1 Arctic climate history ....................................... 1
1.1 The concept of the Arctic ............................... 1
1.2 Characteristics of polar climates ....................... 2
1.3 Polar climatic history .................................. 9
1.4 Cenozoic temperature changes ........................... 13
1.5 Pleistocene climate changes ............................ 16
1.6 Conclusions ............................................ 20
2 The Holocene at high latitudes .............................. 21
2.1 After the ice age ...................................... 21
2.2 Glacial refugia ........................................ 23
2.3 Reconstructing past plant distributions ................ 28
2.4 Pleistocene megafauna decline .......................... 34
2.5 Pleistocene megafauna survival ......................... 41
2.6 The Hypsithermal, or Xerothermic, or Climatic
Optimum ................................................ 42
2.7 Late Holocene climate fluctuations ..................... 44
3 Human arrival in the Arctic ................................. 51
3.1 Prehistoric arctic peoples ............................. 51
3.2 Indigenous peoples of Arctic Eurasia ................... 58
3.3 Indigenous peoples of Arctic America ................... 61
3.4 Adapting to unpredictable environments ................. 63
3.5 Eurasian Reindeer herding .............................. 64
3.6 Norse settlements across the North Atlantic ............ 64
3.7 Northern peoples in recent times ....................... 68
4 Tundra diversity ............................................ 70
4.1 Defining the Tundra .................................... 70
4.2 Tundra classification .................................. 71
4.3 Arctic bryophytes ...................................... 79
4.4 Sequestration and refixation of soil carbon ............ 82
4.5 Disturbance and diversity .............................. 82
4.6 Tundra animal diversity ................................ 85
4.7 Conclusions ............................................ 92
5 Taiga and bog ............................................... 93
5.1 Boreal forest diversity ................................ 93
5.2 The Tundra-Taiga Interface ............................. 94
5.3 Fire in the boreal forest .............................. 97
5.4 Taiga regeneration and the seed bank ................... 98
5.5 Northern mires ........................................ 100
5.6 Forest grazing ........................................ 106
5.7 Boreal insects ........................................ 113
5.8 Boreal forest carnivores .............................. 118
5.9 Conclusions ........................................... 119
6 Arctic survival in mammals, birds and insects .............. 121
6.1 Advantages and disadvantages of arctic habitats ....... 121
6.2 Low temperature survival .............................. 121
6.3 Low temperature protection ............................ 129
6.4 Adaptation case studies ............................... 130
6.5 Arctic terrestrial carnivores ......................... 136
6.6 Arctic terrestrial birds .............................. 138
6.7 Conclusions ........................................... 145
7 Plant survival in cold habitats ............................ 146
7.1 Plant tolerance of cold ............................... 146
7.2 Cold climate adaptations .............................. 147
7.3 Metabolism and low temperatures ....................... 149
7.4 Cold tolerance adaptations ............................ 151
7.5 Ice-encasement injury ................................. 154
7.6 Plant form and climate ................................ 156
7.7 Conclusions ........................................... 163
8 Demography and reproduction ................................ 164
8.1 Reproduction at high latitudes ........................ 164
8.2 Human demography in the Arctic ........................ 164
8.3 Longevity at high latitudes ........................... 167
8.4 Predator-prey interactions ............................ 170
8.5 Phenology and reproduction ............................ 173
8.6 Plant reproduction .................................... 180
8.7 Conclusions ........................................... 187
9 Evolution in the Arctic .................................... 190
9.1 Pre-adaptation for arctic survival .................... 190
9.2 Arctic evolutionary influences ........................ 190
9.3 Evolution of seasonal bird migrations ................. 191
9.4 Plant diversity and evolution at high latitudes ....... 198
9.5 Arctic and boreal mammal lineages ..................... 206
9.6 Human evolution at high latitudes ..................... 212
9.7 Conclusions ........................................... 216
10 Disturbance, pollution, conservation, and the future ....... 217
10.1 Disturbance at high latitudes ......................... 217
10.2 Conservation case histories ........................... 219
10.3 Pollution in the Arctic ............................... 233
10.4 Radioactivity in the Arctic ........................... 241
10.5 Conclusions ........................................... 243
10.6 Coda - the future ..................................... 244
Glossary ...................................................... 246
References .................................................... 250
Index ......................................................... 264
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