The University of England Ruskin gives £0.5m to study Arctic otters

A new study examines changes in the habitat and behavior of otters as they migrate further north in the Arctic Circle. The University of England Ruskin, Cambridge, was awarded £553,491 to study the impact of northbound mammals.

Researchers want to understand the impact on landscapes, fish populations, and indigenous peoples project manager dr. Helen Wheeler said she was "pleased" with the number.

This study will look at the effects of climate change and rising temperatures. The line where trees grow has shifted to the north, as beavers build dams and ponds by cutting down trees. Funding from a UK-sponsored UK research and innovation organization is based on research from the University of the Northwest Territories of Canada studying how beavers change local ecosystems.

Researchers will study how building beaver dams can change the landscape by creating lakes and diverting rivers, resulting in fewer fish that local communities depend on.

The number of otters migrating north of the tree line to the Arctic, and the number of new lakes they create, have caused the ice sheet to melt.

In the 2021 Arctic update, aerial and satellite images show North American beavers have colonized Alaska's Arctic tundra, doubling the number of lakes in western Alaska to 12,000 since 2000.

Between 1945 and 1955, aerial photographs did not show the beaver lake. The new study began this month and will last three years, covering an area in Canada's Inuvialuit region.

British researchers will work with Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada and the Inuvialuit Joint Fisheries Management Committee.

Dr. Wheeler said his team would bring together experts from various fields.

"We will be able to study the complex effects of rapid environmental change in a truly interdisciplinary way," he said.

"What is very satisfying is that this project is working with Inuvialuit partners and community members. Together, we will create tools and infrastructure that will last far beyond the project's life.

"This will allow monitoring and research to continue at the local level in the region over the long term ... to help inform their current land management practices."