David N. Thomas 
Arctic Ecology 

The Arctic is often portrayed as being isolated, but the reality is that the connectivity with the rest of the planet is huge, be it through weather patterns, global ocean circulation, and large-scale migration patterns to name but a few. There is a huge amount of public interest in the ‘changing Arctic’, especially in terms of the rapid changes taking place in ecosystems and exploitation of resources. There can be no doubt that the Arctic is at the forefront of the international environmental science agenda, both from a scientific aspect, and also from a policy/environmental management perspective.

This book aims to stimulate a wide audience to think about the Arctic by highlighting the remarkable breadth of what it means to study its ecology. Arctic Ecology seeks to systematically introduce the diverse array of ecologies within the Arctic region. As the Arctic rapidly changes, understanding the fundamental ecology underpinning the Arctic is paramount to understanding the consequences of what such change will inevitably bring about.

Arctic Ecology is designed to provide graduate students of environmental science, ecology and climate change with a source where Arctic ecology is addressed specifically, with issues due to climate change clearly discussed. It will also be of use to policy-makers, researchers and international agencies who are focusing on ecological issues and effects of global climate change in the Arctic.



About the Editor

David N. Thomas is Professor of Arctic Ecosystem Research in the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki. Previously he spent 24 years in the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Wales. He studies marine systems, with a particular emphasis on sea ice and land-coast interactions in the Arctic and Southern Oceans as well as the Baltic Sea. He also edited a related book: Sea Ice, 3rd Edition (2017), which is also published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Table of Content

Preface

List of Contributors

Chapter 1

What is the Arctic?

Kjell Danell

Chapter 2

Arctic ecology – a palaeoenvironmental perspective.

Michael Pisaric and John P. Smol

Chapter 3

Climate change in the Arctic.

Edward Hanna, Joseph E. Nolan, James E. Overland and Richard J. Hall

Chapter 4

Arctic permafrost and ecosystem functioning.

Torben R. Christensen

Chapter 5

Arctic tundra

John Hobbie, Gaius Shaver, Toke Høye and Joseph Bowden

Chapter 6

Ecology of Arctic glaciers.

Alexandre M. Anesio and Johanna Laybourn-Parry

Chapter 7

Ecology of Arctic lakes and ponds.

Erik Jeppesen, Kirsten S. Christoffersen, Milla Rautio and Torben L. Lauridsen

Chapter 8

Ecology of Arctic streams and rivers.

Alexander D. Huryn

Chapter 9

Ecology of Arctic pelagic communities.

Malin Daase, Jørgen Berge, Janne E. Søreide and Stig Falk-Petersen

Chapter 10

Ecology of Arctic sea ice.

CJ Mundy and Klaus M. Meiners

Chapter 11

Ecology of Arctic shallow subtidal and intertidal benthos.

Paul E. Renaud, Jan Marcin Weslawski and Kathleen Conlan

Chapter 12

Ecology of Arctic shelf and deep ocean benthos.

Monika Kedra and Jacqueline M. Grebmeier

Chapter 13

Fat, furry, flexible and functionally important: Characteristics of mammals living in the Arctic.

Niels M. Schmidt, Olivier Gilg, Jon Aars and Rolf A. Ims

Chapter 14

Ecology of Arctic Birds.

Anthony D. Fox

Chapter 15

Arctic Ecology, indigenous peoples and environmental governance.

Mark Nuttall

Index

About the author

About the Editor

DAVID N. THOMAS is Professor of Arctic Ecosystem Research in the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki. Previously he spent 24 years in the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Wales, where he is now an Honorary Professor. He studies marine systems, with a particular emphasis on sea ice and land-coast interactions in the Arctic and Southern Oceans as well as the Baltic Sea. He also edited a related book: Sea Ice, 3rd Edition (2017), which is also published by Wiley-Blackwell.