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ARCTIC SEMINAR SERIES: Arctic biodiversity and climate change – long and short term effects on flora and fauna in Greenland

29.04.2014 | Projekt sekretær ARC Mia Korsbæk

Dato tir 06 maj
Tid 15:00 16:00
Sted AIAS, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, building 1632, room 203

Presentation by Toke T. Høye, Jens Christian Schou fellow, Aarhus Insitute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University

 

Climate change is identified as the most critical threat to Arctic biodiversity. Polar environments represent the extreme end of global climate gradients and with warming the species inhabiting polar environments are particularly prone to loose habitat. This is particularly true of terrestrial environments, where warming occurs much faster and local environmental gradients are steeper than in aquatic environments. At the same time, our knowledge of the most diverse groups of terrestrial organisms like arthropods is extremely limited. We are unable to identify biodiversity hotspots and for instance the red data book for Greenland only covers five species of butterfly species of over 600 species known from Greenland. Hence, we are a long way from being able to identify areas and species of particular conservation concern. In this talk, I will present recent results and plans for future field campaigns in Greenland to fill this knowledge gap.

The Arctic Seminars is a forum for interdisciplinary discussions on research perspectives in the Arctic region. The presenters in the Seminar series come from a variety of disciplines across the four faculties involved in ARC.  All interested are welcome to participate. There will be coffee and tea during the seminar.

Tags: Northern Clouded Yellow (Colias hecla)