Multi-decadal environmental change in the Barents Sea recorded by seal teeth.

ABSTRACT: Multiple environmental forcings, such as warming and changes in ocean circulation and nutrient supply, are affecting the base of Arctic marine ecosystems, with cascading effects on the entire food web through bottom-up control. Stable nitrogen isotopes (δ¹⁵ N) can be used to detect and unravel the impact of these forcings on this unique ecosystem, if the many processes that affect the δ¹⁵ N values are constrained. Combining unique 60-year records from compound specific δ¹⁵ N biomarkers on harp seal teeth alongside state-of-the-art ocean modelling, we observed a significant decline in the δ¹⁵ N values at the base of the Barents Sea food web from 1951 to 2012. This strong and persistent decadal trend emerges due to the combination of anthropogenic

SUBMITTER: de la Vega C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9314922 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature