INTEGRATED ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH PROGRAMS
The overarching question that the Arctic IERP will address is: How will reductions in Arctic sea ice and the associated changes in the physical environ- ment influence the flow of energy through the ecosystem in the Chukchi Sea? Specifically, the Arctic IERP will examine: • Transport, seasonal composition, distribution, and production of phytoplankton, particulate matter, zooplankton, fishes, benthic invertebrates, seabirds, and marine mammals; • Timing, magnitude, and fate of the primary and secondary productivity; • Partitioning/flux of energy between pelagic and benthic realms; • Distribution, condition, and standing stocks of large crustacean zooplankton that serve as the prey base for upper trophic level fishes and seabirds; • Assemblages, distributions, abundances, and condition of larval and early juvenile fishes that influence the recruitment success of later life stages; • Density of marine mammals and seabirds; and • Human use of, and interaction with, the marine environment. The Arctic IERP was developed with the interests of Alaskan Arctic communities in mind. In 2013, the Pacific Marine Arctic Regional Synthesis (PacMARS), administered by NPRB and funded using $1.45 million provided by Shell and ConocoPhillips, conducted meetings with community members in the North Slope, Northwest Arctic, and Bering Strait regions. Community members shared their concerns about the marine ecosystem, and NPRB sought to develop a research program that would address them. The results of the Arctic IERP will provide information that is relevant to food security and potential shifts in the abundance, distribution, and timing of subsistence resources, for example.
NPRB will provide $7 million to support the science associated with the Arctic Integrated Ecosystem Research Program in 2016-2021. The program is conducted in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Collaborative Alaskan Arctic Studies Program (formerly the North Slope Borough/Shell Baseline Studies Program), and Office of Naval Research Marine Mammals & Biology Program. Generous in-kind support is provided by National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (Alaska Fisheries Science Center and Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory), University of Alaska Fairbanks, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and National Science Foundation. The Arctic IERP represents an investment from all partners of more than $18 million over the course of five years. NPRB will provide a minimum of $1 million in additional funding to support a synthesis phase that will follow the field program beginning in 2022 and is actively seeking funding partners. NPRB is particularly interested in funding modeling projects that will use the data generated by the field program to improve understanding of ecosystem processes, test hypotheses about how loss of sea ice and warming water temperatures may change ecosystem dynamics in the future, and expand local and regional results to a pan-Arctic scale. The Arctic IERP seeks to better understand the mechanisms and processes that structure the ecosystem and influence the distribution, life history, and interactions of biological communities in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. This research is timely because the region has experienced dramatic reductions in sea ice extent, duration, and volume in recent years accompanied by associated changes in oceanographic patterns and changes in the distribution and timing of biological production.
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N O R T H P A C I F I C R E S E A R C H B O A R D
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