Seabird distributions reflect physical and biological features of the marine environment and their variability on different spatial and temporal scales. Different species assemblages are associated with specific oceanic habitats and concentrations of birds typically occur in areas of high biological productivity. Here I explore seabird distributions and habitat use relative to biophysical cues of ...

Recent studies have concluded that groundwater driven methane escape through open system pingos is an important greenhouse gas source in the vulnerable high Arctic. In wetlands and marine sediments, large quantities of methane are consumed by methane oxidizing bacteria (MOB) and ANaerobic MEthanotrophic (ANME) archaea, preventing its release to the atmosphere. The methanotrophic capacity of open ...

Flavonoids are a group of phenolic compounds produced in plants. They have many biological functions in plants and also beneficial bioactivities in human’s health. Light quality is one of the major environmental factors regulating the accumulation of flavonoids in plants. Understanding plants accumulation of secondary metabolites in response to light qualities is important in order to optimize plants ...

ARIS sonar and Timespace video cameras were used to estimate spawning run and migration pattern of Atlantic salmon in Máskejohka, a tributary belonging to the River Tana. Máskejohka has not been monitored before and needs more detailed information about the stock size and its migration pattern, after several years with declining Atlantic salmon catch. Data for the first weeks of the migration period ...

Seen in light of the increasing interest of nature-based tourism and recreational outdoor activities in Norway the last decades (Haukeland, Grue & Veisten, 2010), spatiotemporal information on human activity in remote areas and knowledge about how this activity may affect wildlife and nature is a crucial part of a knowledge-based management (Gundersen et.al., 2011, p.14; Gundersen, Strand & Punsvik, ...

Recent evidence shows that temporal changes of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Arctic ecosystems are not only due to emission patterns and regulations; environment-related changes in prey availability and long-range transport may also influence concentrations of these compounds in tissues of Arctic predators. Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) in Svalbard, Norway, scavenge and hunt opportunistically ...

Plastic is a major component of marine litter in the world’s oceans and therefore it is critical we develop a better understanding of the fate of plastic in the marine environment, and the potential impacts on biota. Microplastics are the most abundant size class (<5 mm) of plastic found in the marine environment and have the potential to interact with smaller marine organisms at lower trophic levels. ...

Circadian rhythms regulate living organisms over a 24h period. From daily activity to cellular function. The polar regions are subject to different photoperiods across the year, which impact the environmental conditions on a seasonal and daily basis. Evidence of crosstalk between circadian core clock genes and hypoxia with genes involved the mitochondrial dynamics, as well as oxygen sensing, provide ...

Processing of detritus is an important ecosystem function in freshwaters. In rivers and streams, the activity of shredding invertebrates play an important role in processing of coarse-particulate organic matter such as leaf litter. In stream food webs, fish may act as top predators and control activity of consumers such as shredders top down. This top-down effect may be of a directly consumptive nature, ...

Actuarial senescence is the irreversible decline of survival with increasing age. This phenomenon varies widely between taxa and species along the slow-fast continuum. However, inter-populational senescence differences have been less investigated, especially in the avian order. Here, I compared senescence rate between three contrasting populations of the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), and ...