The Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean is experiencing major reductions in seasonal sea ice extent and increases in ocean temperatures. Emerging observations indicate that these changes are driving shifts in both water column and benthic species composition that likely signal large-scale ecosystem reorganization. The Bering Strait region is a critical crossroads for the Arctic as the Pacific water transiting the system is one of the largest point sources of nutrients, heat and freshwater to the surface Arctic Ocean. One of the key uncertainties in the region relates to understanding how the marine biological system will respond seasonally to the earlier ice retreat and delayed autumn formation and what implications these changes have on the functioning of the marine ecosystem in this highly productive region. Potential biological impacts include shifts in species composition and abundance, northward range expansions, and changes in lower trophic level productivity that directly cascade to the life cycles of higher trophic level organisms. Data from several oceanographic programs undertaken during the Internation Polar Year, as well as longer-term times series measurements, are providing insights into the key processes influencing ecosytem function in this region. This presentation will evaluate the status and trends of the marine biological system as it responds to the rapid environmental forcing occurring in the Pacific Arctic region.

Dr. Grebmeier received a B.A. in Zoology from the University of California, Davis; a M.S. in Biology from Stanford University; a M.A. in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington; and a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the University of Alaska. She is a research professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, which is an environmental research facility at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences (UMCES), and an adjunct professor with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interests include pelagic-benthic coupling on continental shelves, benthic ecology, invertebrate zoology, contaminant distributions, and high latitude oceanography.

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