Birds are endothermic homeotherms that regulate internal metabolic heat production to keep a stable body core temperature. Lung ventilation, which is required to obtain oxygen for metabolism, is potentially a large source for heat and water loss. In a polar habitat with low year-round temperatures and scarcity of food in the winter, conservation of heat and water is crucial for survival of the ...

Knowing the metabolic rate of marine mammals is often important as baseline knowledge of their biology and physiology, e.g., to allow ecosystem assessments and estimation of their resource needs and use, and prey requirements. However, our current knowledge of energetics of large cetaceans is limited compared to many smaller cetaceans. Determining the energy expenditure of large free-ranging whales ...

Citizen science is increasingly used to include in ecological monitoring over the past three decades. Web-based applications or smart phones enable citizens to record observations or experiences at larger temporal and spatial scale and provide opportunities for a larger number of citizens to participate in mapping observations. Citizen science can also be used to record, or map observed and experienced ...

Colony nesting is thought to be an example of the selfish herd strategy, where aggregating behaviour may be an evolutionary adaptation to reduce the risk of predation. The common eider (Somateria mollissima) is a ground nesting sea bird susceptible to high nest predation rates through the nesting period. They often nest in groups, yet some also choose to nest solitarily. I examined whether group ...

Studying baleen whales is challenging and complex, where observation of their habitat, sensory modalities, behavior and physiology, are infrequent and brief. The biochemical and biophysical contribution of mysticetes serve a vital role in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem, but they are facing anthropogenic threats. Before giving any indications of how these threats affect the baleen whales, it ...

The Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is an anadromous salmonid that begins its life cycle in freshwater streams then, develops, in a process known as smoltification, into a marine-adapted fish prior to its migration to the sea. Smoltification is a photoperiod regulated process which involves extensive change in the salmons’ physiology. In recent years smoltification procedures in aquaculture has been ...

An increased pressure of human activities that can introduce new infectious agents and therefore alter host-pathogen interactions, resulting in epizootics and biodiversity loss, challenges the Southern Ocean. Health status information and the potential effect of disease outbreaks in the Southern Ocean fauna is scare and evaluating the susceptibility to new infectious agents is decisive for its ...

The critical endangered Common and Brünnich guillemot are exhibiting contrasting population trends in the Barents Sea region, where the Common guillemots are increasing, while Brünnich guillemots are declining. The non-breeding season is regarded as the main mortality period among seabirds, especially in winter, as climate conditions may be harsh and prey availability rather limited. The contrasting ...

In many seabird colonies along the coast of Norway, the increased population of white-tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla and the growing industry of birdwatching tourism are causing a dilemma for management decisions. Thus, this study aimed to examine the indirect effect of white-tailed eagles and tourists on the breeding success of the endangered seabird species, black legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla ...

The rise in offshore oil and gas operations, maritime shipping and tourism in northern latitudes enhance the risk of petroleum pollution and anthropogenic impacts of oil-related compounds on sub-Arctic and Arctic organisms. In particular, there is a need to investigate the potential adverse effects of petroleum to the early life stages of capelin (<i>Mallotus villosus</i>), an important forage and ...