| The Arctic environment is in a state of perpetual change arising from both anthropogenic and natural forces. Over the last 150 years, due to the release of ozone-depleting chemicals and greenhouse gases, UVB exposure and annual temperatures in the Arctic have increased. To determine if these environmental changes were biologically significant, the concentration of melanin in Daphnia ephippia and the concentration of algal pigments were quantified in sediment from three ponds at Cape Herschel, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. The average concentration of melanin in Daphnia ephippia peaked in sediment dated to the year 2003 approximately five years after the peak in Arctic ozone depletion. A striking decrease in the abundance of ephippia following the turn of the 20th century was also observed. In two of the three studied ponds both total chlorophyll and β-carotene concentrations were observed to significantly increase in near-surface sediments. These results suggest that stratospheric ozone depletion and warming have both impacted the aquatic ecology of the Arctic. |
