Talk:Arctic ecology

Question about article
Just wondering, are all the in text citations present? There seemed to be a lot of information given that was not accompanied by a citation. Thanks Nramberg (talk) 15:03, 27 January 2019 (UTC)

Where to put Melosira arctica (algae) in wp?
99.112.212.232 (talk) 02:14, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Melting Arctic may make algae flourish; More sunlight penetrates thinning sea ice, enabling algal growth March 23, 2013; Vol.183 #6 Science News

Suggestions for improving article
Hello I have a few suggestions that could possibly help you improve your article. In my opinion there is a lack of detail in most of the headings in your article, for example when you talk about the different animals and plants that live in this area of the Earth, you fail to go into detail with at least a few of the different species and explain what aspects of their capabilities help them survive in this region. Another idea that could help you improve this article is that there is a lack of any pictures in the entire article, most of the articles that I have researched in Wikipedia contain images that can help better understand the subject. Finally another aspect that might be helpful to improve your article is to provide the reader with a reputable reference heading so that they can consider your article to be trustworthy. You can do this by researching more on your subject and try to research articles that are not only found online but maybe also magazines or books about your subject. This will not only give you a reputable reference heading but it will also help you to add more detail to your article which would greatly improve it. I hope you listen to some of my suggestions and thanks for providing me with this great article.

-Octavio   aoc001  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aoc001 (talk • contribs) 12:53, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

Sources to Potentially Improve the Article/Bibliography
Hello, I have composed a bibliography of credible sources that I believe can benefit this Wikipedia article:

“Arctic LTER.” The Long Term Ecological Research Network. accessed February 23, 2014, http://www.lternet.edu/sites/arc.

Bocking, Stephen. “Situated yet Mobile: Examining the Environmental History of Arctic Ecological Science.” In New Natures: Joining Environmental History with Science and Technology Studies, edited by D. Jorgensen, F.A. Jorgenson, and S.B. Pritchard, 164-178. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013.

Kassam, Karim-Aly S. Biocultural Diversity and Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Human Ecology in the Arctic. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2009.

Nakashima, Douglas. Climate Change and Arctic Sustainable Development: Scientific, Social, Cultural and Educational Challenges. Paris: UNESCO, 2009.

Smith, Eric Alden and Joan McCarter. Contested Arctic: Indigenous Peoples, Industrial States, and the Circumpolar Environment. Seattle: Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies Center at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies in association with University of Washington Press, 1997.

Wenzel, George W. Animal Rights, Human Rights: Ecology, Economy and Ideology in the Canadian Arctic. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991.

Wynn, Graeme. Canada and Arctic North America: An Environmental History. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2007.

Young, Steven B. To the Arctic: An Introduction to the Far Northern World. New York: Wiley, 1989.

I plan to do more research with these sources soon to make useful contributions to the article. Thanks! Jjt022 (talk) 08:21, 25 February 2014 (UTC)jjt022 Joe Tull

Arctic ecology outline
and I have just finished working on a new outline for the Arctic ecology page and we would appreciate any feedback--questions, comments, suggestions--if you have any:

Arctic ecology is the scientific study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in the arctic, the region north of the Arctic Circle (66 33’). This is a region characterized by stressful conditions as a result of extreme cold, low precipitation, a limited growing season (50–90 days) and virtually no sunlight throughout the winter. The Arctic consists of taiga (or boreal forest) and tundra biomes, which also dominate very high elevations, even in the tropics. Sensitive ecosystems exist throughout the Arctic region, which are being impacted dramatically by global warming. The Arctic region features a vast range of organisms, each of which have their own specific roles in the environment. Vegetation in the Arctic consists of many species such as various sedges and cottongrasses. Common animals found here include the moose, reindeer, various marmots, wolves, and others. Organisms are divided among various subregions within the Arctic based on differing biotic and abiotic factors.

Throughout history, indigenous people have thrived in the Arctic despite its harsh conditions, and their lifestyles are based on a combination of economic and cultural values. Subsistence hunting is a prevalent aspect of the society of the indigenous Arctic people and it is done not only out of necessity but also for cultural reasons. Recently, Arctic Canada has been the target of animals rights campaigns to ban sealing, which would interfere with its indigenous peoples’ way of life. Along with subsistence hunting, industrial uses of the region’s resources, such as fishing and mining, are also pursued extensively by the region’s inhabitants. The region’s people depend substantially on the environment and resources of the Arctic, so climate change is especially concerning regarding their sustainability. Because of their dependence on the land and its resources, indigenous peoples have played a large role in helping to establish environmental policies to better preserve the Arctic.

As the Northern ecosystems, including the arctic, boreal forest and northern bogs contain 25% of the world’s carbon pools, a positive feedback loop occurring in the Arctic is largely involved in climate change. As the permafrost melts due to warming global temperatures, the carbon stored within the permafrost is released and further induces climatic changes. Also, higher temperatures increase soil decomposition and if soil decomposition becomes higher than net primary production, global atmospheric carbon dioxide will in turn increase. Atmospheric sinks in the water table are also being reduced as the permafrost melts and decreases the height of the water table in the Arctic.

Because of the Arctic’s distinct and fragile conditions, research has been frequently conducted there by teams of scientists. A noteworthy Arctic scientific expedition was the Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-1916 led by Vilhjalmur Stefansson. Arctic research has been frequently aided by local knowledge from the Arctic indigenous peoples. Prior to the United States involvement in World War II, the War Department acknowledged the tactical benefits of placing a military establishment in Alaska. By 1941, the United States had created a military base and placed them under the control of the US Corps of Engineers. Within the next two years, the Corps had established Fort Richardson at Anchorage, Ladd Field at Fairbanks, several airbases, and a road creating an all land connection between Alaska, Canada, and the United States. In 1946, The Arctic Research Laboratory was established under the contract of the Office of Naval Research in Point Barrow, Alaska for the purpose of investigating the physical and biological phenomena unique to the Arctic. In 1948, Dr. Laurence Irving was appointed as the Scientific Director of the Arctic Research Laboratory and put in charge of coordinating various projects. Scientists performed fieldwork to collect data that linked new observations to prior widely accepted knowledge. Through the processes of soil sampling, surveying and photographing landscapes and distributing salmon tags, scientists demonstrated the significance of historical case studies in the study of environmental science. The ability to compare past and present data allowed scientists to understand the causes and effects of ecological changes. In the 1950’s, ecologists such as Frank Banfield and John Kelsall were drawn to the Arctic to study the existence, causes and effects of cycles in animal populations. The 1960’s and 1970’s brought a decrease in the desire to protect the Arctic as it was seen to lack a significant amount of biodiversity. This allowed for scientists to extend further research in the area. In June of 1960, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) was constructed, headed by General Duncan Hallock and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. The two predecessor organizations that made up the CRREL were the Arctic Construction and Frost Effects Laboratory (ACFEL), and the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE). The goal of the CREEL laboratory was to bring together the ACFEL and SIPRE to expand the size and scientific reputation of these organizations, solve problems in cold regions and explore the basic environmental characteristics of cold regions. As a result, study and management of the Arctic was taken over by consulting firms hired and controlled by the government.

Feel free to reach out to either of us with any concerns about the outline. Thank you! Jjt022 (talk) 20:56, 25 March 2014 (UTC)Jjt022

Some Suggestions
Overall I am very impressed with this article as it has a lot of good content was is well written. However, there were a few things I noticed that could potentially make it even better. I thought the lead section was good and gave me a clear understanding of what arctic ecology is but, because the article is quite long, I feel this section should be added to better outline the rest of the article. This way, readers can read that section and get a good enough understanding of what the rest of the article is saying as a whole. I thought the structure was good and well laid out but I think the article could be more engaging with the addition of some pictures. Also, it might be good to have the history of arctic ecology as the first heading after the intro to see where the rest of the information originated from. I like that there are a lot of different sections and it is easy to navigate to topics that you might want more information on. However, I felt that some of the sections were significantly shorter than others. Perhaps some of the shorter sections can be combined and put under sub-headings. For example, I feel that the sections for tundra and boreal, even biomes maybe, would fit well together with one heading and then maybe some sub-headings as well. I thought the content was very neutral throughout and did not see any areas where I doubted this. Lastly, the range of sources all look reliable but some of the page ranges that were cited were rather large so maybe it would help if more citations were added with specific page numbers so a fact could be easily looked up in a book. In general, I am very impressed and I think this article is very well done and I commend you on all your hard work!

Sarakpal (talk) 20:27, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

Critical Evaluation
As part of Professor Stuhl's History of Ecology class at Bucknell, I have reviewed this article and have come up with a few suggestions for this developing article. First, I thought that the lead section was very concise and portrayed the key parts of the overall article in a positive manner. However, I do think that it could be a bit longer. The entire article itself contains nine headings and the lead section should reflect the overall length of the article. Maybe expand it to two or three paragraphs instead of one.

The structure of the article as a whole is relatively sporadic. Perhaps move the section entitled "History of Arctic Ecology" to the beginning of the article to give some sort of background and historical significance right off the bat. With that being said, I like the fact that there are plenty of headings. With the exception of "History of Arctic Ecology," all of sections are well balanced in length and are well written.

Additionally, it seems as though many subjects are covered, making the article easy and interesting to read. To enhance the balance even further, maybe put in a section about why Arctic Ecology is important and specifically relevant in modern society. Also, it might help to divide the "History of Arctic Ecology" into smaller sections. Possibly make sub-headings for every century that is relevant to its history.

This article also does a great job of being unbiased by emphasizing facts that were taken from reliable sources. One area that could be improved is through utilizing opposing viewpoints to display a variety of scholarly opinions on Arctic Ecology. This would strengthen some of the arguments presented in this article.

Lastly, although I believe that the sources come from authoritative publications, I feel like more could have been put to use. There aren't enough in-text citations for the length of the article either. Every fact should be cited.

Altogether, this article is well on its way to becoming an impressive feature on Wikipedia!

Emm031 (talk) 04:09, 15 April 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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Wiki Education assignment: BIOL 412 HONORS
— Assignment last updated by Gmcb3345 (talk) 23:55, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

New section, and a request for further perspectives
After reviewing two sections previously present in this article - History, and Human ecology in the Arctic - I decided to coalesce these sections into one: Early human history and ecology in the Arctic. The two sections previously contained a lot of similar material, but also a significant amount of material that had not been cited or did not seem accurate based on current scientific and anthropological research. The current section, as it stands now, contains cited and accurate information to the best of my ability, and I will continue to work on improving it over the next few days.

However, the history of human ecology in the Arctic is an incredibly broad topic spanning many geographical locations and cultures. Due to my knowledge of what to research and the linguistic and cultural limitations of the papers that I was able to both find and access, I am particularly concerned that the information I found may present a North America and Greenland-centric view of Arctic human ecological history.

I would request assistance from other editors who are working on this page either now or in the future to improve this section beyond what I have managed so far, particularly in terms of adding other cultural and geographical perspectives. I am aware of my limitations as an editor, and while I know that what is there now is at least accurate and cited to the best of my ability, my best guess would be that there is information which I couldn't find or access which could still significantly improve this section.

Thank you all!

One more note: this new section was imported from my sandbox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Muffinwrites/Arctic_ecology#Early_human_history_in_the_Arctic

--Muffinwrites (talk) 20:37, 4 November 2023 (UTC)