Environmental conditions in the Arctic are changing rapidly, affecting both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Air temperatures are increasing over much of the Arctic, and the geographical extent of summer sea ice has decreased dramatically; in 2007, summer sea ice extent was 39% below the average for the past 30 years. Projections indicate that by the end of the century summer sea ice could decrease to the point where the Arctic is ice free in the summer months. In addition, human industrial activity (e.g., oil and gas production, mining, marine transport, commercial fishing, and tourism) in the Arctic is expected to increase as a consequence of warmer temperatures and longer open water seasons. With increased human activity comes increased risk of harmful effects on ecosystems, although such effects often can be avoided or mitigated if they are identified prior to or early in the development of new industrial ventures.
The risk of extinction for terrestrial and marine species increases with both rapid environmental change and increased human pressure. In most cases, it is difficult or even impossible to distinguish between environmental and anthropogenic impacts on wildlife populations without adequate monitoring of the populations and their ecosystems. Effective wildlife management and sustainable development both require that such distinctions be made. A monitoring program should be able to (1) detect important changes in the status of the target wildlife population or species, (2) identify the natural or anthropogenic cause(s) of those changes, and, most importantly, (3) do so in time to allow the development and implementation of effective strategies to mitigate anthropogenic threats so that the population or species can persist and maintain its role in the ecosystem.
A workshop was held March 4th to 6th, 2007 at L'Oceanogràfic in Valencia, Spain to begin the process of developing such monitoring plans for two arctic marine mammal species: the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). These two species were selected for a variety of reasons including their circumpolar distribution, the availability of historic and recent data on their status in at least some regions, and their importance to indigenous communities. The resulting plans are currently being developed based on the results of the workshop and will be provided to the Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna working group and will be a key contribution to the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program. The plans also will be provided to relevant resource management agencies in Arctic nations to inform their monitoring efforts and promote international collaboration in monitoring shared species; ringed seals and beluga whales both have circumpolar distributions and, thus, occur in the waters of many arctic nations. Finally, the plans hopefully will serve as mechanisms for attracting, prioritizing, and coordinating long-term funding for monitoring needs. The final monitoring plans are expected to available by mid-2008.
Two of the three documents posted on this page, ‘Background Document for Development of a Circumpolar Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida) Monitoring Plan’ and ‘Background Document for Development of a Circumpolar Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) Monitoring Plan’, are preliminary summaries of information used to inform the workshop. The opinions expressed in these documents are those of the authors and do not, necessarily, represent the opinions of the other workshop participants or the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission. The other document, 'Arctic Workshop Report', is a brief report summarizing the results of the workshop.
