Multi-decadal environmental change in the Barents Sea recorded by seal teeth


de la Vega, Camille, Buchanan, Pearse J, Tagliabue, Alessandro ORCID: 0000-0002-3572-3634, Hopkins, Joanne E, Jeffreys, Rachel M ORCID: 0000-0001-6114-2334, Frie, Anne Kirstine, Biuw, Martin, Kershaw, Joanna, Grecian, James, Norman, Louisa et al (show 3 more authors) (2022) Multi-decadal environmental change in the Barents Sea recorded by seal teeth GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 28 (9). pp. 3054-3065. ISSN 1354-1013, 1365-2486

Access the full-text of this item by clicking on the Open Access link.

Abstract

Multiple environmental forcings, such as warming and changes in ocean circulation and nutrient supply, are affecting the base of Arctic marine ecosystems, with cascading effects on the entire food web through bottom-up control. Stable nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) can be used to detect and unravel the impact of these forcings on this unique ecosystem, if the many processes that affect the δ15N values are constrained. Combining unique 60-year records from compound specific δ15N biomarkers on harp seal teeth alongside state-of-the-art ocean modelling, we observed a significant decline in the δ15N values at the base of the Barents Sea food web from 1951 to 2012. This strong and persistent decadal trend emerges due to the combination of anthropogenic atmospheric nitrogen deposition in the Atlantic, increased northward transport of Atlantic water through Arctic gateways and local feedbacks from increasing Arctic primary production. Our results suggest that the Arctic ecosystem has been responding to anthropogenically induced local and remote drivers, linked to changing ocean biology, chemistry and physics, for at least 60 years. Accounting for these trends in δ15N values at the base of the food web is essential to accurately detect ecosystem restructuring in this rapidly changing environment.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Arctic, Atlantification, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, harp seal, stable nitrogen isotopes
Divisions: Faculty of Science & Engineering > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 31 Mar 2022 10:29
Last Modified: 16 Jun 2026 10:28
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16138
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16138
Related Websites:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3151828
Disclaimer: The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate.
Altmetric
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)