Sea Ice Ecology

The dynamic Arctic sea ice environment of various ice types and open ocean is a prosperous habitat to a set of interdependent organisms at all trophic levels (Figure 1). The success of this habitation depends on a delicate balance of atmospheric condition, ice quality and water attributes to provide a capacity for hunting, feeding, natal care, migration, shelter and fortification. Additionally, the immigration of foreign species with reduced sea ice obstruction could distress this synergetic ecosystem (Norwegian Polar Institute, 2013).

Click on organisms for more information

Arctic Ecosystem DiagramPolar Bear Bearded Seal Glaucous Gull Zooplankton KrillPhytoplankton BloomBowhead Whale & Killer Whale Ringed Seal Arctic ShrimpWalrusArctic Cod Arctic Prawn Image Map

Figure 1: Interactive Map of physical and ecological structure of sea ice. Adapted from Audun Igesund, Norwegian Polar Institute.

References
Sea Ice Links


Material on this page was provided by Maren Pauly, Department of Geography, University of Waterloo

Last updated on 06/11/2017