By Shivangi Mishra
The Arctic Ocean is experiencing the most pronounced effects of climate change. Ongoing warming, acidification and decreasing sea ice, impacting critical marine habitats and the biota and bioresources found within, highlight the urgent need to address these impacts. Marine biodiversity plays a vital role in maintaining the health of marine ecosystems at all levels, from microbes to whales. It is essential to monitor and understand marine biodiversity to predict and address changes in genetic and organismal diversity effectively and to incorporate this knowledge alongside traditional sources to protect bioresources (e.g., food organisms) for future sustainability in an era of Indigenous and Western co-management.
Rising temperatures are altering the Arctic ecosystem's food chain, affecting everything from primary producers (such as marine algae) that maintain a healthy supply of food organisms for consumption further up the food chain (e.g., fishes, birds and mammals). Conservation efforts can help enhance the resilience of Arctic ecosystems. Indigenous peoples depend on marine mammals and fish for food security, making a healthy marine environment vital to their well-being. Indigenous peoples rely on marine mammals and fish as essential sources of nutrition, making the health of marine ecosystems crucial for their food security and overall well-being. A thriving marine environment sustains their physical health, supports cultural practices and traditional livelihoods, and preserves their way of life.
Since 2015, the Canadian Polar Data Workshop (CPDW) has provided a platform to promote and enhance polar data initiatives in Canada. These workshops, designed with specific goals in mind, have played a key role in shaping Canada's national polar data strategies and advancing objectives in finding data, searching across different systems, making sure different systems can share data and exchange knowledge easily.
At the CPDW5 workshop, a genomics side meeting entitled "Incorporating Applied Genomics and DNA-based Tools into an Ecosystem-Level Framework to Manage Arctic Marine Biota" was held from May 27–28, 2024, at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS, Canada. This two-day event focused on the utility of genomics and DNA-based methods for studying and managing Arctic marine and estuarine biodiversity, including marine mammal populations and vertebrate and invertebrate fisheries. The workshop explored how the changing Arctic impacts fundamental ecosystem-level relationships, including species distributions and intraspecific genomic variation. The workshop showcased the ability of genomics information to add value to the co-management of resources, including predicting adaptive responses to future environmental change and triaging most at-risk populations. Adopting a 'two-eyed seeing approach' means looking at the world using Western science and Indigenous knowledge, the workshop featured presentations and discussions with speakers and attendees from Indigenous rights organizations, provincial and federal agencies, academia, and the private sector. This workshop welcomed a diverse knowledge exchange, allowing participants to voice their concerns about implementing DNA-based tools for co-managing Arctic biodiversity. This shared interest in environmental and ecological well-being sparked discussions on the need for continued cooperation. The group agreed on the value of further work and dialogue, with commitments to upcoming workshops, such as Marine Animal Genomics in Kuujjuaq (MAGIK) workshop, the development of reports and manuscripts from previous workshops, and ongoing collaboration with initiatives like Genomic Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change (GenARCC). These efforts aim to deepen understanding and foster collective action in these critical areas.
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