Arctic biodiversity change and its consequences: Assessing, monitoring and predicting the effects of ecosystem tipping cascades on marine ecosystem services and dependent human systems

General Information

The Arctic marine environment is under rapid change, both in its physical and biotic conditions. The gradual loss of sea ice, increase in temperature, invasive species and compounding effects of additional ecosystem stressors are identified as likely causes of the observed turnover of Arctic species. Other issues of concern are the climatic tipping elements that are known to have affected the region in the geologic past, and that could well affect the region in the future, precipitating a regime shift of unprecedented magnitude. Predicting these changes in the Arctic ecosystem is hindered by several knowledge gaps, particularly in terms of mechanistic understanding of the coupling between drivers and responses. At stake are two important marine ecosystem services that human societies rely on; carbon sequestration with its feedback to global climate, and fisheries production that is the economic lifeblood of many of the local societies of the Arctic.

ECOTIP will map out past and present Arctic biodiversity and its response to external drivers, and the effects of expanding commercial activities in the Arctic under expected climate change. It will investigate the resistance, resilience and persistence of key ecosystem components to multiple anthropogenic stressors, and estimate their potential tipping dynamics. It will use a trait-based approach in process studies, empirical analysis and numerical models as a novel means of quantifying functional diversity to predict how different anthropogenic forcing scenarios (including climate, invasive species, pollution, exploitation) change biodiversity, productivity and ecosystem services. ECOTIP will engage with indigenous societies and European citizens to provide recommendations for optimizing the monitoring of Arctic biodiversity and ecosystem services, identify adaptation strategies, promote international collaboration and support Europe's endeavors to implement the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.
Hereon leads the work package entitled “Mapping stressors of Arctic biodiversity: Tolerance and adaptation of organisms”.

EU-Programme Acronym and Subprogramme Area	H2020-LC-CLA-2019-2
Project Type	Research & Innovation Action
Contract Number	Grant Agreement 869383
Co-ordinator	Technical University of Denmark (DK)

Funding for the Project (€)	Funding for Hereon (€)
6,361,535	685,327

Contact Person at Hereon

Dr. Helmuth Thomas, Institute of Carbon Cycles, KC, Phone: +49 (0)4152 87-2805 E-mail contact

Participants

Institute of Oceanology, P A S, Sopot (PL), Aalborg Universitet (DK), ABO Akademi (FI), Department of Fisheries and Oceans (CA), Gronlands Naturinstitut (DK), Hafrannsoknastofnunin (IS), Hokkaido University (JP), Köbenhavns Universitet (DK), Stiftelsen Grid Arendal (NO), Technical University of Denmark (DK), The University of Tokyo (JP), Universität Wien (AT), University of Aarhus (DK), University of Stirling (UK), University of Tromsoe (NO)

Last Update: 16. April 2021