Marine Ecosystems Community of Practice

Scope of Activities

The Marine Ecosystems Community of Practice was created under the Arctic Research Plan 2017-2021 to increase understanding of the structure and function of Arctic marine ecosystems and their role in the climate system and advancing predictive capabilities. It continues to meet and contribute to the goals and objectives of the Arctic Research Plan 2022-2026.

Deliverables from the Arctic Research Plan

DATA 1 Encourage and implement FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and CARE (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, and Ethics) data management principles through enhanced coordination and collaboration across multiple levels in Arctic research.

• DATA 1.1 Identify verified points of contact (e.g., agency champions, data practitioners, Arctic residents, Indigenous organizations) and their areas of expertise and interests, and encourage them to join the Data Management Collaboration Team on IARPC Collaborations. As part of developing the points of contact, identify and track representation across many axes (disciplines/sectors, IARPC experience, career stage, for example) to ensure a representative group of contributors.
• DATA 1.2 In order to build community buy-in and promote sustained efforts, regularly update and maintain the activities and progress related to data management on IARPC Collaborations. These efforts will ensure transparency, continuous engagement, and alignment with the FAIR and CARE data principles.
• DATA 1.3 Convene quarterly seminars, discussions, and training sessions on FAIR and CARE data management in collaboration with other IARPC collaboration teams and communities of practice. These sessions will address data-related topics that are of interest across different teams or specific to a few teams, with the goal of advancing and supporting the data-related deliverables within this implementation plan. Ensure that presenters and contributors provide a broad range of perspectives and expertise. Develop a common format and structure (e.g., questions, prompts) for team meetings to help elicit and articulate perspectives on all aspects of FAIR and CARE to support work towards the community summary/synthesis products.
• DATA 1.5 Develop an end-to-end Arctic data management system that includes data submission, metadata curation, data archival, and data access. Overall, these data management services will improve Arctic data FAIR compliance and interoperability, as well as streamline long-term data preservation and archival. This four-year project is supported by the Inflation Reduction Act and will be implemented by the NOAA Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing - Arctic Research Program.
• DATA 1.6 Support the development of an Integrated Arctic Ecosystem Toolkit that leverages existing data servers to allow for the synthesis of public hydrographic and satellite-derived environmental measurements with a diverse array of biodiversity data. Building the tools to connect these datastreams will shorten the time required for each ecosystem health assessment, enabling rapid management response for climate resilience. By including publicly available observations from NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA ‘Omics, and academic-led ocean observatories, as well as publicly available observations derived from open-source community science platforms, this toolkit will provide a critical holistic integration platform for the Arctic region. By further developing tools to foster the integration of non-public datastreams alongside the integrated biodiversity observations, this toolkit will serve a diverse array of federal, state, local, and Indigenous partners. This two-year project is supported by the Inflation Reduction Act and will be implemented by the NOAA Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing - Arctic Research Program.
• DATA 1.7 Support a catalog of systems (a registry of polar observing networks) that conduct or coordinate polar observation and monitoring. This resource will advance beyond a proof of concept through an iterative process with outreach, community engagement, collaboration, metadata curation, and web usability testing. In concert, software design and development will enable a scalable technology architecture, resulting in a fully operational, inclusive, and encompassing tool for discovery. This project will also include a polar observing site discovery tool: an innovative demonstration of aggregating documentation for thousands of research and monitoring sites, stations, facilities, observatories, supersites, buoys, moorings, and community-based observations with a view to interoperability. The end result will be a single-window search for the discovery of observing assets within and across a multitude of networks. This two-year project is supported by the Inflation Reduction Act and will be implemented by the NOAA Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing - Arctic Research Program.
• DATA 1.8 Convene a series of webinars on the incorporation of Indigenous data sovereignty principles into Arctic data management. These sessions will aim to embed CARE data principles in the data management plan process and to explore and learn about the possibility of establishing tribally managed CARE-structured data centers. The goal is to ensure that Indigenous communities have authority and control over their data, with an eye on future implementation plans and the Arctic Research Plan.
• DATA 1.9 Actively engage with and support expert and advisory panel work through the US Arctic Observing Network (US AON), the Sustaining Arctic Observing Network (SAON)’s Arctic Roadmap for Observing and Data Systems (Arctic ROADS), and the Arctic Data Committee in developing Arctic observing and data systems plans. Additionally, support U.S. engagement in and the implementation of data-related recommendations from the Arctic Observing Summit. These efforts will ensure that the United States contributes to and benefits from international coordination and collaboration on Arctic data management.

HEALTH 1 Support the health of Arctic residents through research on public health needs, disparities, and delivery.

• HEALTH 1.3 Along with local health partners, conduct research to support understanding and awareness of emerging zoonotic disease threats identified in the CDC's One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization for Alaska workshop report.
• HEALTH 1.4 Along with collaborating partners, investigate concerns about human illness associated with harmful algal blooms, develop strategies for assessing and filling knowledge gaps, and develop and distribute messaging based on what is learned.

HEALTH 2 Address emerging threats to food safety and access, as well as food and nutrition security in the Arctic, through research that addresses how climate and environmental change is affecting the abundance, accessibility, and use of traditional foods and traditional ways of life.

• HEALTH 2.2 Provide funding opportunities and conduct studies on the impact of harmful algal blooms on the availability and safety of traditional and commercial foods.
• HEALTH 2.3 Conduct investigations and report on marine mammal unusual mortality events in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas to evaluate the severity, causes, ecological implications, and potential health risks to traditional users.
• HEALTH 2.4 Conduct investigations and report trends in abundance, distribution, and condition of ice-dependent marine mammals in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas to identify and forecast changes that may impact food security and the long-term sustainability of traditional food supplies.
• HEALTH 2.5 Assess and model changes in abundance, distribution, and harvest of select marine mammals and fishes that are food sources in rural Alaska.

MOMP 3 Support coordination and engagement with Federal, State, international, and non-Federal partners who are conducting monitoring, observing, modeling, and prediction in the Arctic.

• MOMP 3.2 Coordinate among state and federal agencies that support fieldwork and share information among researchers and Alaska communities through the research expedition vessel and mooring matrices and spring and fall public meetings focused on research season activities.

PILR 1 Fulfill Federal requirement to consult with Federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations.

• PILR 1.2 Evaluate the Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic 2018, and update as needed based on the evaluation.

PILR 3 Develop guidance for agencies to consistently apply participatory research and Indigenous leadership in research.

• PILR 3.1 Identify key elements of Indigenous leadership in research with Tribes, Indigenous organizations, and federal agencies. Integrate these elements into the Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic and develop guidance for federal agencies.
• PILR 3.2 Share information among agencies about how to streamline contracting, agreements, and compensation processes to support co-stewardship and co-production of knowledge.
• PILR 3.3 Convene, facilitate, and participate in discussions to identify mechanisms to foster pathways for Indigenous leadership in research.
• PILR 3.4 To aid in agencies’ ethical engagement and meaningful work with Tribal governments and Indigenous communities and organizations, compile a list of resources and guidance, rules, protocols, and approaches that Tribal governments and Indigenous communities and organizations have put forward. Distribute the list to agencies and post publicly via the IARPC Collaborations website. Share the list with the Tribal governments and Indigenous communities and organizations to provide additional insights, pending their interest, to the federal workforce on implementing the guidance, rules, protocols, and approaches they have put forward.

RISK 1 Summarize currently available data and information requirements associated with hazard and risk mitigation, adaptation, and response efforts. Synthesize community-led activities and information to identify potential needs for future efforts.

• RISK 1.1 Conduct a study identifying where information used in decision-making and planning around risks and hazards can be improved through access to new or additional data sources. This study should consider a wide range of activities associated with ongoing responses to common and emerging hazards, including risk reduction efforts and emergency preparedness and response. The scope of the study will be expanded to include information on tsunamis and volcanoes.
• RISK 1.2 Share findings of RISK 1.1 as a means to (1) spur additional research and science communication aimed at addressing unmet needs for planning, prevention, response, and recovery and (2) inform time-sensitive decision-making and planning processes.
• RISK 1.3 Develop a network that brings together scientists, the emergency management community, and key agency contacts to share knowledge, identify new and emerging challenges, and inform decision-making and operations through research.

RISK 2 Update and improve the “Statewide Threat Assessment: Identification of Threats from Erosion, Flooding, and Thawing Permafrost in Remote Alaska Communities.”

• RISK 2.1 Identify the top threats/hazards to communities and critical remote state and federal government infrastructure in the state of Alaska that should be included in the Statewide Threat Assessment. This might include coastal and river erosion, flooding, thawing permafrost, and changes in the seasonal snowpack.
• RISK 2.2 Upon completion of RISK 2.1, establish a data collection and collation plan to include mechanisms to collect threat/hazard data that may not be readily available.
• RISK 2.3 Collect and integrate disparate threat/hazard information and perform modeling and analysis to understand where natural and human-made threats and hazards pose a risk to Arctic communities.

SYSTEMS 2 Observe, understand, predict, and project Arctic marine and terrestrial ecosystem change and its impacts on humans and the entire Earth system.

• SYSTEMS 2.4 Continue coordinated interdisciplinary Arctic marine climate and ecosystem observations, and share data and promote synthesis of field observations. This includes generating accessible, public-facing tools and products that increase awareness of annual research activities and assets, as well as supporting enhanced collaboration, coordination, and transparency across research, federal, and local and Indigenous communities.
• SYSTEMS 2.6 Continue support for research programs that document Arctic marine species distribution, abundance, biodiversity, health and condition, foraging ecology, demography, habitat use in the Arctic, and basic life history information, as well as age and growth rates of key links in the food web.
• SYSTEMS 2.7 Produce and support publications and data products (in technical and non-technical venues) enhancing understanding of the linkages among marine species, oceanographic and sea ice conditions, and climate change. Specifically improve understanding of mechanisms that affect trends in trophic interactions, abundance, distribution, vital rates, and behavior.

SYSTEMS 3 Understand interactions between social, ecological, and physical Arctic systems, particularly in the context of coastal, climate, and cryospheric change.

• SYSTEMS 3.6 Improve high-resolution models’ ability to capture coastal processes at the interface of ocean, land, and atmosphere by supporting targeted collaborations among model developers, users, and decision-makers. Products will include an interagency scientific peer-reviewed publication and conference sessions that address these models, as well as non-technical publications.

TIA 1 Survey federally funded research technology.

• TIA 1.1 Strategically engage externally, across IARPC, and within the Technology Innovation and Application Collaboration Team.
• TIA 1.2 Use the Technology Innovation and Application Collaboration Team to support and coordinate technology-related conversations and activities throughout IARPC Collaborations.

Accomplishments

Under the 2017-2021 Arctic Research Plan, the Marine Ecosystems Community of Practice:

• Conducted federal agency distribution and abundance surveys of Arctic marine species, including ice seals, polar bears, belugas, and bowhead, gray, fin, humpback, killer, minke, and right whales.
• Supported the Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) and EcoFoci programs in annual field collection and data set distribution.
• Supported continued assessments of the winter distributions of key Arctic species, especially marine mammals.
• Supported studies investigating the feeding ecology of Arctic species and the transfer of energy through the Arctic food web.
• Supported and shared information from programs that focused on life history information on key links in the food web.
• Shared information about the value of recent interdisciplinary programs.
• Supported DBO sampling and shared data, including via participation in the Pacific Arctic Group and the 5th DBO data meeting.
• Built connections between DBO and community-based observer programs.
• Shared research on feedbacks and interactions among biological, chemical, and physical variables.
• Supported work on the Regional Action Plan for Southeastern Bering Sea Climate Science.
• Facilitated conversations among marine observational scientists and modelers to discuss opportunities for better integration and potential use of observations to improve and validate models.
• Facilitated discussions on temporal changes in anthropogenic and environmental sound in the Alaska marine Arctic.

For a full summary of the Marine Ecosystems Community of Practice’s accomplishments under the 2017-2021 Arctic Research Plan, see the 2021 Performance Element Summary Statements.