The researchers say they have found evidence of the first invasive species of the varnacle in the waters of Nunavut, a discovery that they believe is the result of water heating.
They published their findings last month in the Global Change Biology magazine.
They explain that Arctic’s cold waters have, for the most part, prevent invasive species from migrating north. But with Arctic heating almost four times faster than anywhere else on Earth, shipping routes are opening, and the waters of the region are losing their thermal barrier against invasive species.
The shipping trafficking in parts of the Arctic of Canada has increased by more than 250 percent since 1990, according to the report, and that provides a vector to transport non -indigenous species to the region.
The Bay Barnacle (Amphibalanus Impivisus), which is already present in European waters and the Pacific Ocean, was detected in ten different areas in the Arctic of Canada.
Betty Boyse, molecular biologist of the British Antarctic Survey and co -author of the study, did the job while in cruises.
The majority of the perclabes in that study were detected near the pond entrance, which serves as the gateway to the Northwest passage.
The researchers really did not see the perclabes with their own eyes. Rather, they detected them using environmental DNA that they collected from the waters for which they sailed.
“Essentially, all I have to do is go and collect a cube of seawater, and inside the seawater, I am basically collecting any skin cell, any poop, anything that organisms are putting in the environment … and I can use this to identify which species have been there,” he said.
As for why the investigators chose to collect data from a ship, he said that the perclabs are feeders of filters that cling to the surfaces and suck their food through water.
“The ships are actually a really attractive place to stay because as the water rises, as the boats move, they get extra food of this,” he said.
Increasingly vulnerable Arctic
While Boyse does not believe that Bay Barnacle only destroys the entire ecosystem, he said it is a first worrying sign.
“I think what the varnacle really means is that this incredibly pristine environment is beginning to become vulnerable to invasive species,” he said.
In answers written to CBC News, Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada said he recognizes the important findings of the study. While environmental DNA is a valuable monitoring tool, DFO said that it is not necessarily proof of a reproductive body.
“Additional monitoring and visual confirmation are required to determine whether the environmental DNA detected corresponds to a living organism or if it reflects genetic material transported,” DFO wrote in an email.
DFO said it uses a combination of environmental DNA techniques, scientific research and community -based monitoring programs with indigenous communities to help track the introduction of aquatic invasive species in the Arctic.
Shelley Elverum helped start Ikaarvik, a non -profit organization based in Pond Inlet, which also worked in the study. She said it is important that Canada works with Inuit communities and enables them to establish their own research priorities.
“Not only does the investigation that Inuit has as boat drivers or camp cooks or bear guards, but understands that the Inuit have the most incredible knowledge depth than what is normal and what is not normal.
Other invasive species that are directed north
DFO said that other non -indigenous aquatic species have been detected in the Canadian Arctic. However, it is not confirmed if those are the result of human introduction, and DFO said they are not species that are prohibited and controlled under the Regulations of Aquatic Invasive Species.
A different study in co -authorship by a scientist from Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) of Canada in 2015 found Bay’s percages along the southern edge of the Arctic of Canada, near Churchill, Manitoba, due to the helmet essay.
That report says that the port of Churchill is, within the Canadian Arctic, with greater risk of non -indigenous species there because it receives the largest amount of boats and sees the largest amount of watering water discharged.
The scientists who examined Nunavut’s waters also associated with the AQIUMAVVVVIK society in Arviat, Nunavut, to study an area with little shipping activity.
Jimmy Qamaniq Mushpah, young hunters manager of society, said the waters near the community are quite superficial for ships. They did not find percages in the area.
But in recent years, he has seen other non -indigenous animals such as bats and wasps near Arviath, which is the southernmost community in the Nunavut continent.
“Some of [the invasive species] They are probably in the ships or some of them are fleeing the smoke from the forest fires, “he said.
Stop the propagation
The risk that invasive species will enter the Arctic will continue to grow as shipping routes are opened, so Boyse urges the Canadian government to be proactive in the protection of local communities.
That includes increasing monitoring and introduction of regulations, which are not only voluntary guidelines, for ships entering the region.
In responses written to CBC News, Transport Canada made reference to several regulations that the Canada government has in its place, which include pollution reports and ballast water management standards.
Canada also has guidelines for cleaning vessels and biofouling management, which is when organisms accumulate on surfaces such as a ship’s helmets, which Transport Canada said it has worked with the international maritime organization.
“In April 2025, the International Maritime Organization also agreed a proposal co -crocked by Canada to start creating legally binding international measures for ship biofouling,” Transport Canada wrote in an email.
