Impacts of Climate Change on Arctic Biodiversity

Abstract

Climate change's impacts have recently gained a lot of attention. According to a United Nations report, human activity is the main factorof climate change, global warming in particular, for the past two centuries. In recent years, it’s been widely acknowledged that global warming has profoundly impacted not only human welfare but also other species on Earth. Global warming is associated with increased species extinctions and decreased biodiversity. Despite increased attention on this trending topic, how these climate shifts are affecting marine biodiversity and ecosystems are still poorly understood. A large amount of data on marine species in the Arctic region has been obtained during recent years. In this article, we review four recent studies on the interplay among biodiversity, ecosystems and climate change, and discuss challenges in data interpretation and possible strategies that are required to tackle biodiversity loss. More comprehensive research, analysis and understanding of the results of numerous studies are essential to protect biodiversity and ecosystems.