Abstract
Long-term studies provide an effective way to assess the ecological impacts of decades-long environmental change in Arctic coastal benthic environments, but are rarely undertaken in the Canadian Arctic. In light of this, historical datasets can be compared with modern samples to examine temporal differences in benthic community structure. Frobisher Bay, Nunavut, provides a unique opportunity to use a historical census to examine the impacts that long-term environmental changes have had on the marine benthos. Between 1967 and 1976, and in 2016, infaunal samples were collected in inner Frobisher Bay and were compared to determine how the molluscan assemblages have changed between the two time periods. Molluscan assemblages in two regions of inner Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit and Cairn Island) were examined to minimize sampling discrepancies between the two time periods. A long-term increase in mean annual air temperature and a decline in the length of the ice cover season were observed. Both regions exhibited some change in sediment composition and quality as well as in molluscan assemblage between the two time periods, and species diversity indices also indicated some change between these time periods. Both the 1967–1976 and 2016 molluscan datasets provide a baseline for future long-term studies in a changing Arctic.
Highlights
The circumpolar Arctic is currently warming at a rate twice that of the global mean temperature (Overland et al 2017) and sea ice extent has declined markedly over the past 30 years (Forbes 2011, McLaughlin et al 2011, Richter-Menge et al 2017)
This study examined temporal change in the molluscan assemblages of Frobisher Bay as a result of long-term environmental change in this region
Long-term studies are crucial to our understanding of ecological responses to natural and anthropogenic environmental change (Carpenter et al 1995)
Summary
The circumpolar Arctic is currently warming at a rate twice that of the global mean temperature (Overland et al 2017) and sea ice extent has declined markedly over the past 30 years (Forbes 2011, McLaughlin et al 2011, Richter-Menge et al 2017). With an increasing concern around climate warming and its predicted impacts on Arctic continental shelf benthos (Carmack and McLaughlin 2001, Piepenburg 2005), there is a growing consensus that long-term studies are required to monitor benthic community change. Several authors have confirmed the need for sampling on decadal scales to examine long-term community level changes in the marine benthos (Cusson et al 2007, Renaud et al 2007). In Arctic environments, gaining access to the same study area year after year can be extremely challenging due to cost and accessibility. This is true in the Canadian Arctic where sea ice can restrict accessibility for repeated sampling (Carey 1991). Historical ecological research provides a valuable source of data which can be compared directly with modern sampling through a comparative sampling design to assess longterm change in benthic community structure and function
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