The Barents Sea (BS) is an arcto-boreal sea and one of the most productive areas adjacent to the Arctic, hosting many commercial fish stocks. As a result of climate change, temperature increases and a northward movement of several fish species in the BS have been reported, which will likely change community structures and ecosystem functioning. Hence, more information on ecosystem functioning need ...

Arctic soil microbiomes may have to face drastic climate changes in the coming century. Currently, the arctic tundra act as a carbon sink due to slow decomposition rates of soil organic carbon, which partly owes to low temperatures and poor water drainage. However, with elevated temperatures, large, latent carbon pools stored in arctic permafrost are exposed to mineralization by the active layer ...

The spring season is important to polar bears, since females with young cubs leave the maternity dens, ringed seal pupping creates a peak in prey availability, and it is the mating season. Understanding space- and resource use at this time is a key to understanding polar bear ecology. This study from Svalbard, Norway analyzed 348 measurements of spring-to-spring displacement from 220 polar bears ...

Snow exerts key controls on many aspects of plant ecology in the Arctic, including community composition. With climate predictions forecasting dramatic changes in winter climate and snow cover in the Arctic in the near future, it is important to improve our understanding of snow effects on plant communities in these regions. This study used a snow depth manipulation experiment established in 2006 ...

In this thesis, several sources of variation which affect macrobenthic biodiversity was examined, in addition to addressing the resulting implications for monitoring programmes in the Barents Sea. Marine benthic biodiversity patterns at the time of sampling were examined across a range of scales, pre-defined by the study design. The benthic distribution was examined in relation to characteristics ...

<p>Many species of small copepods are morphologically similar and thus often grouped together at genus level rather than studied as individual species. However, species within the same genus may differ quite a lot in life history strategies and traits. In this study, I used a species-specific polymerase chain reaction to explore the abundance, distribution and size range of <i>Pseudocalanus</i> ...

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) is a pelagic fish species with large interannual stock variations in the Barents Sea ecosystem. Together with polar cod (Boreogadus saida) and juvenile herring (Clupea harengus), it functions as an intermediate link that transfers energy from zooplankton to higher trophic levels. Capelin is a key prey and important as a food resource both to sea birds, sea mammals and ...

The three box-nesting passerine bird species pied flycatcher, great tit and common redstart breed at their distributional limit in Troms, Northern Norway. Access to food and favourable weather conditions is expected to be of importance for the birds´ breeding population dynamics. In the same area, geometrid moth larvae experience cyclic population outbreaks at approx. 10 year intervals, constituting ...

A mismatch between male and female gamete release can result in reduced or failed fertilization in external fertilizers, sperm competition and reduced paternity. Here, I video monitored spawning behavior of free living Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), and analyzed details of their reproductive biology. In total, 157 spawnings were recorded. Females clearly preferred spawning with the dominant male, ...

Empetrum nigrum dominates in alpine and northern part of Norway. It is an allelopathic species that can reduce both productivity and biodiversity in ecosystems. The study focuses on identifying and determining different cover of E. nigrum by means of remote sensing data within two regions of Northern Norway, Ifjord in Finnmark and Troms areas. Field data were collected within 50 study points and E. ...