Date

Session Announcement and Call for Papers
Arctic Marine Communities and Biodiversity
2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting
2-7 March 2008
Orlando, Florida

Abstract Submission Deadline: Tuesday, 2 October 2007

For further information, please go to:
http://aslo.org/meetings/orlando2008/


Papers are invited for Session 053: "Arctic Marine Communities and
Biodiversity" being convened at the 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting on 2-7
March 2008 in Orlando, Florida. The meeting is co-sponsored by the
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, American Geophysical
Union, The Oceanography Society, and Estuarine Research Federation.

Session Description:
This session is intended for presentations on recent findings relating
to arctic marine biodiversity in an ecological context, including
results from the 'Arctic Marine Biodiversity' cluster endorsed by the
International Polar Year. The Arctic Ocean is the area where the effects
of climate change are expected to be most rapidly expressed. The ongoing
changes make an effort to identify the communities and diversity of life
in the major three realms of the Arctic (sea ice, water column, and sea
floor) an urgent issue. Changes in environmental conditions will have
direct effects on the marine biota on multiple levels, from communities
to populations to individuals. Processes are critically impacted by the
composition of biota involved in them. Species-level information is
therefore essential to discussions about climate change or anthropogenic
impact, their expressions, and effects. Recent efforts within and beyond
the Census of Marine Life and in the framework of the International
Polar Year have greatly advanced our understanding of arctic marine
biodiversity and its relation to ecosystem functioning. Session
organizers invite contributions that look at either new collections or
long-term monitoring of species and communities.

Session organizers specifically encourage submissions covering the
topics:
- Arctic marine ecosystem structure;
- Arctic marine species distribution and diversity; and
- Impacts of sea ice loss and arctic warming on arctic marine
ecosystems.

Organizers:
Rolf Gradinger
University of Alaska Fairbanks
E-mail: rgradinger [at] ims.uaf.edu

Russ Hopcroft
University of Alaska Fairbanks
E-mail: rhopcroft [at] ims.uaf.edu

Bodil Bluhm
University of Alaska Fairbanks
E-mail: bluhm [at] ims.uaf.edu

For further information and to submit an abstract, please go to:
http://aslo.org/meetings/orlando2008/