Tundra arthropods provide key insights into ecological responses to environmental change

Abstract

Arthropods perform critically important functions in food webs and ecosystems and are highly sensitive to the effects of environmental change. Despite their importance, the knowledge gaps in arthropod ecology are substantial. This is particularly problematic in Earth's polar and alpine regions, where tundra ecosystems are responding rapidly to climate change. Species diversity is lower in these regions versus temperate and tropical regions, but (1) we lack baseline and long-term data about the distributions and abundances of arthropods and their relationships to abiotic variation and (2) the roles of arthropods in these ecosystems are far from fully described. In recognition of the need for increased tundra arthropod research activity, a group of international scientists formed the Network for Arthropods of the Tundra (NeAT). In the past 3 years, this academic network has brought together entomologists from research institutions around the world to revitalize and coordinate the study of tundra arthropods. This special issue on the ecology of tundra arthropods represents a tangible example of this increased momentum. The papers in the special issue highlight recent advances in understanding the relationships between arthropod communities and abiotic variation in tundra ecosystems and clarify the roles that arthropods play in ecosystems. They collectively demonstrate the utility of tundra arthropods as a model system for testing general ecological theory about how species respond to environmental variation. We hope this special issue with the insights it provides and the new frontiers it outlines, together with NeAT, will leverage further momentum to the interest in, and study of the ecology of tundra arthropods in the years to come.

A DNA Barcoding Survey of an Arctic Arthropod Community: Implications for Future Monitoring

“…Accurate and efficient arthropod biodiversity monitoring in the Arctic is needed to document changes in community structure and to detect the arrival of new species, including potential disease vectors. Although arthropod communities have been identified as a prospective model for studying general ecological responses to environmental variation, the lack of baseline data has been identified as an important shortfall [6]. Specific responses of different arthropods to climate variation differ considerably, depending on taxon and locality [7]; therefore, detailed knowledge of taxonomy is a necessary prerequisite for tracking the changes happening at the ecological community level.…”

Global Impacts of Climate Change on Avian Functional Diversity

“…Currently there are considerable gaps in our understanding of how novel species combinations (e.g. frugivore-fruit combinations) are likely to function (Corlett, 2011;Høye & Culler, 2018), but functional trait data may provide insights by determining how species are likely to interact.…”

Taxonomic, temporal, and spatial variation in the dynamics of High-Arctic arthropod populations

“…In any case, taxa that are correlated in abundance provide interesting focal points for future work. To advance the field of insect population dynamics, we need to support more basic work on the resource requirements, climatic constraints, and biological feed-backs of tundra arthropod species and their interactions (15, 40, 60).…”

“…From there, relevant modelling tools can be further developed to scale-up paired arthropod and micro-climatic data. Together such future advances to our understanding of arthropod population dynamics require interdisciplinary efforts such as those stimulated by the Network for Arthropods of the Tundra (60).…”