Up to 95% of the oceanic primary production is recycled within the upper few hundred meters of the water column. Marine snow and zooplankton fecal pellets in the upper water column are often recycled at rates exceeding those measured for microbial degradation, suggesting that zooplankton might be important for flux attenuation of particulate organic carbon in the upper ocean. However, direct evidence ...

Arctic hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) are monogastric carnivores that go through extreme fasting and re-feeding in early life. They are born isolated on sea ice; suckle high-fat milk for four days and may then fast for up to one month before they start hunting and feeding on small prey (fish and crustaceans). Previous studies of the gut microbiota in pinnipeds have focused on the large intestine, ...

Mercury (Hg) emissions to the atmosphere cause elevated Hg levels in fish, even in many remote regions of the world. Here we present an extensive database of more than 50 000 measurements of Hg in fish, including 2 775 individual water bodies in Fennoscandia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russian part of Kola Peninsula) sampled between 1965 and 2015. The data have been analysed for spatial patterns and ...

In June 2016,the Norwegian EnvironmentAgencyrequestedthe Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM) to conducta literature reviewregardingdevelopment of bacterial resistance to biocides and heavy metals and cross-resistance to antimicrobial agents(e.g.,antibiotics)in bacteria, with the following mandate: <br><br>1.List chemical substancesthat may contribute to increased antimicrobial ...

Infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) is a common transmissible ocular disease in semi-domesticated Eurasian tundra reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus tarandus</i>). In large outbreaks, IKC may affect tens of animals in a herd, with the most severe cases often requiring euthanasia due to the destruction of the affected eyes and permanent blindness. An experimental inoculation with cervid herpesvirus 2 ...

In the Arctic, as in many parts of the world, interactions with the natural world are an important part of people's experience and are often recorded in photographs. Emerging methods for automated content analysis of social media data offers opportunities to discover information on cultural ecosystem services from photographs across large samples of people and countries. We analysed over 800 000 ...

Climate change is affecting the biodiversity, ecosystem services and the well-being of people that live in the Arctic tundra. Understanding the societal implications and adapting to these changes depend on knowledge produced by multiple disciplines. We analysed peer-reviewed publications to identify the main research themes relating to the Arctic tundra and assessed to what extent current research ...

In the light of the recent findings of the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis (EM) in four red foxes from three different locations in Sweden, the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (Vitenskapskomiteen; VKM), Panel of Biological Hazards (Faggruppe hygiene og smittestoffer) took the initiative to undertake a risk assessment regarding the probability of this parasite being introduced to ...

Monilinia blight disease caused by <i>Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi</i> (Reade) Honey (<i>M.vc</i>) causes severe damage and economic losses in wild blueberry growing regions. Molecular mechanisms regulating defence responses of wild blueberry phenotypes towards this causal fungus are not yet fully known. A reliable quantification of gene expression using quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) is fundamental ...

The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM) has appointed an ad hoc-group of experts to answer a request from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority regarding benefit and risk assessment of Lactobacillus paracasei ssp. paracasei F19 (F19) in processed cereal-based baby foods intended for small children 1-3 years. This assessment is based on the literature provided by the notifier as well ...