The Arctic char species complex, sensu stricto, represent a key component of the marine and freshwater ecosystems of the north. Chars are stressed by factors such as fisheries, climate change and pollutants. We are possibly altering char biodiversity without documenting it and understanding its relevance. Concerted pan-Arctic biodiversity assessments, sustained research, and coordinated monitoring of chars are required to outline the scope of div...

Scientists are just beginning to learn about the many species in the remote, deep waters of the polar oceans. Corals, for example, are not limited to the warm, shallow waters of the tropics. They also exist in many cold, deep waters all over the world, including Arctic and sub-Antarctic waters. Coral reefs are marine ridges or mounds, which have formed over millennia as a result of the deposition of calcium carbonate by living organisms, predomin...

Forest distribution in Scandinavia is affected by several different species. This is to demonstrate the concentration of lodgepole pine (pinus contorta) in Sweden. The lodgepole pine is a tall, slender tree with a narrow loose crown reaching up to 80 feet tall.

The most threatening event for the Caspian ecosystem was the arrival of the North American comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi). It was brought accidentally to the Caspian in the ballast water of oil tankers. Invasive and alien species can exploit ecological niches that are not currently occupied, and spread rapidly, out-competing indigenous species.

Wolverines occur in various distinct populations across the circumpolar region, ranging from Fennoscandia and the Russian Federation, Mongolia and China, through to Alaska, Canada, and some of the northernmost states of the USA. Habitat loss and fragmentation, small population size and low genetic diversity, harvesting, illegal poaching, and reductions in wolverines’ prey base all contribute to overall global declines in wolverine populations. Th...

The red king crab is native to the Okhotsk and Japan Seas, the Bering Sea, and the northern Pacific Ocean, where it is an important economic resource. In Alaskan waters, red king crabs have historically been the second most valuable species to fishermen after salmon, although since the 1980s overharvesting has led to the closure of some areas to fishing. The king crab also has an invasive distribution in the Barents Sea. Since its introduction in...

Seven species of marine mammals live in the Arctic year-round – the bowhead whale, beluga whale, narwhal, ringed seal, beaded seal, walrus, and polar bear - and many more migrate to the Arctic seasonally. Many marine mammals aggregate in specific areas across the Arctic, for example to feed, or for whelping, pupping or moulting. A common feature of marine mammals in the Arctic is that they are associated with sea ice, although the ecological rela...

Large-scale commercial harvests are restricted to harp and hooded seals, except for the hooded seal population in the Jan Mayen area of the Greenland Sea. Both species faced intense commercial hunting in the 19th and 20th centuries, first for oil, and later mainly for the highly prized pelts of pups.Seal products nowadays also include a significant aphrodisiac trade (particularly for harp seal sex organs), and seal oil has become a popular health...

The thick-billed murre and common murre have ranges 1,000,000 km2 and number in the millions or tens of millions of breeding pairs. However global populations are declining, although increases have occurred in some regions. These seabirds, together with other species of alcids, face a number of direct and indirect marine and terrestrial threats, which influence their survival and reproductive success. These include transboundary pollutants, by-ca...

Distribution and observed trends of wild Rangifer populations throughout the circumpolar Arctic (from The Circum Arctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network, CARMA). Currently wild reindeer and caribou have declined by about 33% since populations (herds) peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s (3.8 million compared to 5.6 million) which followed almost universal increases in the 1970s and 1980s. In Arctic Eurasia reindeer herding represents a l...

The Arctic plays host to a vast array of biodiversity, including many globally significant populations. Included among these are more than half of the world´s shorebird species, 80% of the global goose populations, several million reindeer and caribou, and many unique mammals, such as the polar bear. During the short summer breeding season, 279 species of birds arrive from as far away as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and South America to ...

Protected areas have long been viewed as a key element for maintaining and conserving Arctic biodiversity and the functioning landscapes upon which species depend. Arctic protected areas have been established in strategically important and representative areas, helping to maintain crucial ecological features, e.g., caribou migration and calving areas, shorebird and waterfowl staging and nesting sites, seabird colonies, and critical components of ...

The Arctic plays host to a vast array of biodiversity, including many globally significant populations. Included among these are more than half of the world´s shorebird species, 80% of the global goose populations, several million reindeer and caribou, and many unique mammals, such as the polar bear. During the short summer breeding season, 279 species of birds arrive from as far away as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and South America to ...

Biodiversity is vitally important to human well-being as it provides ecosystem services on which humans depend. For many species that are sensitive to even small variations in climate, their primary threat is climate change. Variations in climate affect different species of flora and fauna differently, producing, in some cases, a disruption in food chains and/or in reproductive patterns. It is therefore necessary to reduce or control greenhouse g...

The coastal Arctic food web is closely related to drift ice conditions and seasonal use of shorelines by both terrestrial and sea mammals. Numerous species depend upon each other and the transport of food to and from the marine areas to the coast and inland. Indigenous peoples use most of the food chain and traditionally use both environments for hunting, fishing and gathering.

Climate change poses a threat to wildlife because as climatic conditions change, many species may be unable to tolerate the changes. This graphic shows the numbers of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish species that are critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable in various regions of Africa and in Africa as a whole, as of 1998.

Distribution and spawning areas of arctic cod, polar cod, herring and capelin in the Barents Sea region. The Barents region is in the Arctic and covers the area of Western Russia and the northern areas of Finland, Sweden and Norway.

Forest distribution in Scandinavia is affected by several different species. This is to demonstrate the concentration of lodgepole pine (pinus contorta) in Sweden. The lodgepole pine is a tall, slender tree with a narrow loose crown reaching up to 80 feet tall.

This indicator has been adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity to measure progress towards the 2010 target

Ramin, Gonystylus sp., is a group of tropical hardwood species in South East Asia, listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, and the trade of the timber is regulated under CITES. Illegal logging of these species is common in Indonesia, even in protected areas. The timber is transported to sawmills in Indonesia and Malaysia and further exported to destinations in Asia, North America, Europe and elsewhere. Final market prices might amount to as hi...