More on Arctic Species...

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Stewart et al (2010)’s paper only provided a short introduction to the existence of Arctic species in Northern refugia. Although there have been debates surrounding the role of cryptic Northern refugia in the creation of new temperate species, scientists seem to be in agreement over the role of cryptic Northern refugia in the creation of Arctic species. I focused on the polar bear last time so here’s some information from Provan and Bennett (2008) about the some other Arctic species:

Source: Provan and Bennett 2008

Dalénet al (2005) published a paper that examines the history and genetic structure of the Arctic fox, Alopex lagopus. They explain that the Arctic fox flourishes in the cold circumpolar climates and is capable of long-distance migration. The fox, therefore, is different from many temperate species in that it was not restricted to glacial refugia during the Ice Ages. They suggest that glacial cycles affected the Arctic fox in the opposite way to temperate species; interglacials cause short term isolation in Northern refugia.

If polar species such as the Arctic fox are currently in refugia (which makes sense because during glacial periods they will have had much larger ranges), then the size of these refugial areas will surely decrease with continued anthropogenic climate change? It is likely that some of these species will have become extinct before their range increases again – have a look at this article from the National Geographic News that claims that 2/3 of the world’s polar bears could disappear by 2050 as the Arctic sea ice continues to melt (I haven’t checked the scientific sources this article is based on but, in general, there is a consensus that the Arctic climate is warming, see Kaufmanet al 2009)