Hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) are marine mammals and are characterised as an “Arctic seal” species due to their close association to the pack ice. Their relationship with the ice and water creates challenges in maintaining an internal body temperature of ~37°C. In homeothermic animals, like the hooded seal, shivering is used for thermogenesis, however this can rapidly fatigue skeletal muscle. ...

Norwegian fishers report an increase in negative interactions with marine mammals: An issue that is also on the rise, globally. Efforts to mitigate these interactions using currently available methods have yielded little success for larger cetaceans. This study examines the efficacy of a novel target-specific acoustic startle technology (TAST) in deterring killer whales (Orcinus orca) and humpback ...

Both Willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) and Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) are important game species in mainland Norway, but were recently added to the Norwegian Red List due to long-term population declines. Yet the knowledge about the population dynamics and the underlying drivers of both species is limited, especially for L. muta. Developing robust methods for long-term monitoring of population ...

During three cruises in April, May and November 2014 in Porsangerfjord, northern Norway, the role of hydrography and phytoplankton composition in shaping zooplankton vertical distribution was studied. Simultaneous collection of biological (phytoplankton and zooplankton distribution/abundance) and environmental data (temperature, salinity, density, Chlorophyll a) was sampled using a high-resolution ...

Temperature and precipitation in the Arctic are projected to increase over the next century with a changing climate. Understanding how tundra plants respond to this change is still unclear. Little is known about autumn senescence in the Arctic and with a short growing season, timing is critical. If a plant senesces too early, it compromises photosynthetic activity and growth. If a plant senesces ...

Male bearded seals use vocal displays to attract females and compete with other males during the mating period, making it possible to monitor breeding populations using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). This study analysed year-round acoustic data from underwater recorders at three sites with different environmental conditions in Svalbard (Norway). Male bearded seals vocalised for an extended ...

Climate change-induced alterations of aquatic ecosystems, increased water temperature and human activity are substantial stressors to anadromous Arctic charr, and these are all expected to increase in the future. The knowledge of the marine behaviour of anadromous Arctic charr, especially post-smolts, is limited and few studies has described their residency at sea in detail. Therefore, more ...

All over the world, local communities are actively engaging in the management and monitoring of natural resources. The underlying driver of most community-driven efforts goes beyond the direct utilization of natural resources to entail a deeper relation to the place or ecosystem they are managing. Relational values have been suggested as a potential driver of such initiatives, but empirical research ...

Among phocids, the hooded seal has the most extreme lactation period. It lasts, for most pups, four days, making it also the shortest lactation period of any mammal. During the lactation period, there is a high energy transfer, which affects and changes the body of the pup in preparation for the following post-weaning fast period. With regard to the decline of the West Ice population, the main purpose ...

Integrating information about the physiology of individuals and their reproductive performance can be a key aspect in determining the relationships between environmental conditions and demographic parameters, and of the individual variability in these relationships. Telomeres are the protective caps of chromosomes found in eukaryotic cells. They generally shorten in relation to the stressors an ...