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Inuit communities in Nunavut hold deep and intricate relationships with country food that are integral to daily life, health, and wellbeing. Clams ( Mya truncata) (ᐊᒻᒨᒪᔪᐃᑦ) provide important sustenance for many Inuit communities, yet research focused on the role of clams in supporting community health is rare. We sought to characterize clam use in the Qikiqtani region of Nunavut, Canada using a community-led approach, in-depth conversational-style interviews, and reflexive thematic analysis. Inuit knowledge holders expressed the importance of clams for physical and nutritional health, mental and social wellbeing, and community connection and culture. Clams were described as an accessible source of nutrition supporting food sovereignty, while clam harvesting promoted sharing of Inuit knowledge and skills, and a community-centered approach to food systems. Inuit knowledge holders also discussed changing country food systems and the impacts of these changes on diet, sharing practices, and the environment. This research illustrates the holistic relationship that exists between country food systems, community health and wellbeing, and the environment, highlighting not only the importance of clams for Inuit communities but also the critical role of Inuit voices, lived experiences, and perspectives in ecosystem health.

Acclimation, via phenotypic flexibility, is a potential means for a fast response to climate change. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning phenotypic flexibility can provide a fine-scale cellular understanding of how organisms acclimate. In the last 30 years, Mya truncata populations around the UK have faced an average increase in sea surface temperature of 0.7 °C and further warming of between 1.5 and 4 °C, in all marine regions adjacent to the UK, is predicted by the end of the century. Hence, data are required on the ability of M. truncata to acclimate to physiological stresses, and most notably, chronic increases in temperature. Animals in the present study were exposed to chronic heat-stress for 2 months prior to shell damage and subsequently, only 3, out of 20 damaged individuals, were able to repair their shells within 2 weeks. Differentially expressed genes (between control and damaged animals) were functionally enriched with processes relating to cellular stress, the immune response and biomineralisation. Comparative transcriptomics highlighted genes, and more broadly molecular mechanisms, that are likely to be pivotal in this lack of acclimation. This study demonstrates that discovery-led transcriptomic profiling of animals during stress-response experiments can shed light on the complexity of biological processes and changes within organisms that can be more difficult to detect at higher levels of biological organisation.

The truncate soft-shell clam Mya truncata is an important source of country food for Inuit communities across the territory of Nunavut, Canada. M. truncata also plays an important role in marine ecosystems, yet there is little understanding of their life history and condition in Canadian Arctic waters. To provide a foundation on which aspects of the life history and condition of M. truncata of Baffin Island can be monitored in the future with a changing climate and fishery development, this study estimated size at maturity and provides insights into the spawning cycle and weight-length condition indices of clams from inner Frobisher Bay and the north shore of the Hudson Strait. Male and female M. truncata exhibited similar lengths at 50% attainment of sexual maturity, 31 mm and 32 mm shell length (SL), respectively. Most (77%) of the sexually mature M. truncata collected from inner Frobisher Bay in late August and 35% of clams collected from the Hudson Strait in early September were in the ripe stage of gonadal development. These results lead us to suggest a spring spawning season and that M. truncata invest in gonadal development for the next year’s spawning during the late summer-early autumn ice-free season while phytoplankton concentrations are high. Dry bodyweight-SL relationships were used to show that M. truncata condition can differ significantly over small and large spatial scales based on plotted 95% confidence intervals.

The temporal and spatial distribution of larval plankton of high latitudes is poorly understood. The objective of this work is to identify the occurrence and abundance of pelagic bivalve larvae within a high Arctic fjord (Adventfjorden, Svalbard) and to reveal their seasonal dynamics in relation to environmental variables—temperature, salinity and chlorophyll a —between December 2011 and January 2013. We applied a combination of DNA barcoding of mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA and morphological analysis to identify the bivalve larvae found within the plankton and demonstrate a strong seasonality in the occurrence of bivalve larvae, largely coinciding with periods of primary productivity. Seasonal occurrences of bivalve larval species differ from those known for other populations across species’ biogeographic distribution ranges. Serripes groenlandicus , which is of circum-Arctic distribution, demonstrated a later occurrence than Mya truncata or Hiatella arctica , which are of predominantly boreal or cosmopolitan distribution, respectively. S. groenlandicus larvae demonstrate the most pronounced response to seasonality, with the shortest presence in the water column. Establishing latitudinal differences in the occurrence of bivalve larvae enhances our understanding of how reproductive traits of marine invertebrates may respond to climate-driven seasonal shifts in the occurrence of primary productivity.

Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a growing health concern worldwide and the Arctic represents an understudied region in terms of AR. This study aimed to quantify AR genes (ARGs) from effluent released from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, thus creating a baseline reference for future evaluations. Water, sediment, and truncate softshell clam ( Mya truncata) tissue samples were compared from the wastewater, the receiving environment of Frobisher Bay, and nearby undisturbed freshwaters. The pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) atenolol, carbamazepine, metoprolol, naproxen, sulfapyridine, and trimethoprim were found in the wastewater, but the PPCPs were undetectable in the receiving environment. However, the relative abundances of ARGs were significantly higher in wastewater than in the receiving environment or reference sites. Abundances did not significantly differ in Frobisher Bay compared to undisturbed reference sites. ARGs in clams near the WWTP had similar relative abundances as those from pristine areas. The lack of ARG detection is likely due to Frobisher Bay tides flushing inputs to levels below detection. These data suggest that the WWTP infrastructure does not influence the receiving environment based on the measured parameters; more importantly, further research must elucidate the impact and fate of AR and PPCPs in Arctic communities.

Several recent studies have shown that the use of delta super(15)N analysis to characterize trophic relationships can be useful for tracing biocontaminants in food webs. In this study, concentration of total mercury was measured in tissues from 112 individuals representing 27 species from the arctic marine food web of Lancaster Sound, Northwest Territories. Samples ranged from particulate organic matter through polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Using delta super(15)N values to identify trophic position, we found that total mercury in muscle tissue biomagnified in this food web. Polar bears were a notable exception, having a lower mean mercury concentration than their main prey, ringed seals (Phoca hispida). Most vertebrates showed greater variance in mercury concentration than invertebrates, and there was a trend in seabirds toward increased variability in mercury concentration with trophic position. Within species, we found no evidence of bioaccumulation of mercury with age in the muscle tissue of clams (Mya truncata) or ringed seals. Because stable nitrogen isotopes illustrated the relationship in this biome between trophic position and mercury level on a continuous, quantitative scale, we were able to determine that log sub(10)[Hg] ( mu g/g dry weight) = 0.2( delta super(15)N) - 3.3. The measurement of delta super(15)N values and mercury concentration allowed us to quantitatively assess mercury biomagnification within this extensive arctic marine food web.

Several recent studies have shown that the use of delta 15 N analysis to characterize trophic relationships can be useful for tracing biocontaminants in food webs. In this study, concentration of total mercury was measured in tissues from 112 individuals representing 27 species from the arctic marine food web of Lancaster Sound, Northwest Territories. Samples ranged from particulate organic matter through polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Using delta 15 N values to identify trophic position, we found that total mercury in muscle tissue biomagnified in this food web. Polar bears were a notable exception, having a lower mean mercury concentration than their main prey, ringed seals (Phoca hispida). Most vertebrates showed greater variance in mercury concentration than invertebrates, and there was a trend in seabirds toward increased variability in mercury concentration with trophic position. Within species, we found no evidence of bioaccumulation of mercury with age in the muscle tissue of clams (Mya truncata) or ringed seals. Because stable nitrogen isotopes illustrated the relationship in this biome between trophic position and mercury level on a continuous, quantitative scale, we were able to determine that log 10 [Hg] ( µg/g dry weight) = 0.2( delta 15 N) - 3.3. The measurement of delta 15 N values and mercury concentration allowed us to quantitatively assess mercury biomagnification within this extensive arctic marine food web.

An 118-cm-long, well-preserved sediment profile was collected from a paleo-notch formed by ocean wave action before rising to the terrace on Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway. A large number of mollusk shell fragments, predominantly Mya truncata , were found in the sediment profile. AMS 14 C dating and stable oxygen and carbon isotope analyses were performed on the shell fragments samples. The reservoir-corrected radiocarbon ages averaged ~9,400 yr B.P., which accurately dates the raised terrace and the upper marine limit after Kongsfjorden was completely deglaciated. The calibrated aragonite isotopic temperature equation was established for Ny-Ålesund by comparing the δ 18 O profiles of modern mollusks as follows: T (°C) = 16.26 − 3.68(δ 18 O aragonite–PDB  − δ 18 O water–VSMOW ). The reconstructed paleotemperature range was −0.52 to +4.78°C, warmer than today by about 1°C, which was further confirmed by reconstructed sea surface temperature (SST) in west Svalbard. Moreover, the mortality of mollusks was very likely caused by an abrupt cooling event at about 9,400 yr B.P., which was triggered by reduced insolation, weakened thermohaline circulation, and abruptly decreased SST. More evidences for this distinct but short cooling event centered at about 9,400 yr B.P. were found in Northern Siberia, North Atlantic, Alps, and Eastern Europe.

Two species of Mya are now living in Iceland; Mya truncata and Mya arenaria. Mya truncata is one of the most common bivalve species living in Iceland and frequently found in Icelandic sediments younger than 2.6-2.5 Ma. Furthermore, two subspecies of Mya truncata have been found living; Mya truncata uddevalensis and Mya truncata pseudoarenaria. They have also been found fossil, mainly in marine deposits from late glacial times. The third subspecies, the extinct Mya truncata gudmunduri, has only been found fossil in Iceland, in the Pliocene Serripes Zone of the Tjornes beds in North Iceland, and the same is the case with the extinct species Mya schwarzbachi. Mya arenaria has not been found fossil in Iceland. Apparently, Mya schwarzbachi and Mya truncata gudmunduri came to Iceland at 3.6 Ma when the closing of the Central American seaway induced a flow of surface water from the Pacific through the Bering Strait and the Arctic Ocean and brought a tide of Pacific molluscs to the North Atlantic and Iceland.

Extensive investigations on macrozoobenthic communities of the Pechora Sea (SE Barents Sea), carried out between 1991 and 1995, indicate that it is rich in terms of diversity, with a total of 712 taxa observed (505 identified to species level). Biomass distribution of zoobenthos varied greatly (2.6 to 1200 g m–2wet wt). Average values recorded for the offshore areas are high for an Arctic environment, implying that the influence of the large Pechora River may extend far into the offshore area. In addition, intensive sedimentation of organic matter during the retreat of the highly productive ice-edge zone in the summer may also contribute to the observed high biomass. A method combining the abundance and biomass values of species was used to calculate an index approximating the production of each species. This index was used to distinguish the different community types in the area. In the study area, 13 benthic community types were identified, of which 2 main types covered most of the offshore areas. The concentration of total organic carbon (TOC) in the sediment was shown to have a strong influence on the diversity of the benthic communities, while both TOC and water depth affected the distribution of communities and the feeding mode of the dominant species. A community type consisting of surface deposit-feeders is the most widely distributed type in the area. Suspension feeders, however, dominate an extensive shallow offshore area. Boreal-Arctic species show a marked predomination (68.9%) in the whole Pechora Sea. The share of Arctic species is greater in the northern part influenced by cold water currents, while boreal species predominate in areas affected by warmer coastal waters. These observations indicate that the Pechora Sea functions as a transitional zone between boreal and Arctic biogeographic regions.