Evolutionary ecologists, biologists, physiologists, and geneticists have launched a $15m (£11m) project in Alaska to determine if entire Arctic ecosystems can evolve and adapt together to climate breakdown. The project, known as the Evolving Meta-Ecosystems Institute (Evome), is supported by the US National Science Foundation.
Over six years, scientists will closely assess five species and their connections to one another: the white-crowned sparrow, the feltleaf willow, the Arctic grayling, an aquatic mayfly, and a ground beetle. Linda Deegan, a senior scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center, who is leading the project, stated, "We think those connections will help them prosper in climate change. Things won’t completely fall apart."
The Arctic is experiencing change faster than anywhere else on Earth, with snow melting earlier and leading to parched creek beds later in the summer. Scientists are studying Alaska's tundra and stream ecosystems because the Arctic is the fastest-warming region and has relatively simple ecosystems.
Researchers are collecting samples from white-crowned sparrows to understand their diet, particularly their consumption of stream insects like stoneflies and mayflies. The expansion of willow shrubs, a process called “shrubification,” could disrupt the life cycles of these insects, potentially affecting species like sparrows and Arctic grayling that depend on them.