Glacier fronts are hotspots of pelagic productivity due to upwelling of nutrient-rich water. As tidewater glaciers retreat into land, this subglacial circulation will disappear and sedimentation from terrestrial runoff will increase, leading to a decrease in pelagic productivity with a decline in the abundance of fish and zooplankton. We used Billefjorden, a high Arctic fjord with a glacier recently ...

Reports of fading vole and lemming population cycles and persisting low populations in some parts of the Arctic have raised concerns about the spread of these fundamental changes to tundra food web dynamics. By compiling 24 unique time series of lemming population fluctuations across the circumpolar region, we show that virtually all populations displayed alternating periods of cyclic/non-cyclic ...

Zooplankton are keystone organisms that provide a critical link between primary production and higher-order predators in the marine food web, as well as facilitating the sequestration of carbon within the ocean. In this context, there is considerable interest in the detection of zooplankton swarms from satellite ocean color signals. However, for this to be possible, accurate inherent optical ...

Contamination from petroleum products and hydrocarbons is one of the major sources of pollution worldwide. The use of plants or microbes to reduce pollution is called bioremediation and is a cheap and environmentally friendly alternative to mechanical or chemical clean-up. A good understanding of native plants and microbes is required to implement bioremediation. In this study, the common and ...

Hudsår har blitt mer utbredt i norsk lakseoppdrett de senere år, hvor årsakene kan være flere og sammensatte. Vintersår regnes som en av de største helseutfordringene, der klassiske vintersår knyttes til bakterien Moritella viscosa. Hudsår hos oppdrettsfisk kan også skyldes sammensatt infeksjon med flere bakterier hvor bakteriene Vibrio anguillarum, Vibrio salmonicida og Aeromonas salmonicida, som ...

The mesopelagic zone represents one of the few habitats that remains relatively untouched from anthropogenic activities. Among the many species inhabiting the north Atlantic mesopelagic zone, glacier lanternfish (Benthosema glaciale) is the most abundant and widely distributed. This species has been regarded as a potential target for a dedicated fishery despite the scarce knowledge of its population ...

Climate change is rapidly modifying biodiversity across the Arctic, driving a shift from Arctic to more boreal ecosystem characteristics. This phenomenon, known as borealization, is mainly described for certain functional groups along sub-Arctic inflow shelves (Barents and Chukchi Seas). In this review, we evaluate the spatial extent of such alterations across the Arctic, as well as their effects ...

Microalgae are the main source of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), essential for the healthy development of most marine and terrestrial fauna including humans. Inverse correlations of algal EPA and DHA proportions (% of total fatty acids) with temperature have led to suggestions of a warming-induced decline in the global production of these biomolecules ...

This master’s project delves into the microbial diversity of the Arctic region, with focus on the isolation and characterization of a yeast of the Cystobasidium genus and likely viruses capable of infecting it. The research also shows preliminary results pointing at the movement and chemotaxis capabilities of the yeast, presenting findings that have the potential to shape our understanding of microbial ...

Diving mammals are perpetually required to manage low-oxygen conditions throughout their lives. The mammalian brain is an organ particularly vulnerable to low oxygen levels due to its high energy demands, which require steady aerobic ATP production. The brain of the deep- diving hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) demonstrates remarkable tolerance to hypoxia. Studies suggest that this brain hypoxia ...