and capture the landscape context of biodiversity change - all the species lurking just outside of the plots…. This so-called “dark biodiversity” can be the hidden source of future biodiversity change in the Arctic that might then go on to influence how the entire ecosystem functions... Follow our journey as we discover stories of hidden biodiversity and unique experiences at the northern edge of the world.
For updates from The Arctic’s Hidden Biodiversity expedition, follow https://openexplorer.nationalgeographic.com/expedition/hiddenarctic
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In 2017, we observed something unexpected on Qikiqtaruk - Herschel Island on the Yukon Arctic coast. Using drones, we mapped rates of erosion six times faster than the long-term average along a stretch of coastline near the Pauline Cove settlement. Nearly 15 metres of coast disappeared into the waves over a 40-day period, with rates as fast as 1 metre per day. Blocks the size of garden sheds would break off and get eaten by waves over a matter of hours. Though this stretch of coast stabilised in 2018, land was still lost. Future erosion events like this could threaten the historic buildings and cultural sites on Qikiqtaruk and other parts of the Western Arctic. Coastal erosion and thaw of frozen ground is not new to this part of the world, but rates may be accelerating as the Arctic warms.
Our study was published in the journal Cryosphere. The research was carried out in collaboration with the University of Exeter, Alfred Wegener Institute, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Dartmouth College and was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council, the National Geographic Society and Horizon 2020.
For more information:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-06/uoe-rro060719.php
https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/1513/2019/
Video footage by Will Palmer and Noah Bell, sound by Gergana Daskalova and Sandra Angers-Blondin, editing by Isla Myers-Smith.
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Rapid change is underway on Qikiqtaruk - Herschel Island in the Canadian Arctic. Shrub canopies are getting taller, the timing of events in the lives of plants, such as first leaf out and first flower, are also shifting earlier, and bareground is decreasing as shrubs and grass species are increasing in abundance. These are all examples of how global change is altering Arctic ecosystems, but on Qikiqtaruk we find that the vegetation changes are likely due to the indirect, rather than the direct, effects of rising temperatures, such as the deepening of the active layer and the increasing length of the growing season in the summer.
To find out more, check out our paper here:
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecm.1351
And our press release here:
https://teamshrub.com/2019/03/15/collaboration-is-key-for-arctic-change-research/l
This research was possible thank to a unique long-term collaboration between researchers, government scientists and local rangers. If you would like to read about the perspectives of local Yukon Parks rangers Ed McLeod and Ricky Joe on Qikiqtaruk’s Ecological Monitoring Program, you can check out their blog posts - https://teamshrub.com/2017/09/28/qikiqtaruk-perspectives-by-ranger-edward-mcleod/ and https://teamshrub.com/2017/08/14/changes-on-qikiqtaruk-perspectives-from-ranger-ricky-joe/
Video by Noah Bell. To find out more about the adventures of being an Arctic drone pilot check out Noah’s blog post -
https://teamshrub.com/2019/02/01/a-drone-pilots-misadventures-during-arctic-field-season/
#Qikiqtaruk #YukonParks #TeamShrub #UKinArctic #AuroraResearchInstitute #Arctic #ecology #canadianarctic #plants #flora #fauna #tundra #arcticwildlife #wildlife #canadagram #northerncanada #yukon #discoveryukon #Aklavik #NWT #earthoutdoors #earthcapture #discoverwildlife #biodiversity @apecs.polar @polar.knowledge @caff_arctic_biodiversity @cbcyukon @yukonnews @yukonnorthofordinary @edinburghuniversity @edinunigeosciences @nercscience
