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RCTIC LORA
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INTRODUCTION 1

A F
RCTIC LORA
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S T A T U S A N D C O N S E R V A T I O N
E D I TA H E L S I N K I
EDITORIAL TEAM:
Project lead: Paula Kankaanpää (Arctic Centre, University of Lapland/Ministry of Environment, Finland)
Lead author: Henry P. Huntington (Huntington Consulting, USA),
Project management: Snorri Baldursson (CAFF Secretariat, Iceland),
Project coordination and technical layout: Anna-Liisa Sippola (Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Finland)
Graphics coordination: Seppo Kaitala (University of Helsinki, Finland)
Species information and graphics coordination: Christoph Zöckler (UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, UK)
Other members: Anne Gunn (Government of Northwest Territories, Canada), Marina Mirutenko (All-Russian Institute of Nature Protection, Russia), Peter
Prokosch (WWF Arctic Programme, Norway), Arkady Tishkov (Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia).
CONTRIBUTORS:
Preparation of maps and figures: S. Blyth, N. Cox, K. Kiviaho, I. Lysenko, L. Malm, J. Nieminen
Main review: O. W. Heal
Chapter reviewers: T. Fenge, C. Freese, E. Helander, B. Stonehouse, J. Svoboda, S. Tuhkanen, W. Vincent
Box authors:
Adrésson, Ó.S. Einarsson, Á Iljashenko, V. Mulders, R. Schliebe, S. Tishkov, A.
Arnalds, Ó. Fedorova, N. Ingimundarson, J.H. Ohenoja, E. Sippola, A-L. Vasander, H.
Baldursson, S. Gau, R.J. Itämies, J. Oksanen, T. Skúlason, S. Vongraven, D.
Belikov, S. Gulden, G. Kalxdorff, S. Pagnan, J. Smith, D. Wielgolaski, F.E.
Burek, K.A. Gunn, A. Leggat, A. Petersen, A. Snorrason, S. Vigfússon, O.
Byrd, V. Hamre, J. Magnússon, B. Pluzhnikov, N. Soppela, P. Vincent, W.
Chardine, J. Heal, B. Mann, D. H. Pospelova, E. Sowls, A. Virtanen, R.
Chernov, Y.U. Helle, T. Marteinsson, V. Prokosch, P. Springer, A.M. Vogt, P.
Cluff, H.D. Henttonen, H. McGovern, T.H. Ragnarsson, S.A. Svoboda, J. Zöckler, C.
Danks, H.V. Huberth-Hansen, J-P. Meltofte, H. Rasmus, S. Talbot, S.
Dyke, A. Huntington, H. P. Miller, F.L. Reist, J. Thorpe, N.
Eggertsson, Ó. Ikävalko, J. Miller, P.A. Rätti, O. Timonen, M.
Contributing experts:
Aamlid, D. Estes, J. Hebert, P. N. D. Kojola, I. Neuvonen, S. Stirling, I.
Aiken, S. Ewins, P. Hik, D. Kovacs, K. Nilsson, A. Strøm, H.
Alisauskas, R.T. Falk, K. Hines, J. Kullerud, L. Ollila, T. Sulyandziga, P.
Anderson, M.E. Feder, H. M. Hodkinson, I. D. Kurvits, T. Orlov, V. Sutherland , P.
Anker-Nilssen, T. Feldman, K. Hoefs, M. Legare, G. Pike, D. Svensen, E.
Arnbom, T. Forbes, B. Hummel, H. Lunn, N. Raillard, M Touborg, K.
Bakken, V. Fossum, P. Høegh, K. Machtans, C. Reid, J. Tyler, N.
Bogardus, D. Fosså, J.H. Jefferies, R. L. Markon, C. Rothe, T. C. Tynan, C.
Bogstad, B. Fritts, E. Johnson, L. McCormick, K. Rugh, D. J. Valkenburg, P.
Burch, E.S. Gilchrist, G. Johnson, V. McFarland, F. Russell, D. Weller, G.
Burn, C. Gilg, O. Johnston, J.D. McNair, M. Rydahl, K. Whiting, A.
Carriere, S. Grady, S. Kaissl, T. Mela, M. Semyonova, T. Williams, M.
De Groot, P. Grebmeier, J. M. Kampp, K. Meltofte, H. D. Simon, P. Yurtsev, B.
DeCicco, F. Hario, M. Kephart, J. Merkel, F. Sittler, B.
Dickson, L. Heal, O.W. Klein, D. R. Moore, S. E. Smol, J. P.
Douglas, M. Heath, M. Kline, T. Mortensen, P.B. Solovieva, D.
Duffy, D. Hebert, P. Kolpashnikov, L. Muir, M. Stephenson, B.
Contributing institutions: Arctic Centre, University of Lapland; BirdLife International; Norwegian Polar Institute; Institute of Biogeography, Russian Academy of
Sciences; UNEP-GRID Arendal; UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Financial and other support: Nordic Council of Ministers, National Science Foundation (U.S.), Ministry of the Environment Finland, Canadian Wildlife Service
– Environment Canada, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Iceland, Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency, Greenland Homerule Government, Directorate for Nature Management Norway
Photographs: Einarsson, A. Institute of Marine Løfaldli, L Prokosch, P. Tynys, T.
Antikainen, P. Falk, K. Research, Norway Magnusson, B. Sabard, B. Vasama, V.
Arnalds, O. Gilg, O. Kaikusalo, A. Mattsson, J. Sippola, A-L. Vasander H.
Bakke, T.A. Gislason, B. Kassens, H. Mikkola, K. Svensen, E. Virtanen R.
Bangjord, G. Heikkinen, O. Kristinsson, H. Miller, P. Talbot, S.L. Virtanen T.
Chardine, J. Hillmarsson, J.Ó. Leinonen, A. Nicklen, P. Tolvanen, P. Vogt P.
Dau, C. Ikävalko, J. Luhta, J. Overholt, J. Tuominen, O.
Paintings and drawings: M. Rapeli (pages 13, 104-105, 127, 156, 176, 210-212), Gerald Kuehl (page 44)
Väre H.
Zöckler, C.
Artistic layout: P. Kivekäs
Printing and binding: Oy Edita Ab
ISBN 9979-9476-5-9
C
ONTENTS
Preface ......................................................................................................9
INTRODUCTION 11
The Report...............................................................................................................11
Defining the Arctic...................................................................................................11
Box 1. The mission of CAFF .............................................................................................12
box 2. The Arctic Council .................................................................................................13
ECOLOGY 17
Climate.....................................................................................................................17
Shaping the climate...................................................................................................17
Characteristics of the Arctic climate..........................................................................18
box 3. Snow: physics, ecology, and climate change ...............................................................20
Spatial climatic variation...........................................................................................21
Climate variation with time ......................................................................................21
Box 4. The effects of past climates in the North American Arctic....................................22
Life in the Arctic.......................................................................................................24
The physical setting ..................................................................................................24
box 5. The North Atlantic Oscillation and reindeer husbandry............................................25
Responding to climate ..............................................................................................29
Finding favorable habitats.........................................................................................29
box 6. Variations in snow cover affect plants.......................................................................30
box 7. How land animals adapt to cold and snow...............................................................32
box 8. Insect adaptations in the High Arctic .......................................................................36
box 9. Staying warm in a cold climate........................................................................38
The importance of movement...................................................................................39
Ecological relationships.............................................................................................39
box 10. The volcanic island Surtsey: a natural experiment in colonization............................40
box 11. The role of fungi...................................................................................................41
Ecosystem relationships.............................................................................................42
box 12. The Arctic as a theater of evolution........................................................................44
The concept of biodiversity in the Arctic ..................................................................44
box 13. Microbes everywhere.....................................................................................45
box 14. The diversity of arctic char.............................................................................46
box 15. North-south trends in terrestrial species diversity ................................................48
HUMANS 51
The First People........................................................................................................51
box 16. Driftwood in the Arctic.................................................................................52
box 17. Reindeer and the peopling of the Yamal..................................................................54
Later Migrations .......................................................................................................57
Modern Development...............................................................................................59
box 18. Northern farming in a long-term perspective.....................................................60
Political Development...............................................................................................61
Current Settlement Patterns......................................................................................63
box 19. Co-management in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region..............................................64
box 20. Environmental impacts of diamond mining in the Canadian Arctic......................66
Use of Living Resources ............................................................................................67
box 22. Why pine trees have different names: a Khanty folk tale.......................................72
Cultural Significance of the Environment.................................................................73
box 23. The use of wild plants in northern Russia...............................................................74
CONSERVATION 77
Habitat.....................................................................................................................77
The role of smaller areas............................................................................................77
box 24. The Circumpolar Protected Areas Network (CPAN) ...............................................78
Wildlife.....................................................................................................................81
box 25. Protected areas in northern Fennoscandia: an important corridor for taiga species.....82
box 26. Protecting the Lena Delta-an example of the rapid growth
of protected areas in Russia.................................................................................................84
box 27. Threats to Arctic biodiversity – overview ................................................................86
Economic importance of harvests..............................................................................87
Industrial and Commercial Development .................................................................87
box 28. Unsustainable take of murres in Greenland............................................................88
box 29. CAFF International Murre Conservation Strategy and Action Plan.........................90
box 30. Success with geese: proof that conservation is working?.............................................93
Diffuse Threats .........................................................................................................95
box 31. Oil development impacts on the North Slope of Alaska............................................96
box 32. Habitat fragmentation: a threat to Arctic biodiversity and wilderness.......................98
box 33. Impacts of infrastructure: the Arctic 2050 scenario..................................................98
Understanding........................................................................................................100
box 34. Preserving sacred sites in the Russian Arctic ..........................................................100
box 35. Climate and caribou: Inuit knowledge of the impacts of climate change .................101
box 36. Tourism – threat or benefit to conservation?..........................................................102
box 37. Alien invasive species: a threat to global and Arctic biodiversity...........................104
box 38. International legal instruments for conservation....................................................106
box 39. U.S./Russia bilateral agreement on polar bears
breaks new ground in international conservation...............................................................108
FROM FOREST TO TUNDRA 110
The Region.............................................................................................................110
Key characteristics...................................................................................................111
Functionality ..........................................................................................................115
Interactions with other regions................................................................................116
6 INTRODUCTION
box 40. Mountain birch and the Nordic treeline...............................................................116
box 41. Paludification, fire, and topography structure the northern forest.............................117
Natural variability...................................................................................................118
Human uses and impacts........................................................................................118
box 42. Ary-Mas: an island of remnant forest...................................................................121
box 43. The introduced Nootka lupine in Iceland: benefit or threat? ..................................122
box 44. Forest management and biodiversity in Fennoscandian timberline forests................124
Climate change.......................................................................................................126
Conservation ..........................................................................................................128
THE TUNDRA AND THE POLAR DESERT 131
The Region.............................................................................................................131
box 45. The tundra and polar desert: dissimilarities between North America and Eurasia.......132
Key characteristics...................................................................................................133
box 46. Decomposition ensures recycling of nutrients.........................................................134
box 47. Mires and wetlands ............................................................................................136
box 48. Mosquitoes.........................................................................................................139
Functionality ..........................................................................................................139
box 49. Lemmings: key actors in the tundra food web.........................................................142
Interactions with other regions................................................................................144
box 50. Parasitism: an underestimated stressor of Arctic fauna?..........................................145
box 51. Sandpipers: birds of the tundra............................................................................146
Natural variability...................................................................................................147
Human uses and impacts........................................................................................150
box 52. Erosion in Iceland...............................................................................................153
Climate change.......................................................................................................154
box 53. Peary Caribou: extreme demands on an endangered caribou..................................156
box 54. Rare endemic vascular plants of the Arctic............................................................158
Conservation ..........................................................................................................160
RIVERS, LAKES, AND WETLANDS 163
The Region.............................................................................................................163
Key characteristics...................................................................................................164
box 55. Conserving arctic char ........................................................................................166
Functionality ..........................................................................................................167
box 56. Freshwater food webs ..........................................................................................168
Interactions with other regions................................................................................170
Natural variability...................................................................................................171
box 57. The Atlantic salmon: a species in trouble..............................................................172
Human uses and impacts........................................................................................172
box 58. Food web contaminants in Arctic freshwaters........................................................177
box 59. The Lake My’ Vatn ecosystem: many uses, many threats..........................................178
Climate change.......................................................................................................180
Conservation ..........................................................................................................180
INTRODUCTION 7
THE OCEANS AND SEAS 183
The Region.............................................................................................................183
Key characteristics...................................................................................................184
box 60. The BIOICE Research Program maps benthic biodiversity.....................................184
box 61. Vent and seep communities on the Arctic seafloor..............................................186
Functionality ..........................................................................................................187
Interactions with other regions................................................................................190
box 62. Life within sea ice...............................................................................................190
box 63. Living water in the frozen Arctic: the Great Siberian Polynya................................192
Natural variability...................................................................................................193
box 64. The Anadyr Current and ocean productivity in the Bering Strait area....................194
Human uses and impacts........................................................................................198
box 65. Beluga whale hunting in Russia...........................................................................200
box 66. The interaction of climate and fish stocks in the Barents Sea..................................202
box 67. Bycatch: a threat to seabirds in Arctic waters ........................................................203
box 68. Impacts of trawling on seabed animals and habitats..............................................204
box 69. Seabirds, foxes, and rats: conservation challenges on Bering Sea islands...................206
Climate change.......................................................................................................207
Conservation ..........................................................................................................208
STATUS AND TRENDS IN SPECIES AND POPULATIONS 211
box 70. Black guillemots in Iceland: a case-history of population changes 212
Population Levels and Trends..................................................................................214
box 71. Population fluctuations in Svalbard reindeer........................................................232
box 72. Wolves................................................................................................................234
box 73. Wolverine...........................................................................................................236
box 74. Brown Bears.......................................................................................................238
Passerines................................................................................................................239
box 75. Muskoxen ..........................................................................................................240
Globally Threatened Species ...................................................................................247
CONCLUSIONS 253
Ecology...................................................................................................................253
Humans..................................................................................................................253
Overexploitation.....................................................................................................253
Habitat Disturbance ...............................................................................................254
Biological Disturbance............................................................................................254
Contamination and Pollution .................................................................................254
Climate Change......................................................................................................255
Knowledge Gaps.....................................................................................................255
Conservation ..........................................................................................................255
List of English and Russian common names and Latin scientific.............................257
names of species mentioned in this book.................................................................257
List of Figures .........................................................................................................264
List of Tables...........................................................................................................266
8 INTRODUCTION
P
REFACE
(cid:1) It is with great pleasure that we present Arctic Flora and Fauna: Status and Conserva-
tion. This report draws on the diversity of projects that the Program for the Conserva-
tion of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) has undertaken in its first decade, underscoring
the need to address conservation on a circumpolar basis. We thus find it highly appropri-
ate that its publication coincides with the tenth anniversary of circumpolar Arctic envi-
ronmental cooperation, initiated in Rovaniemi, Finland, with the creation of the Arctic
Environmental Protection Strategy, which is now a central part of the Arctic Council.
The Arctic Council, at its meeting in Iqaluit, Canada, in 1998, requested that CAFF
prepare an overview of Arctic ecosystems, habitats, and species. The resulting report is not
a comprehensive scientific document, but a scientifically-based overview of the main
features of the Arctic ecoregion, its ecology, and the status of its flora and fauna. Written
for the non-specialist, the report highlights the importance of Arctic resources and proc-
esses for Arctic residents and for the world as a whole. General conclusions address the
current status of Arctic biodiversity and the main conservation challenges that face us. In
the months and years to come, it will be the task of CAFF and others to identify, develop,
and take the specific actions that are needed to conserve the Arctic’s unique natural heritage.
This report is a collective product of the member countries, permanent partici-
pants, and observers of the CAFF Program. Without their commitment and sup-
port, the project could not have been undertaken, much less successfully completed.
In addition, we thank all those who provided material for the report, reviewed drafts,
and contributed in other ways. This report is major step in CAFF’s efforts to look at
conservation issues from a circumpolar perspective. We will use it as the basis for
developing, in the months and years to come, specific assessments, recommenda-
tions, and actions to conserve the unique natural heritage of the Arctic region.
Projects of this kind do not happen solely as a result of good intentions and hard work.
They also require financial and other support. We are grateful to the Nordic Council of
Ministers, the U.S. National Science Foundation, WWF-Arctic Programme, and the gov-
ernments of the Arctic nations, all of which have provided funding support for the report.
It is our sincere hope that readers of this report will learn more about a fascinating
region of the planet, better understand its conservation challenges, and renew their
commitment to meeting those challenges so that future generations will continue to
enjoy Arctic flora and fauna.
Sune Sohlberg Chair of CAFF
Esko Jaakkola National Representative of Finland GREA
Gyrfalcon, Falco rusticolus GILG & SABARD/
INTRODUCTION 9
AleutianIslands POacciefiacn Kamchatka
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Lake SibNeerwian Lena River
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Labrador IBsalafnfidnBBaaffyin G(RDEeEnNmLaArNk)D FSrtraamit Svalbard NZeomvalyyaa ObRSiveibrPelariianInrtysh Irtysh River
SaiLnat kJeean DStaraviist GreSeenaland Bear Island BaSreeants Ural MountainsRiver
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ICELAND Norwegian OLankeega Volga River
Sea FINLAND Lake
Atlantic Faeroe Islands BGouthlfn oiaf Ladoga Volga
Ocean NORWAY
SWEDEN Baltic
Sea
North
Sea
Rhein
Elevation and Bathymetry
m 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 500 1 000 500 300 200 100 50 0 - 100 - 500 - 1 000 - 2 000 - 3 000 - 5 000
CAFF Boundary
Figure 1. The Arctic.
10 INTRODUCTION