February 27, 2018 — The Arctic is changing. Temperatures are increasing twice as fast as the global average and sea ice is retreating quicker than predicted.
It is now just a question of time before the Arctic becomes ice free in summer.
But while we humans react slowly to the problem at hand, evidence suggests that animals are on the move- on land, sea, and in the air. And in the cold Arctic, invasive species are drawn to regions where they could not previously have survived.
But invasive species pose a big problem for native animals, whose numbers can decline to the point of collapse. They also pose a threat to fisheries, with economic consequences on both a local and global scale.
In fact, our recent study showed that blue mussels have become much more common in the Arctic in recent years, just like other exotic species of bluefin tuna and killer whales.
Read the full story at Phys.org