This thesis explores the potential of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) from lakes as a tool for studying past communities. First it sets out to determine what taxa in the environment are most likely to be detected in lake sediments. For this, vegetation surveys were carried out around eleven different lakes in Norway and the taxa detected based on plant metabarcoding of the lake sediments were ...

<p>This thesis provides an overview of recent selectivity studies conducted in eastern North Pacific trawl fisheries (e.g., West Coast groundfish bottom trawl fishery, Pacific hake [<i>Merluccius productus</i>] fishery, and ocean shrimp [<i>Pandalus jordani</i>] fishery). Collectively, these fisheries play a significant role in supporting fishing jobs, income, and coastal communities. However, bycatch ...

<p>During the last deglaciation, one clade of European whitefish (<i>Coregonus lavaretus</i> L.) colonized the lakes in the three contemporary watercourses of northern Fennoscandia (Pasvik, Tana and Alta) and diverged thereafter in sympatry. This thesis investigates the interplay between evolutionary processes and standing genetic variation in shaping phenotypic and genetic divergence, and how ...

Marine bryozoans is a prolific source of structurally diverse bioactive secondary metabolites. However, the total number of natural products isolated from marine bryozoans is limited, The present study was focused on isolation and characterization of new compounds from Arctic marine bryozoans. The novel compounds were isolated by using two different approaches. For bioassay-guided isolation, fractions ...

The thesis consists of five papers and a synopsis, and outlines theoretical concepts and practical considerations when implementing traceability in food supply chains. The term traceability and the components of a traceability system are discussed and defined, a method for describing and analysing material flow, information flow, and information loss is outlined, and numerous practical implementations ...

Social-ecological systems (SES) consist of a social and an ecological system that are linked through a complex interplay of social and ecological processes. SES can be studied through SES research, which has become increasingly important because it is thought that it can potentially address and solve many societal challenges, such as climate change, resource scarcity, and habitat degradation. SES ...

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is a holistic approach for nature management that aims at achieving the good health and sustainable use of ecosystems. It is a complex and challenging concept: understanding ecosystems and human impacts upon them is complicated, there are demanding needs for collaboration and harmonisation of approaches and policies, and many conflicting interests must be balanced. ...

The transition towards a sustainable minerals industry will rely on pursuing sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI), requiring continuous innovations in extraction and production processes, product offerings and the way the industry deals with its social responsibilities. Considering the breadth of SOI, mineral firms have no choice but to engage with and seek knowledge from multiple key external ...

In this thesis, an experimental swim tunnel and cod-end was used as a model to investigate how stress during various stages of trawl capture affects fillet quality in terms of residual blood, time and hardness of post-mortem muscle stiffness and muscle colour of cod and haddock. In addition, the effect of stress on importance of timing of euthanasia was also addressed. The first stage of trawl ...

The overall aim of this work was to obtain better understanding of how live-storage without feeding affects wild mature Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) and quality of products obtained from such cod. Atlantic cod were live-stored without feeding for 82 days. First, gender-specific weight changes in both whole and gutted fish, as well as certain organs were studied (Paper I). Next, the effects of feed ...