Tundra Conservation Network

Responding to climate change may be one of the world's most important and complex endeavors of the 21st century. Climate change models predict large changes in species’ distributions and the potential for extinctions over the next century, but biotic interactions such as predator-prey, inter- and intra-specific competition, and phenology add a level of complexity that is difficult to model. Gathering empirical evidence of these interactions and monitoring changes over time may be critical for improving predictions, and making wise choices for conservation of biodiversity in response to climate change.

Nowhere is the effect of climate change on biodiversity, biotic interactions, and ecosystem function and persistence likely to be more dramatic than in the Arctic. Top predators, such as birds of prey, are sensitive to environmental change, and serve as early indicators of threat and as models for conservation intervention. Gyrfalcons and their principal prey, ptarmigan, are widely distributed and far ranging species in the arctic ecosystem, and are therefore good candidates for measuring, understanding, and mitigating current and predicted changes in their world.