Actual Arctic kelp coverage around Southampton Island and in Pond Inlet area, Nunavut, Canada (2019)

Kelp forests, comprised of large brown macroalgae, provide valuable marine habitats and form a significant component of vegetated marine Arctic coastal ecosystems, providing shelter and food for economically and ecologically important species (Filbee-Dexter et al. 2019). Documented stands of kelp occur along the Arctic and subarctic coastlines between Ellesmere Island and Labrador, and along coasts in Lancaster Sound, Ungava, Hudson, Baffin, and Resolute Bays (Lee 1973, Adey and Hayek 2011, Wiencke and Amsler 2012, Wilce 2016). To date, however, we lack baseline measures of the extent of kelps in much of the region. This critical knowledge gap is particularly worrisome given rapid ongoing environmental changes along Arctic coasts (AMAP 2017) and recent declines in kelp forests globally (Duarte et al. 2018, Wernberg et al. 2018). The project ArcticKelp aims to create collaborative research that addresses the central research question: how will ongoing and future climate change impact Arctic kelp forests and their roles in local ecosystems? Our objectives are to1.create predictive, actual and anticipated maps of Arctic kelp coverage (or distribution); and2.assess how changing Arctic environmental conditions impact kelp eco-physiological performances.