"Here we put all the pieces of the puzzle together," Grebmeier said.
The researchers found that by 2002, Pacific gray whales were fleeing northward to feed in cooler currents, while pink salmon by the millions swarmed into warmer waters the whales had abandoned.
Bottom-dwelling species, unable to adapt, were destroyed in large numbers. The broken shells of a vanished clam species carpeted the sea floor.
As sea ice diminished, breeding grounds for seals were disrupted and populations plummeted. Polar bears started to drown. Walruses, accustomed to diving in the shallows to feed along the sea bottom, found themselves adrift on broken ice floes in waters 6,500 feet deep. The animals starved.
In its essence, the report confirms the anecdotal evidence of Yupik hunters of St. Lawrence Island. Every winter, they told researchers, the winds have been warmer, the ice pack thinner and more unstable. Every year, there is more open water.
Such widespread disruptions may be a symptom of climate changes throughout the Arctic, Grebmeier said.
"It is symptomatic of what may be happening further north," she said, "and that may have global implications."
