Unexpected Levels of Biological Activity during the Polar Night Offer New Perspectives on a Warming Arctic
Jørgen Berge
(1, 2)
,
Malin Daase
(1)
,
Paul e. Renaud
(2, 3)
,
William g. Ambrose Jr.
(3, 4)
,
Gerald Darnis
(3)
,
Kim s. Last
(5)
,
Eva Leu
(3)
,
Jonathan h. Cohen
(6)
,
Geir Johnsen
(7, 2)
,
Mark a. Moline
(6)
,
Finlo Cottier
(1, 5)
,
Øystein Varpe
(3, 2)
,
Natalia Shunatova
(8)
,
Piotr Bałazy
,
Nathalie Morata
(9)
,
Jean-Charles Massabuau
(10)
,
Stig Falk-Petersen
(1, 2)
,
Ksenia Kosobokova
,
Clara j. M. Hoppe
(11)
,
Jan marcin Węsławski
,
Piotr Kukliński
,
Joanna Legeżyńska
,
Daria Nikishina
(8)
,
Marine Cusa
(1)
,
Monika Kędra
,
Maria Włodarska-Kowalczuk
,
Daniel Vogedes
(1, 2)
,
Lionel Camus
(3)
,
Damien Tran
(10)
,
Emma Michaud
(9)
,
Tove m. Gabrielsen
(2)
,
Andrei Granovitch
(8)
,
Anya Gonchar
(8)
,
Rupert Krapp
(1)
,
Trine a. Callesen
(2)
1
UiT -
The Arctic University of Norway [Tromsø, Norway]
2 UNIS - The University Centre in Svalbard
3 Akvaplan-Niva [Tromsø]
4 Bates College
5 SAMS - Scottish Association for Marine Science
6 School of Marine Science and Policy
7 NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology [Trondheim]
8 SPBU - Saint Petersburg State University
9 LEMAR - Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (LEMAR)
10 EPOC - Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCéaniques
11 AWI - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
2 UNIS - The University Centre in Svalbard
3 Akvaplan-Niva [Tromsø]
4 Bates College
5 SAMS - Scottish Association for Marine Science
6 School of Marine Science and Policy
7 NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology [Trondheim]
8 SPBU - Saint Petersburg State University
9 LEMAR - Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (LEMAR)
10 EPOC - Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCéaniques
11 AWI - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
Piotr Bałazy
- Fonction : Auteur
Ksenia Kosobokova
- Fonction : Auteur
Jan marcin Węsławski
- Fonction : Auteur
Piotr Kukliński
- Fonction : Auteur
Joanna Legeżyńska
- Fonction : Auteur
Monika Kędra
- Fonction : Auteur
Maria Włodarska-Kowalczuk
- Fonction : Auteur
Damien Tran
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 741717
- IdHAL : damien-tran
- IdRef : 166760773
Emma Michaud
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 180621
- IdHAL : emma-michaud
- ORCID : 0000-0002-7304-4069
- IdRef : 112500358
Résumé
Summary The current understanding of Arctic ecosystems is deeply rooted in the classical view of a bottom-up controlled system with strong physical forcing and seasonality in primary-production regimes. Consequently, the Arctic polar night is commonly disregarded as a time of year when biological activities are reduced to a minimum due to a reduced food supply. Here, based upon a multidisciplinary ecosystem-scale study from the polar night at 79°N, we present an entirely different view. Instead of an ecosystem that has entered a resting state, we document a system with high activity levels and biological interactions across most trophic levels. In some habitats, biological diversity and presence of juvenile stages were elevated in winter months compared to the more productive and sunlit periods. Ultimately, our results suggest a different perspective regarding ecosystem function that will be of importance for future environmental management and decision making, especially at a time when Arctic regions are experiencing accelerated environmental change.