The community composition of any group of organisms should theoretically be determined by a combination of assembly processes including resource partitioning, competition, environmental filtering, and phylogenetic legacy. Environmental DNA studies have revealed a huge diversity of protists in all environments, raising questions about the ecological significance of such diversity and the degree to ...

Although cryptogamic covers are important ecosystem engineers in high Arctic tundra, they were often neglected in vegetation surveys. Hence we conducted a systematic survey of cryptogamic cover and vascular plant coverage and composition at two representative, but differing Arctic sites (Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard) along catenas with a natural soil moisture gradient, and integrated these data with ...

Winter pastures are bottlenecks for population trends for wild reindeer, and the quality and availability are important parameters when managing populations. Sunnfjord, considered on of the smallest wild reindeer districts in Norway, have never had a comprehensive evaluation of accessible winter pasture within. The aim of study is to assess the quality of winter forage in all tree sub- areas within ...

The evidence that diel patterns of physiology and behaviour in mammals are governed by circadian ‘clocks’ is based almost entirely on studies of nocturnal rodents. The emergent circadian paradigm, however, neglects the roles of energy metabolism and alimentary function (feeding and digestion) as determinants of activity pattern. The temporal control of activity varies widely across taxa, and ungulates, ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the total water turnover rate of fasting subadult hooded seals in order to elucidate to what extent these animals rely in seawater drinking/mariposia at this life stage. Considering mariposia is important for later accurate estimations of food consumption using water turnover rate as a proxy. Five subadult hooded seals were kept fasting for 4 days in a ...

Species distributions are driven by abiotic conditions that filter species with specific traits and physiological tolerances and match them with their suitable environment. Plant–plant interactions can constrict (through competition) or loosen (through facilitation) the strength of these environmental filters, which in turn inhibit or enhance establishment and recruitment of plant species at a finer ...

Native maize conservation rests on the custody of traditional and indigenous small-scale farmers, but their traditional practices and way of life are challenged by multiple forces associated with globalization, international trade and neoliberal agricultural policies. Through participatory art-based research with two indigenous communities in Oaxaca, Mexico, we identified the main challenges and ...

Life history strategies and potential marine niche use of Arctic charr <i>Salvelinus alpinus</i> (<i>n</i> = 237, 84–652 mm, total body length, <i>L_T</i>) were determined during the ice‐free season (2012) at three different watercourses in south‐western Greenland. All Arctic charr were collected from freshwater habitats. Based on stable isotopes of δ³⁴S, the Arctic charr were ...

Parallelism in trophic niches of polymorphic populations of Arctic charr was investigated in two similar subarctic lakes, Tårnvatn and Skøvatn, in northern Norway. Analysis of eleven microsatellite loci confirmed, respectively, the existence of three and two genetically differentiated morphs. Three methods were used to describe their trophic niches: habitat choice and stomach contents for the recent ...

Climate change and the intensification of land use practices are causing widespread eutrophication of subarctic lakes. The implications of this rapid change for lake ecosystem function remain poorly understood. To assess how freshwater communities respond to such profound changes in their habitat and resource availability, we conducted a space‐for‐time analysis of food‐web structure in 30 lakes ...