Before the detailed presentation of works of authors, we want to draw attention of readers to the astonishing fact which is noticed by many polar researches at IPY meetings: in this global international cooperation biogeographical and environmental projects on the study of polar marine and terrestrial ecosystems dominate in number, size and scope.
Indeed, one of the authors during the work group arrangement of the Science Committee of the Arctic Council (ISIRA) on the international research of the Russian Arctic made the analysis of implementation results of the international and the national program for the third IPY. The preliminary analysis showed that despite the IPY tradition to focus on meteorological and geophysical research biogeographical and ecological projects aimed at the analysis of contemporary dynamics of biota and ecosystems, or at the paleoecological reconstruction of stages of the evolution of the nature of polar regions during the Pleistocene and Holocene (Table 1) were dominant in its category.
Table 1. The share of projects on the biota and ecosystems research in IPY national research programs of countries actively participating in the study of polar regions of the Earth
The analysis concerns projects (about 1270 from nearly 60 countries) which are presented on the web site HYPERLINK «http://www.ipy.org». These projects make the basis of IPY national programs. Actually cluster projects of the IPY International Programme (166 scientific and 52 educational ones) which were selected by the Joint Committee consisting of experts in the field of earth sciences, as well as representatives of international organizations like WMO, ICSU, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the International Arctic Science Committee and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic research, have a clear focus on «classical» directions of the IPY research – meteorology, geophysics, glaciology, oceanography, geology. Such projects as the «Marine life in Antarctica», «Biodiversity of the Arctic basin», «Evolution and biodiversity in the Antarctic» and others are among them. Moreover, a significant number of projects on social and educational topics were also devoted to problems of a «wildlife» in the Arctic and the Antarctic, and some large international IPY expeditions included biological and ecological directions of investigations. Paradoxically this situation, in our opinion, reflects a change in priorities of polar research and shows an important indicatory role of the polar biota during the estimation of the current natural and anthropogenic climate and environmental fluctuations.
The most frequent objects of biogeographic research within projects of international and national IPY programs were representatives of the marine biota, which is impacted by climate fluctuations and increasing economic activity in polar regions.
We should emphasize that the study of the Arctic marine biota, its diversity and response to external stimuli requires a significant field and analytical work. In this regard it’s necessary to note a major contribution to the IPY polar research of experts from the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute KSC RAS, who widely cover the western part of the Arctic which is the most exposed to current global changes.
It’s known that in the international IPY scientific program a number of properly Russian initiative projects is small. The so-called «clusters» of researchers from different countries and organizations related to marine and terrestrial ecosystems and biota, where Russia could be the leader are practically absent. Projects on research of glaciers, sea ice, atmosphere and oceans by Roshydromet, primarily AARI, the Institute of Geography RAS dominate here. Among the IPY international «clusters» the following projects are close to issues of the study of arctic ecosystems and biodiversity: 2 – Zoological Institute RAS, 1 – Institute of Oceanology RAS, 2 – Institute of Geography RAS (T.K. Vlasova – the Circumpolar monitoring of indigenous peoples, and S.V. Goryachkina – the study of soils from polar latitudes, or cryosoils). The relatively complete data on IPY biological projects is available on the web site of the Zoological Institute RAS:
http://www.zin.ru/projects/RCBD_ZIN/bio_proj.html
Nevertheless, Russia is widely represented exactly in the IPY International Programme. First of all, about 400 Russian scientists were invited to the IPY cluster projects, including about half of RAS and Hydromet institutions. Russian specialists are involved in all projects relating to investigations of the reaction of the circumpolar terrestrial biota and ecosystems to climate fluctuations in the Arctic, population dynamics and population composition of sea birds, semi-aquatic birds, waterfowls, wild reindeer, polar bears, pinnipeds and cetaceans, the pan-Arctic flora and vegetation and functioning of ecosystems in conditions of global warming, etc. As an example, we can name some large international IPY «clusters» devoted to the study of terrestrial and marine biota, were Russian specialists are involved (Table 2).
Table 2. Some large international projects of the IPY program 2007–2008
Internet addresses allow all people who wish to familiarize themselves with preliminary results of these projects. Moreover, the «biological component» is relatively well represented in some projects on social issues. For example, the data on the terrestrial and marine biota is found in «clusters» of the international IPY program: # 21 Environmental change of the Beringian Arctic; # 46 Traditional land use in the Nenets AO (MODIL-NAO); # 151 Network of the social monitoring (PPS Arctic); # 162 Circum-arctic reindeer monitoring (CARMA); # 183 Community resilience and diversity; # 247 Bering sea sub-network (BSSN); # 310 Gas, arctic people and security (GAPS); # 335 Land rights and resources; # 408 Reindeer herders vulnerability (EALAT), etc. Preliminary results of some «social» IPY projects are announced in a special issue of the «Environmental Planning and Management» journal (№№ 3–4, 2008). Members of these projects are among the authors of this volume as well.
The volume starts with review articles covering results of researches conducted by institutions participating in IPY programs and acute issues of studies on arctic ecosystems. The article by G.G. Matishov and D.G. Ishkulov (the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute KSC RAS) demonstrates a multidisciplinary scientific and expeditionary activity of the Institute, which includes comprehensive monitoring of marine ecosystems in the Western Arctic on research vessels, oceanographic and hydrobiological observations on nuclear icebreakers along the Northern Sea Route, on-shore expeditions and stationary surveys. Works of the Zoological Institute (B.I. Sirenko, S. Yu. Gagaev) included studies of the benthic fauna of the Chukchi Sea and waters bounding the Antarctic.
Current views on the resource potential of the marine biota and its sensitivity to anthropogenic impact are based on the theory of large marine ecosystems (LME). Principles of the analysis of LME in the Arctic and a summary data on their current state are presented in the article by G.G. Matishov et al.
I.A. Melnikov and R.M. Gogorev (the Institute of Oceanology RAS, the Botanical Institute RAS) consider current processes in the ecosystem of the sea ice of the central Arctic basin and assess the possibility of its transition to conditions of the seasonal development. An article by A.V. Dolgov et al. presents results of studies of the Kara Sea fish fauna conducted by the Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography.