Habitat discontinuity, anthropogenic disturbance, and overharvesting have led to population fragmentation and decline worldwide. Preservation of remaining natural genetic diversity is crucial to avoid continued genetic erosion. Brown trout (<i>Salmo trutta</i> L.) is an ideal model species for studying anthropogenic influences on genetic integrity, as it has experienced significant genetic alterations ...

Previous studies of Eurasian tundra reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus tarandus</i>) in Norway indicate that their rumen microbiota play a key role in degrading lichen secondary metabolites. We investigated the presence of usnic acid and atranorin in faecal samples from Svalbard reindeer (<i>R. tarandus platyrhynchus</i>). Samples were collected in Bolterdalen valley together with vegetation samples ...

Time series of the marine CO₂ system and related parameters at the IsA Station, by Adventfjorden, Svalbard, were investigated between March 2015 and November 2017. The physical and biogeochemical processes that govern changes in total alkalinity (TA), total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the saturation state of the calcium carbonate mineral aragonite (Ω_Ar) were assessed ...

The impact of Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS, or drones) on marine mammals remains poorly documented despite their increasing use by hobbyists and scientists. In the High-Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard, where marine mammals are facing increasing pressure from the coupled effects of climate modification and an expanding tourism industry, the use of RPAS remains largely unregulated to date. In ...

The northern Svalbard shelf region is part of the Atlantic advective contiguous domain along which nutrients, phyto- and mesozooplankton are advected with Atlantic Water from the Norwegian Sea along the Norwegian shelf break and into the Arctic Ocean. By applying the SINMOD model, we investigated how much mesozooplankton may be advected into the northern Svalbard shelf region. We also compared this ...

High-latitude environments are warming, leading to changes in biological diversity patterns of taxa. <i>Oomycota</i> are a group of fungal-like organisms that comprise a major clade of eukaryotic life and are parasites of fish, agricultural crops, and algae. The diversity, functionality, and distribution of these organisms are essentially unknown in the Arctic marine environment. Thus, it was our ...

The Arctic Ocean is changing rapidly with respect to ice cover extent and volume, growth season duration and biological production. Zooplankton are important components in the arctic marine food web, and tightly coupled to the strong seasonality in primary production. In this study, we investigate zooplankton composition, including microzooplankton, copepod nauplii, as well as small and large copepod ...

The Arctic ecosystems and its species are under increased anthropogenic pressure from both climate change and industrial activities. Of special interest is pollution from petrogenic substances, and in particular accidental oil spills, that pose a risk to arctic marine organisms. An oil spill in the Arctic may see crude oil encapsulated into the sea ice and over time leaching to surface waters in the ...

Abstract Parasites might be small, but they are very important elements in the ecosystems. Parasites may have a strong negative influence on their host, and some species might even manipulate their hosts. Parasites commonly have complex life cycles and may use multiple different hosts. This study has been conducted in two sub-arctic lakes in Northern Norway with polymorphic whitefish populations. ...

Rapidly rising temperatures are having great effects on the high arctic ecosystem, historically characterized by long, cold winter periods, and cold dry summers. Due to the length of the winter season, arctic soils have been an important carbon sink, but may now be facing increased microbial activity due to increasing temperatures. Temperature, moisture, and litter quality play important roles in ...