The importance of landfast ice as a nursery and breeding ground for Arctic marine invertebrates was studied in Van Mijenfjorden (77°N, 15/16°W), southwestern Svalbard from March to May 2017. The collection of first-year ice cores with stations along a depth gradient allowed the investigation of both temporal and spatial differences in sympagic meiofauna community composition and abundance. Furthermore, ...

Anthropogenically caused global biodiversity declines and other human drivers point to the possibility of local plant diversity changes. The well-studied effects of local plant diversity on ecosystem processes implicate consequences to human well-being in the form of altered ecosystem services (including cultural services). Public awareness (knowledge and correct perception) about these changes ...

Describing dynamics of belowground organisms, such as fungi, can be challenging. Results of studies based on environmental DNA (eDNA) may be biased as the template does not discriminate between metabolically active cells and dead biomass. We analyzed ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) coextracted from 48 soil samples collected from a manipulated snow depth experiment in two distinct ...

We analyzed an 11-year time series (2005–2015) of parasite abundance for three intestinal nematode species in the red fox (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>) as a function of the multi-annual rodent population cycle in low-arctic Norway, while correcting for other potential covariates that could influence prevalence and abundance. Rodents are paratenic and facultative intermediate hosts for the two Ascarididae ...

<i>Background</i>: The Arctic charr (<i>Salvelinus alpinus</i>) has a highly seasonal feeding cycle that comprises long periods of voluntary fasting and a short but intense feeding period during summer. Therefore, the charr represents an interesting species for studying appetite-regulating mechanisms in fish. <p> <p><i>Results</i>: In this study, we compared the brain transcriptomes of fed and ...

People’s perceptions can point to reasons for conservation support or lack thereof. In this study, we surveyed the perceptions of conservation among local stakeholders who participated in protected area (PA) management following a reform towards community-based conservation in Norway. We analyzed the link between perceptions of threats to conservation values, prioritized management actions and ...

We report, for the first time, the solemyid <i>Acharax svalbardensis</i> sp. nov., from deep-sea methane seep sites on the western Svalbard margin, 79°N. This species is rather small and so far the northernmost representative of its genus. It is identified based on the following combination of diagnostic characters: umbo 27–30% valve length from posterior margin; H/L ratio ∼0.35; broadly rounded to ...

Critical gaps in knowledge hinder our ability to infer spatiotemporal dynamics in pelagic ecosystems. In particular, environmental changes affecting key copepod species while overwintering in deep waters are still not well understood. Here, we analyzed an 11 yr time series (2000–2010) of winter (January/February) samplings in the Lofoten Basin to characterize the spatial distribution of <i>Calanus ...

The northern coast of Svalbard contains high-arctic fjords, such as Rijpfjorden (80°N 22°30′E). This area has experienced higher sea and air temperatures and less sea ice in recent years, and models predict increasing temperatures in this region. Part of the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC), which transports relatively warm Atlantic water along the continental slope west of Svalbard, bypasses these ...

Rock ptarmigans (<i>Lagopus muta</i>) are gallinaceous birds inhabiting arctic and sub-arctic environments. Their diet varies by season, including plants or plant parts of high nutritional value, but also toxic plant secondary metabolites (PSMs). Little is known about the microbes driving organic matter decomposition in the cecum of ptarmigans, especially the last steps leading to methanogenesis. ...