Microalgae are the main source of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), essential for the healthy development of most marine and terrestrial fauna including humans. Inverse correlations of algal EPA and DHA proportions (% of total fatty acids) with temperature have led to suggestions of a warming-induced decline in the global production of these biomolecules ...

Tipping points in the Earth system could be passed within the Paris Agreement's temperature goal range (1.5°C–2°C). Tipping processes are a feature of complex Earth system dynamics that present major governance challenges not addressed by existing global governance institutions. The common governance toolkit is a poor match for dealing with tipping processes, especially non-linear change, and radical ...

Marine mammals throughout the circumpolar Arctic are facing profound levels of environmental change due to climate warming. Among them is the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), an Arctic endemic cetacean that spends its entire life in Arctic waters and lives in tight association with sea ice habitats. The Spitsbergen bowhead whale population resides in the Northeast Atlantic, where they were hunted ...

Botrytis blossom blight disease is one of the major challenges to wild blueberry production with annual losses frequently exceeding 20%. In this study, the effect of different fungicide treatments on Botrytis blight development and yield, as well as the mobility and persistence of these fungicides within flower tissues, and fruit of wild blueberries were evaluated under field conditions. This ...

As Arctic sea ice and its overlying snow cover thin, more light penetrates into the ice and upper ocean, shifting the phenology of algal growth within the bottom of sea ice, with cascading impacts on higher trophic levels of the Arctic marine ecosystem. While field data or autonomous observatories provide direct measurements of the coupled sea ice-algal system, they are limited in space and time. ...

The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC, 2019–2020), a year-long drift with the Arctic sea ice, has provided the scientific community with an unprecedented, multidisciplinary dataset from the Eurasian Arctic Ocean, covering high atmosphere to deep ocean across all seasons. However, the heterogeneity of data and the superposition of spatial and temporal ...

Background Northern ecosystems are strongly influenced by herbivores that differ in their impacts on the eco‑ system. Yet the role of herbivore diversity in shaping the structure and functioning of tundra ecosystems has been overlooked. With climate and land-use changes causing rapid shifts in Arctic species assemblages, a better under‑ standing of the consequences of herbivore diversity changes for ...

Mountain hare is a cold-adapted species threatened by climate change, but despite its emblematic nature, our understanding of the causes of population decline remains limited. Camera traps are increasingly used in ecology as a tool for monitoring animal populations at large spatial and temporal scales. In mountain environments where field work is constrained by difficult access and harsh ...

Herbivores play a crucial role in shaping tundra ecosystems through their effects on vegetation, nutrient cycling, and soil abiotic factors. Understanding their habitat use, co-occurrence, and overlap is therefore essential for informing ecosystem-based management and conservation. In the High Arctic, only a marginal proportion of the land area is vegetated, and climate change is impacting ...

Blue mussels (Mytilus spp.) play an important role in intertidal ecosystems along coastlines worldwide. Trematodes, which often parasitize these mollusks, can effectively alter blue mussels’ functional role in intertidal ecosystems. Due to the trematodes complicated life cycles and manifold but hidden effects on the intertidal ecosystems, they are often ignored in marine research, especially in ...