title: Ecological consequences of sea-ice decline.
abstract: After a decade with nine of the lowest arctic sea-ice minima on record, including the historically low minimum in 2012, we synthesize recent developments in the study of ecological responses to sea-ice decline. Sea-ice loss emerges as an important driver of marine and terrestrial ecological dynamics, influencing productivity, species interactions, population mixing, gene flow, and pathogen and disease transmission. Major challenges in the near future include assigning clearer attribution to sea ice as a primary driver of such dynamics, especially in terrestrial systems, and addressing pressures arising from human use of arctic coastal and near-shore areas as sea ice diminishes.
authors.affiliation: The Polar Center, and Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. esp10@psu.edu
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Post
authors.forename: Uma S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Bhatt
authors.forename: Cecilia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bitz
authors.forename: Jedediah F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Brodie
authors.forename: Tara L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Fulton
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hebblewhite
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kerby
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kutz
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stirling
authors.forename: Donald A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms; D001110:Arctic Regions; D057231:Climate Change; D006801:Humans; D046448:Ice Cover; D007448:Invertebrates; D063245:Plant Development; D012623:Seawater; D014714:Vertebrates