CHANGES IN DIVERSITY AND SPECIES COMPOSITION ACROSS MULTIPLE ASSEMBLAGES IN THE EASTERN CHUKCHI SEA DURING TWO CONTRASTING YEARS ARE CONSISTENT WITH BOREALIZATION

The Arctic Marine Biodiversity Observing Network monitors biological assemblages on taxonomic scales ranging from microbes to seabirds on the eastern Chukchi Sea shelf to improve understanding of their responses to changing environmental conditions, including climate change. Here, we compare two years, 2015 and 2017, the latter characterized by a much larger spatial extent of warmer, more saline Pacific waters within the study region. These environmental differences were associated with changes in the taxonomic diversity and species composition of eight different assemblages. Impacts included decreases in the diversity and abundance of benthic species and increases in the diversity and abundance of zooplankton and demersal fish. These observations are consistent with the expected patterns of borealization, term that describes changes from polar to more southern or boreal conditions and that have been observed on other Arctic inflow shelves where there is communication with the global ocean. A decoupling of the seabird assemblage from other assemblages in 2017 suggests that seabirds were unable to fully adjust to changing prey conditions in 2017. Pronounced differences in the taxonomic composition and a substantial decline in taxonomic diversity of bacteria and profists in 2017 remain unexplained but suggest that these microbes are highly susceptible to changing conditions. Continued warming of the Chukchi Sea will likely result in further borealization, with differential impacts on pelagic and benthic communities.

Automated summary

The study indicates that the environmental changes in 2017, with higher Pacific water temperatures and salinity, resulted in shifts in the taxonomic diversity and species composition of eight different assemblages on the eastern Chukchi Sea shelf, including decreases in benthic species and increases in zooplankton and demersal fish. Seabirds in 2017 were unable to fully adjust to changing prey conditions, and there were unexplained pronounced differences in the taxonomic composition and a substantial decline in taxonomic diversity of bacteria and protists in 2017. Continued warming of the Chukchi Sea is likely to lead to further borealization with varying impacts on pelagic and benthic communities.