Biodiversity in the Arctic Region
What Does Biodiversity Mean?
Biodiversity or biological diversity means
- genetic variation
- abundance of species
- diversity of habitats.
In nature, birds, fish, plants, and insects surround us. The variety of habitats gives the species favourable conditions to live. Different species live in different a habitats and animals have adapted to survival in a particular environment. Genetic diversity is the most important factor for evolution. It allows populations to evolve and adapt to changing conditions. Diversity therefore covers all variations of living nature.
Arctic Ecosystem is Adapted to Cold
Biodiversity is not evenly distributed on Earth. The number of species typically decreases as the latitude increases. There are more species in the tropics than in the northern coniferous forest zone, and there are even fewer species in the Arctic.
Biodiversity also varies within the Arctic. As a rule, nature is more manifold in the slightly warmer areas connected to the mainland than in colder northern latitudes or isolated islands such as Greenland or Svalbard. (CAFF 2019.)
There are more than 21,000 known species in the Arctic that have adapted to cold and harsh conditions. Biodiversity in the Arctic also includes a number of still poorly known species, which together form the basis for the region’s ecosystems and food chains. (Arctic Council.)
Arctic ecosystems are unique because they have to withstand cold, dry, and windy environments, as well as extreme seasonal variations in the amount of light. The Arctic region consists of the Arctic Ocean and large areas of land, one third of which are covered with ice and less than half covered by vegetation. (CAFF 2021).
Diversity on Land, Sea, Ice, and Inland Waters
Despite the harsh conditions, Arctic nature is very diverse. For example, hundreds of bird species are moving to the Arctic for summer to nest, attracted by light and abundant food sources (CAFF 2021). Birds also play an important cultural role for indigenous peoples; the arrival and departure of migratory birds indicate the changing seasons. They are also a part of their diets (CAFF 2013).
Arctic ecosystems and biota, and thus the biodiversity in the region, are vulnerable to disruption. In the case of isolated populations, such as Svalbard reindeer, the diversity is much lower than that of the mainland reindeer and caribou. However, the Arctic biota has evolved to cope with uncertain periods even when populations have collapsed as a result of bad years, and to recover once conditions are more favourable.
Species depend in many ways on each other and on their habitat. There are different types of ice algae inside the sea ice that connect and form the basis of the food chain. In the Arctic, the native mammals polar bears and walrus depend on sea ice and are facing a major change due as their habitat is melting away. At the top of the food chain, marine mammals play an important role in the preservation of the entire Arctic marine ecosystem and are of great value to local communities. (CAFF 2017).) Inland freshwaters and their diversity in the Arctic are also vital to the northern communities as they provide access to drinking water and fishing (CAFF 2019).
Humans Leave Their Mark
iHuman beings are part of nature and biodiversity is also essential for our well-being. Human beings significantly shape the living conditions on Earth — such as overexploitation of natural resources, destruction, and fragmentation of habitats. These are all the reasons why the world is estimated to be experiencing the sixth wave of extinction.
In the past, significant changes in biodiversity have occurred over millions of years. During these extinction waves, the environment has changed at a much slower pace, making it possible for some species to adapt to the changes. On the other hand, the current human-induced change and loss of habitats is progressing at an unprecedented rate.
Loss of Biodiversity in the Arctic
The loss of nature, i.e. the loss of biodiversity, means that the nature around us is disappearing and getting impoverished. As habitats disappear, the species that depend on them are also endangered. Nature loss is closely intertwined with climate change. As a result of climate change, nature changes, and at the same time man-made loss of nature continues to accelerate climate change.
Climate change and human activities threaten biodiversity in the Arctic. The warming climate makes the living conditions tough for species adapted to cold and more suitable for southern species (CAFF 2019). Arctic nature has to give way to industry, agriculture, infrastructure, logging and invasive species, and pollution such as microplastics has spread all the way to watercourses and seabed (CAFF 2013;Finnish Environment Institute SYKE 2020.)
Increasing offshore activities such as oil drilling, deep-sea excavation, commercial fishing, shipping, pollution and noise can significantly disrupt marine mammalian populations and the already complex socio-ecological relations in the Arctic (CAFF 2017).
It is predicted that as temperatures rise, the tundra in the Arctic will decrease significantly in the current century (CAFF 2013). ). In Finland, it is estimated that, due to climate change, the living conditions of northern fell species in particular will deteriorate. Many species, such as the Siberian tit, shore lark and long-tailed duck have already declined and many butterfly species in northern forests and fells have decreased.
Drastic changes in the Arctic will expose its biota to invasive alien species. The invasive species threaten biodiversity, although the introduction of new species could be thought to increase biodiversity. In the Arctic, native species are forced to give way to new species both on land and in water. However, the possibilities for finding new living space are limited. Eventually, the species will reach the Arctic Ocean and land species will no longer be able to move further north (CAFF 2021).
Arctic ecosystems are changing, diminishing, and potentially disappearing. Changes in snow cover alone threaten Arctic biodiversity. For example, plant species growing on the fells often depend on late melting snow that provides protection from winter and from the invasion of alien species from the south. In the future, the snow situation will change, and the snow banks will no longer provide the same protection: to northern species this may be a more immediate threat than the temperature increase in itself (Finnish Environment Institute SYKE 2018.)
Not all the consequences of climate change, habitat change and extinction, or invasive species on Arctic biodiversity are fully known or can be fully predicted. For example, the decline of perennial sea ice also affects algae living on ice. Changes in the basic production of ice algae will have significant effects on the food chain, and those changes extend all the way to humans (CAFF 2017).
In terms of diversity, expanding human activities are a risk and increase the pressure on the environment. As a result of habitat fragmentation, populations are declining. The smaller the strain, the faster it loses genetic diversity and the less able it is to adapt to change in the future. It is the diversity of nature and genetic variation that will allow Arctic nature to continue to adapt and survive.
In the Arctic, it is even more acute than elsewhere to remember that the protection of individual species is not sufficient as such. In order for species to flourish, the entire ecosystem to which the species belong must be protected. Also in the Arctic, it is important to have a sufficient number of habitats protected to safeguard the future of both habitats and species. The fact that the nature around us is diverse is also valuable in itself.
The loss of biodiversity also has a direct impact on people’s well-being and health. According to the biodiversity hypothesis, the microbiome of the human body is becoming too uniform, and, for example, allergies increase as contact with diverse nature decreases (Haahtela, 2019).
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