Home›Species›Ecosystem›Arctic OceanEcosystemArctic OceanPolar and AntarcticReference and ClassificationVerifiedThe Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's oceans, centered on the North Pole and largely enclosed by North America, Greenland, Europe and Asia, and forms an ecosystem built around its seasonal sea ice rather than in spite of it. For much of the year, floating sea ice covers most of the ocean's surface, and algae growing on and beneath the ice form the base of a food web that runs upward through zooplankton to fish, seals, narwhals, beluga whales and, at the top, polar bears, which depend on the ice itself as a platform for hunting seals. The ecosystem experiences extreme seasonal swings in light, with months of continuous winter darkness followed by months of continuous summer daylight, a rhythm every part of the food web is adapted to. The Arctic Ocean is also warming and losing its summer sea ice cover faster than almost anywhere else on the planet, a change already reshaping the ecosystem's food web and the ranges of the species that depend on it, and making the Arctic one of the most closely watched systems for the effects of a warming climate anywhere in the world.FactsArctic OceanConnectionsIn the Other AtlasesSourcesTake a Related QuizComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsClassificationBiogeographic RealmWell-attestedPalearctic 1Biogeographic RealmWell-attestedNearctic 1Area (sq km)Well-attested14,060,000 2Arctic OceanFilter Results17 entriesCommon GroupAllCopepods (1)Kelps (Laminariales) (1)Lophophorate Phyla (1)Other Bony Fish (1)Salmon And Trout (Salmoniformes) (3)True Jellyfish (Scyphozoa) (1)Waterfowl (1)TaxonomyAllAnatidae (1)Copepoda (1)Gadus (1)Monodontidae (2)Odobenidae (1)Oncorhynchus (1)Phaeophyceae (1)Phocidae (3)Pusa (1)Salmo (1)Salmonidae (1)Scyphozoa (1)Spiralia (1)Ursidae (1)HabitatAllIntertidal Zone (2)Lake (1)Marine (6)Open Ocean (4)River (3)Sea Ice (3)Tundra (1)Conservation StatusAllLeast Concern (8)Near Threatened (3)Not Evaluated (3)Vulnerable (2)Everyday GroupAllCopepods (1)Kelps (Laminariales) (1)Lophophorate Phyla (1)Other Bony Fish (1)Salmon And Trout (Salmoniformes) (3)True Jellyfish (Scyphozoa) (1)Waterfowl (1)DietAllCarnivore (6)Filter Feeder (1)Herbivore (1)Photosynthetic Autotroph (1)Piscivore (7)System (Realm)AllFreshwater (2)Marine (15)Marine and Freshwater (1)Terrestrial (1)ThreatsAllBiological Resource Use (2)Climate Change and Severe Weather (2)Relationship to PeopleAllAgricultural or Structural Pest (1)Farmed or Commercially Raised (1)Hunted or Fished (11)Invasive or Introduced Species (3)Venomous or Dangerous to Humans (1)Living or ExtinctAllYes (13)Where It LivesAllArgentina (1)Australia (1)Belgium (11)Bulgaria (1)Canada (6)Chile (1)China (1)Czechia (1)Denmark (11)Europe (1)Finland (1)France (4)Germany (2)Iceland (1)Ireland (4)Italy (1)Japan (1)Lithuania (1)Mexico (1)Netherlands (4)New Zealand (1)Nicaragua (1)North America (10)Norway (13)Poland (6)Romania (1)Russia (3)South Asia (3)Spain (2)Sweden (6)The Arctic (2)Ukraine (1)United Kingdom (4)United States (3)Uruguay (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 17Arctic GraylingArctic OceanAtlantic CodArctic OceanBearded SealArctic OceanBeluga WhaleArctic OceanCalanus FinmarchicusArctic OceanChinook SalmonArctic OceanHarp SealArctic OceanLion's Mane JellyfishArctic OceanNarwhalArctic OceanPhoronidArctic OceanPolar BearArctic OceanRibbon SealArctic OceanRinged SealArctic OceanSea troutArctic OceanSugar KelpArctic OceanTundra swanArctic OceanWalrusArctic OceanConnectionsDemonstratesAurora, Natural Phenomena Well-attested Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationtier 1HostsArctic Grayling, Species Well-attested Source Arctic grayling (Wikipedia)Atlantic Cod, Species Well-attested Source Atlantic cod - WikipediaBearded Seal, Species Well-attested Source Bearded seal (Wikipedia)Beluga Whale, Species Well-attested Source Beluga Whale (Wikipedia)tier 2Calanus Finmarchicus, Species Well-attested Source Wikidata: Lion's Mane JellyfishAdditional Source Arctic Ocean (Wikipedia)Article texttier 2Chinook Salmon, Species Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Chinook Salmontier 2Harp Seal, Species Well-attested Source Harp Seal (Wikipedia)tier 2Lion's Mane Jellyfish, Species Well-attested Source Wikidata: Lion's Mane JellyfishAdditional Source Arctic Ocean (Wikipedia)Article texttier 2Narwhal, Species Well-attested Source World Wildlife FundPhoronid, Species Well-attested Source Phoronid, WikipediaPolar Bear, Species Well-attested Source World Wildlife FundRibbon Seal, Species Well-attested Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Histriophoca fasciataRinged Seal, Species Well-attested Source Ringed seal (Wikipedia)Sea trout, Species Well-attested Source Sea trout (Wikipedia)Sugar Kelp, Species Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Saccharina latissimatier 2Tundra swan, Species Well-attested Source Tundra swan (Wikipedia)Walrus, Species Well-attested Source World Wildlife FundIn BiomeSea Ice, Biomes Well-attested Source World Wildlife FundIn the Other AtlasesFound InThe Arctic OceanAlso in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.Sources1. WWF Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Worldtier 2World Wildlife Fundlargely enclosed by North America and Greenlandlargely enclosed by Europe and AsiaView the Source2. Arctic Ocean (Wikipedia)tier 2WikipediaLead section, first paragraph, ocean area figureIt spans an area of approximately 14,060,000 km2 (5,430,000 sq mi) and is the coldest of the world's oceans.Hosts: Lion's Mane Jellyfish, Article textLion's mane jellyfish are abundant in the waters of the Arctic, and the banded gunnel is the only species of gunnel that lives in the ocean.Hosts: Calanus Finmarchicus, Article textImportant consumers of primary producers in the central Arctic Ocean and the adjacent shelf seas include zooplankton, especially copepods (Calanus finmarchicus, Calanus glacialis, and Calanus hyperboreus) and euphausiids, as well as ice-associated fauna (e.View the SourceWorld Wildlife FundWorld Wildlife FundIn Biome: Sea IceHosts: NarwhalHosts: Polar BearHosts: WalrusView the SourceNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationtier 1National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationDemonstrates: AuroraView the SourceHarp Seal (Wikipedia)tier 2Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Harp Seal, Wikipedia intro: "and seal, is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Originally in the genus Phoca with a number of..."View the SourceBeluga Whale (Wikipedia)tier 2Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Beluga Whale, Wikipedia intro: "d their diets vary according to their locations and the season. The majority of belugas live in the Arctic Ocean and the seas and coasts around North America, R..."View the SourceWikipedia: Saccharina latissimatier 2WikipediaHosts: Sugar Kelp, Wikipedia intro: "is one of the species known to Japanese cuisine as kombu. It is found in the north Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean and north Pacific Ocean."View the SourceBearded seal (Wikipedia)Hosts: Bearded Seal, Wikipedia intro: "also known as the square-flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words (..."View the SourceRinged seal (Wikipedia)Hosts: Ringed Seal, Wikipedia intro: "ost abundant and wide-ranging ice seal in the Northern Hemisphere; they can be found throughout the Arctic Ocean, into the Bering Sea and Okhotsk Sea as far sou..."View the SourceAtlantic cod - WikipediaHosts: Atlantic Cod, LeadQuote, Hosts: Atlantic Cod, LeadIn the western Atlantic Ocean, cod has a distribution north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and around both coasts of Greenland and the Labrador Sea; in the eastern Atlantic, it is found from the Bay of Biscay north to the Arctic Ocean, including the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, Sea of the Hebrides, areas around Iceland and the Barents Sea.View the SourceWikipedia: Chinook Salmontier 2WikipediaHosts: Chinook Salmon, Natural rangeQuote, Hosts: Chinook Salmon, Natural rangeIn the western Pacific, the distribution ranges from northern Japan (Hokkaido) in the south to the Arctic Ocean as far as the East Siberian Sea and Palyavaam River in the north.View the SourcePhoronid, WikipediaHosts: Phoronid, LeadQuote, Hosts: Phoronid, LeadThey live in most of the oceans and seas, including the Arctic Ocean but excluding the Antarctic Ocean, and between the intertidal zone and about 400 meters down.View the SourceTundra swan (Wikipedia)Hosts: Tundra swan, C. c. columbianus distributionQuote, Hosts: Tundra swan, C. c. columbianus distributionThe birds breeding along the Arctic Ocean coast migrate via Canada and the Great Lakes region to winter at the Atlantic coast of the United States, mainly from Maryland to North Carolina, but some move as far south as Florida.View the SourceArctic grayling (Wikipedia)Hosts: Arctic Grayling, RangeQuote, Hosts: Arctic Grayling, RangeArctic grayling are widespread in Arctic Ocean drainages from Hudson Bay, Canada to Alaska and in Arctic and Pacific drainages to central Alberta and British Columbia in Canada.View the SourceSea trout (Wikipedia)Hosts: Sea trout, RangeQuote, Hosts: Sea trout, RangeThey do not occur in the Mediterranean Sea but are found in the Black and Caspian Seas and as far north as the Barents and Kara Seas in the Arctic Ocean.View the SourceAnimal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Histriophoca fasciataAnimal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Ribbon Seal, Geographic RangeQuote, Hosts: Ribbon Seal, Geographic RangeRibbon seals ( Histriophoca fasciata ) are native to Arctic regions, occurring throughout icy waters of the northern Pacific Ocean and southern Arctic Ocean.View the SourceTake a Related QuizWetlands, Reefs and Deltas: New EcosystemsCovers this kind of entry.Comments (0)No comments yet. 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